Forum Archive : Books

Ballard & Weaver: Backgammon Openings Book A From:   Mislav Radica Date:   22 November 2007 Subject:   Impressions about Ballard/Weaver book ... (long) Forum:   GammOnLine Recently I read "Backgammon Openings" for the first time and decided to send my opinions to Paul bcuz he asked me for that during the book ordering process. My main objection about book is why they didn't include rollout results and explain the amount of equity difference between plays with numbers instead with terms like "tied", "marginally close", "very close", etc. Paul sent me a detailed explanation about their reasons. I thought it might be interesting for others to read and, with his permission, I offer it here. Here is what I wrote to Paul: I like very much the page layout. These diagrams are now pretty standard and look best, but with your page formatting you set another standard. As a online player who has analyzed every match played with gnubg and made many rollouts, I appreciate the extremely strong settings you used to produce the most accurate backgammon book of all time. Anyone who would like to check some of your suggestions will have to do at least 15k trials, which is about 10-15 days for those early positions. I am not a native English speaker but I have experience with backgammon books, and I find the language in your book is very precise and introduces many inovations in backgammon writing. I feel it is extremely very well written. I like your notes about special scores in match play like DMP, GG and GS but I wish you could explain more deeply in some places why a certain move is better at DMP. It is not always clear in my mind. At GG we are making new points and don't care for gammon lost. At GS we are making anchor. But DMP could be a strange score. I would also like to see some more text in the introduction of the chapters. I understand your desire to focus only on the main features of the positions but a longer introduction would serve as a little break between the hard work going through your diagrams. I also like your general points and rules of thumbs. Text which only counts which are your good rolls and which are bad rolls, and how many rolls your opponent can hit or not, is not easy to read. I think that reading about the opening is harder than about the middle game. Your reference positions, with slight changes from the original, are a valuable learning tool. Together with extensive rollouts and your concise comments, they provide the main value of this book. It is a painful process to find those close positions which explain the original position and to do rollouts for all of them. We all read Robertie's and Woolsey's books. I am fan of GammOnLine but it is always good to read a fresh expert's writings for another point of view. I definitely learned something new. (I also liked Bagai, Trice, and Storer because they are different than the more prolific backgammon authors.) In openings, there are more elements of checker play, and things are clearer than in the middle game. There are no distracting factors. So this book could improve one's overall checker play, not only the early game. I hope that I understand reasons why you avoid numbers but, as a player who uses gnubg on daily basis, I am more comfortable seeing numbers when talking about equity differences instead of your vocabulary like "close", "marginally close". Numbers like 0.030 or 0.012 looks easier to understand to any modern bot oriented player. This is Paul's answer: Many readers who study backgammon with bots would like to see our rollout data. This sentiment is very understandable. I would like to explain the reasons that we did not include the rollout data in our book. (1) We do not have just one rollout file for each position. We frequently have a few rollout files for a single position. One rollout volunteer may do 5,184 trials, another may also do 5,184 trials, and there may also be other files, all for the same position. It would not be a simple thing to present or to view our rollout data. It would be confusing. (2) We realize that many strong players and eager students of the game are interested in rollout data, but at the same time, there are many beginners and intermediates who would not understand the data and would be intimidated by it all. We want beginners and intermediates to be as comfortable as possible while reading our book. I give Nack full credit for coming up with his ingenious idea of the error scale. We do give the rollout data, albeit in the form of the error scale. We believe our readers will learn a lot more by focusing on the in-depth analysis of each position than they would learn by studying our rollout files. (3) Our format gives us only a limited amount of space on each page. We do not have room for the rollout data on the same page that contains the diagrams and the text. If we put it in an appendix, it might take up twenty pages or more. This twenty-odd pages of data would diminish the elegance of our book, increase its cost and also frighten away some beginners and intermediates. (4) I am bold enough to believe that our books will be read not only by backgammon players of 2007 and 2008, but also by those of years to come. Including rollout data of 2007 bots would make our book obsolete quickly. Within a few years, there will be significant improvements in hardware speed and also in backgammon software. Backgammon rollout data of 2007 do not give equities that are accurate to the nearest thousandth of a point, and in some cases, the rollout data of 2007 may not give equities accurate to the nearest hundredth of a point. Within a few years, bots will give much more accurate data. It is my belief that readers in years to come will have very little interest in seeing rollout data from the primitive 2007 era, but we hope they will be interested in our path-breaking analysis of these early game positions.   Did you find the information in this article useful?           Do you have any comments you'd like to add?

