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Backgammon is not chess!

Posted By: Henrik Bukkjaer
Date: Friday, 8 March 2013, at 12:24 p.m.

In Response To: Backgammon is not chess! (Giuliano Pietoso)

True, it is a "long run game" in terms of awarding skill.

Successful implementation of a rating/ranking list, that runs across individual tournaments, will help emphasize that good players succeed in the long run, and that the lucky journeyman can bubble up the lists now and then, but for the large part remain under the top-layer.

Also, league tournaments og different kind (individual or teams), that run across several days/weeks/months, helps promoting a game where the better players will succeed at a rate we prefer to think of as more justified. By better players I mean those who are skilled at the game itself, but also those who maximize their chances, by always playing their best no matter luck or opposition, those who try to get an 70% edge instead of a 65% edge against an inferior player.

----

Going back to the "lucky player always win" discussion. I guess it all depends on how we define luck. I mean, if you are a 80% favorite in a match skillwise, are you then lucky when you win? How about if you are the better player by a rate of 51% and you win, is that luck?

Luck could be defined as getting a better outcome than expected, in that case: 100% of the players winning their matches are lucky!

My point: Luck is not a boolean variable, it can be a little and it can be a lot. It's just an integrated part of our game, that we shouldn't spend too much effort quantifying and talking about... Spend your efforts on improving your game instead (so your opponents will need even more luck to overcome you!) :-)

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