Match Play

Forum Archive : Match Play

 
Post-crawford doubling

From:   Gus
Address:   someone@tds.net
Date:   26 September 2002
Subject:   Doubling when score is 14:12 post-crawford in a 15 point match
Forum:   rec.games.backgammon
Google:   JSFk9.10574$fO.1436780@kent.svc.tds.net

When the score is 14:12 post-Crawford in a 15 point match, should I double
at first opportunity?  Or hold onto the cube?

The way I see it, if I double immediately, I am betting that I can gammon.
If I hold the cube and it looks like a non-gammon win, I can force it to
match point in the next game. But I am very disappointed if I do, in fact,
gammon without the cube.

By the way, the specific situation was that I was playing a slightly
stronger player than myself.

Ryan Long  writes:

What are you risking?  Raising the stakes isn't a risk, since he only needs
one point.  Giving him the cube isn't a risk, because cube ownership is no
longer an asset to him.

If you double immediately, all you are doing is putting yourself in a
position to score more points.  The number of points this game is worth
impacts your odds of winning the match.  The number of points this game
is worth has no impact on the odds of your opponent winning the match.

> If I hold the cube and it looks like a non-gammon win, I can force it to
> match point in the next game.

With the cube at 1 you can only win the match this game with a backgammon.
With the cube at 2, a gammon wins the match.  Wouldn't it be nice not to
have to play that next game?

> But I am very disappointed if I do, in fact, gammon without the cube.

Don't you mean regretful?  Your decision not to cube prevented you from
winning the match.

> By the way, the specific situation was that I was playing a slightly
> stronger player than myself.

Double on your first move.

Douglas Zare  writes:

Technically, it does not hurt to double immediately. However, if you really
know what you are doing, you can steal some equity from an imperfect
opponent by waiting.

> The way I see it, if I double immediately, I am betting that I can
> gammon.

No. If you lose the game, you lose the match, and it doesn't matter what
the score is. You can double because you can use the extra points and your
opponent cannot. You should double even with no gammon chances.

> If I hold the cube and it looks like a non-gammon win, I can force it to
> match point in the next game. But I am very disappointed if I do, in
> fact, gammon without the cube.

Yes. Here's the main thing to keep in mind: Your opponent should take with
3% winning chances if there are no gammons, or 3%+gammon losses (from their
perspective). If you ever risk losing your market, you are making a
technical error. (In a recent match, my opponent lost his market by getting
to 33311 vs 664333 in the bearoff, a slight market loser. He claimed my
pass was a clear mistake, but didn't have the guts to bet on it. A database
says I win 2.6% -- I estimated 2.0% OTB.) However, often your opponent will
not know the take point, and will pass a huge take. For this to happen,
your position must be threatening a gammon, or you should have a huge
racing lead that would ordinarily be considered hopeless. It's often good
to wait for a position that would be a clear money pass, or a clear pass at
2-away 4-away, but which is still a take at this match score.

If you don't understand this very well, then double immediately at this
score, and always take at the opposite score.
 
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Match Play

1-away/1-away: advice from Bernhard Kaiser  (Darse Billings, July 1995)  [Long message] [Recommended reading]
1-away/1-away: advice from Stick  (Stick+, Mar 2007)  [GammOnLine forum]
1-away/1-away: and similar scores  (Lou Poppler, Aug 1995) 
2-away/3-away: playing for gammon  (Tom Keith, Feb 1996) 
2-away/4-away: Neil's rule of 80  (Neil Kazaross, June 2004)  [GammOnLine forum]
2-away/4-away: cube strategy  (Tom Keith, Dec 1996) 
2-away/4-away: practical issues  (Mark Damish, Jan 1996) 
2-away/4-away: trailer's initial double  (Kit Woolsey, Jan 1996) 
3-away/4-away: opponent's recube  (William C. Bitting+, Feb 1997)  [Long message]
3-away/4-away: racing cube  (Bill Calton+, Nov 2012) 
3-away/4-away: tricky cube decision  (Kit Woolsey+, July 1994) 
3-away/4-away: what's the correct equity?  (Tom Keith, Sept 1997) 
4-away/4-away: take/drop point  (Gary Wong, Oct 1997) 
5-away/11-away: redouble to 8  (Gavin Anderson, Oct 1998) 
7-away/11-away: volatile recube decision  (Kit Woolsey, May 1997) 
Both too good and not good enough to double  (Paul Epstein+, Sept 2007) 
Comparing 2-away/3-away and 2-away/4-away  (Douglas Zare, Mar 2002) 
Crawford rule  (Chuck Bower, May 1998) 
Crawford rule  (Kit Woolsey, Mar 1997) 
Crawford rule--Why just one game?  (Walter Trice, Jan 2000) 
Crawford rule--history  (Michael Strato, Jan 2001) 
Delayed mandatory double  (tem_sat+, Oct 2010) 
Delayed mandatory double  (Donald Kahn+, Dec 1997)  [Recommended reading]
Doubling when facing a gammon loss  (Kit Woolsey, Jan 1999) 
Doubling when opponent is 2-away  (David Montgomery, Dec 1997) 
Doubling when you're an underdog  (Stein Kulseth, Dec 1997) 
Doubling window with gammons  (Jason Lee+, Jan 2009) 
Free drop  (Ian Shaw, May 1999) 
Free drop  (Willis Elias+, Oct 1994) 
Gammonless takepoint formula  (Adam Stocks, June 2002) 
Going for gammon when opp has free drop  (Kit Woolsey, Jan 1998) 
Going for gammon when opp has free drop  (Kit Woolsey, Apr 1995) 
Holland rule  (Neil Kazaross, Apr 2010) 
Holland rule  (Kit Woolsey, Dec 1994) 
Leading 2-away with good gammon chances  (Douglas Zare, Feb 2004)  [GammOnLine forum]
Match play 101  (Max Urban+, Oct 2009) 
Matches to a set number of games  (Tom Keith+, Oct 1998) 
Playing when opponent has free drop  (Gilles Baudrillard+, Dec 1996) 
Post-crawford doubling  (Scott Steiner+, Feb 2004) 
Post-crawford doubling  (Maik Stiebler+, Dec 2002) 
Post-crawford doubling  (Gus+, Sept 2002) 
Post-crawford mistakes  (Rob Adams, Sept 2007)  [GammOnLine forum]
Post-crawford/2-away: too good to double  (Robert-Jan Veldhuizen, July 2004) 
Slotting when opponent has free drop  (onur alan+, Apr 2013) 
Take points  (fiore+, Feb 2005)  [GammOnLine forum]
Tips to improve cube handling  (Lucky Jim+, Jan 2010) 
When to free drop  (Dan Pelton+, Oct 2006) 
When to free drop  (Tom Keith+, July 2005)  [GammOnLine forum]
When to free drop  (Gregg Cattanach, Dec 2004)  [GammOnLine forum]
When to free drop  (Kit Woolsey, Feb 1998) 
When to free drop  (Chuck Bower, Jan 1998) 
Which format most favors the favorite?  (Daniel Murphy+, Jan 2006)  [GammOnLine forum]

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