 

Books

Bagai: Classic Backgammon Revisited  (Gregg Cattanach, Feb 2002) 

Bagai: Classic Backgammon Revisited #100  (Raccoon, Nov 2004) 

Bagai: Classic Backgammon Revisited--Errata  (Jeremy Bagai+, Apr 2005) 

Ball: Alpha Backgammon  (James Takahashi+, May 1994) 

Ballard & Weaver: Backgammon Openings Book A  (Marty Storer, Jan 2008) 

Ballard & Weaver: Backgammon Openings Book A  (Mislav Radica, Nov 2007) 

Ballard & Weaver: Backgammon Openings Book A  (Rob Adams+, Oct 2007) 

Ballard & Weaver: Backgammon Openings Book A  (Gregg Cattanach, Oct 2007) 

Ballard & Weaver: Backgammon Openings Book A  (Neil Kazaross+, Jan 2005) 

Ballard & Weaver: Backgammon Openings--Volunteers needed  (Nack Ballard, June 2007) 

Barr: Barr on Backgammon  (Walter Swan+, Feb 1996) 

Becker: Backgammon for Blood  (Gus, Mar 2003) 

Becker: Backgammon for Blood  (PTaber+, June 1999) 

Becker: Backgammon for Blood  (Michael Fuhrmann, Aug 1997) 

Becker: Backgammon for Blood  (Daniel Murphy, July 1997) 

Becker: Backgammon for Blood  (Durf Freund+, May 1994) 

Bell: Winning with the Doubling Cube  (&Atilda;˜ystein Johansen+, Apr 2006) 

Bell: Winning with the Doubling Cube  (André Nicoulin, Oct 2000) 

Bell: Winning with the Doubling Cube  (David Montgomery, May 1999) 

Bell: Winning with the Doubling Cube  (Peter Bell, Aug 1998) 

Bell: Winning with the Doubling Cube  (Jacques Torrione, Feb 1998) 

Bell: Winning with the Doubling Cube  (Robert Scibelli, Dec 1997) 

Bell: Winning with the Doubling Cube  (Kevin Bastian, Nov 1997) 

Bray: Backgammon for Blood  (Chris Bray, Sept 2007) 

Bray: Backgammon to Win  (Chris Bray, June 2007) 

Bray: Backgammon to Win, second edition  (Chris Bray, Aug 2012) 

Bray: Backgammon--An Independent View  (Chris Bray, May 1998) 

Bray: Backgammon--An Independent View Revisited  (Chris Bray+, Jan 2005) 

Bray: Second Wind  (Chris Bray, May 2007) 

Bray: What Colour is the Wind?  (Chris Bray+, June 2002) 

Bray: What Colour is the Wind?--Rerelease  (Chris Bray, Sept 2006) 

Brooks: Backgammon's Best Openings and Replies  (Chuck Bower+, Dec 2004) 

Clay: Backgammon Winning Strategies  (Michael Strato, Nov 1999) 

Clay: Backgammon Winning Strategies  (Gary Wong, Jan 1998) 

Cooke & Bradshaw: Backgammon--The Cruelest Game  (Chuck Bower+, Aug 1998) 

Cooke & Orléan: Championship Backgammon  (Timothy Chow+, Apr 2011) 

Cooke & Orléan: Championship Backgammon  (Marty Storer, Sept 2004) 

Cooke: Paradoxes and Probabilities  (Neil Kazaross+, Sept 2004) 

Cooke: Paradoxes and Probabilities  (Peter van Arkel+, Sept 2002) 

Cooke: Paradoxes and Probabilities  (Donald Kahn, Dec 1998) 

Cooke: Paradoxes and Probabilities  (Stephen Turner, Apr 1996) 

Corbett: Backgammon Problems  (Stick+, Jan 2008) 

Deyong: The Playboy Book of Backgammon  (Shuman Lloyd Lee, Aug 1991) 

Dwek: Backgammon for Profit  (Bob Stringer, Sept 2002) 

Euler: Everyday Errors in Checker Play  (BaronGossettEulerPhD+, June 2012) 

Garal: Fair Backgammon Tournament Rules  (Jakob Garal, June 2007) 

Heinrich & Woolsey: New Ideas in Backgammon  (Douglas Zare, Mar 2003) 

Heinrich & Woolsey: New Ideas in Backgammon  (Craig E. Groeschel+, Sept 1998) 

Heinrich & Woolsey: New Ideas in Backgammon  (David Montgomery, May 1997) 

Heyken & Fischer: The Backgammon Handbook  (Martin Fischer, Sept 1998) 

Heyken & Fischer: The Backgammon Handbook  (Marina Smith, Feb 1998) 

Hickey & Storer: What's Your Game Plan?  (Timothy Chow, May 2011) 

Jacoby & Crawford: The Backgammon Book  (Patrick Wilken, Aug 1991) 

Kansil: The Backgammon Quiz Book  (Daniel Murphy, July 1997) 

Kansil: The Backgammon Quiz Book--Five problems  (Chuck Bower, Oct 1997) 

Kennedy & Papazian: Backgammon Master Games  (Ben Fairbank+, Apr 1999) 

Kershaw: Backgammon Funfair  (Tom Keith+, July 2012) 

Kershaw: Backgammon Funfair  (Peter Bennet, May 2012) 

Lamford: 100 Backgammon Puzzles  (Harold Simon+, Oct 2001) 

Lamford: 100 Backgammon Puzzles  (Mark Driver, July 2001) 

Lamford: 100 Backgammon Puzzles--Snowie analysis  (Michael Schell, Oct 2001) 

Lamford: Improve Your Backgammon  (Alef Rosenbaum, May 2003) 

Leet: Winning Backgammon  (Ryan Long, Apr 2002) 

Leet: Winning Backgammon  (MW Book Review, July 1999) 

Lortz: Double ... now: An Authentic Cube Remedy  (Chuck Bower+, Jan 2004) 

Mabardi & Luce: Vanity Fair's Backgammon to Win  (Paul Tanenbaum, Feb 1998) 

Magriel: Backgammon  (Baldo+, Mar 2004) 

Magriel: Backgammon  (Neil Kazaross, July 2003) 

Magriel: Backgammon  (Chuck Bower, Nov 1999) 

Magriel: Backgammon  (Dean Gay, Sept 1999) 

Magriel: Backgammon  (David Montgomery+, Aug 1997) 

Magriel: Backgammon--2004 Edition  (Tom Keith+, Dec 2004) 

Magriel: Backgammon--GnuBG evaluations  (Randy, July 2008) 

Martyn: Phillip Martyn on Backgammon  (Steve Brorens+, Nov 1996) 

Munchkin: Gambling Wizards  (Chuck Bower, Aug 2003) 

Obolensky & James: Backgammon the Action Game  (Edward D. Collins+, Oct 1999) 

Reese & Brinig: Backgammon: The Modern Game  (Al Mirpuri+, Sept 2011) 

Robertie: 501 Essential Backgammon Problems  (Paul Epstein, July 2005) 

Robertie: 501 Essential Backgammon Problems  (Albert Silver, Nov 2002) 

Robertie: 501 Essential Backgammon Problems  (Tore Fredriksen, July 2002) 

Robertie: 501 Essential Backgammon Problems  (Erik M Sørensen, May 2000) 

Robertie: 501 Essential Backgammon Problems  (Daniel Hollis, May 2000) 

Robertie: 501 Essential Backgammon Problems #75  (Hardy Hübener+, Nov 2005) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon  (Doni+, Jan 2005) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon  (Scott Steiner+, Sept 2002) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon  (James Eibisch, Jan 1998) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon  (Allen R. Adams, Nov 1995) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon #165  (Peter Grotrian+, Mar 2005) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon--Errata  (Matt Senecal+, Nov 2004) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon--JF rollouts  (Øystein Johansen, June 2001) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon--JF rollouts  (Alexander Nitschke, Feb 1997) 

Robertie: Advanced Backgammon--JF rollouts  (Peter Fankhauser, Jan 1996) 

Robertie: Backgammon for Winners  (Carl Tait, Aug 1998) 

Robertie: Backgammon for Winners  (Gerry Tesauro, Oct 1993) 

Robertie: Modern Backgammon  (Mattias+, Apr 2003) 

Robertie: Modern Backgammon  (Gregg Cattanach, Oct 2002) 

Robertie: Modern Backgammon  (Frank Mazza+, May 2002) 

Robertie: Reno 1986  (AH+, Aug 2007) 

Shiina: Cube Action 1000  (Mochy, Feb 2013) 

Steed: Backgammon: The Meanest Game  (Albert Steg, Aug 1998) 

Stern: Backgammon: The Quick Course to Winning Play  (Mark Driver, May 2001) 

Storer: Backgammon Praxis  (Chase+, Apr 2007) 

Storer: Backgammon Praxis  (Marty Storer+, May 2004) 

Thorne's Backgammon Tactics (Reprint)  (Sam Sloan, July 2012) 

Tremaine: Amazing Book of Backgammon  (Jim Wallace, Feb 1998) 

Trice: Backgammon Boot Camp--2nd edition  (Jeremy Bagai+, June 2007) 

Tzannes brothers: Backgammon Games and Strategies  (Mark Driver, Apr 2001) 

Tzannes brothers: Backgammon Games and Strategies  (Albert Steg, May 1994) 

Tzannes brothers: How Good Are You at Backgammon?  (Mark Driver, July 2001) 

Wiggins: Boards, Blots, and Double Shots  (Ned Cross+, Mar 2004) 

Williams: Backgammon Live in London  (Sean Williams+, June 2008) 

Woolsey & Beadles: 52 Great Backgammon Tips  (Paul Epstein+, Dec 2007) 

Woolsey & Beadles: 52 Great Backgammon Tips  (Mislav Radica+, Oct 2007) 

Woolsey & Jones: Understanding Backgammon  (Jon Nall+, Feb 2004) 

Woolsey: How to Play Tournament Backgammon  (John Bazigos, Oct 1994) 

Woolsey: The Backgammon Encyclopedia Vol 1  (Dean Gay+, Feb 2004) 

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