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Boot Camp Error List (Feedback requested)

Posted By: Jeremy Bagai
Date: Thursday, 1 September 2016, at 12:57 a.m.

Hi gang,

As I've mentioned before, I'm preparing a new FlashBack deck containing every position from Backgammon Boot Camp (plus more positions inspired by the text.) This required re-analyzing every position. Below is a list of all the "errors" I've found in Boot Camp. Eventually this list will be posted on my site, and a version will be included in new editions of Boot Camp. These positions were all rolled out to at least 95% confidence, Moves 3-ply, Cubes +.

I'm asking for feedback on presentation style and content. You'll see the first three columns are what you might expect: Position Number, Best Play, Error Size. The fourth column is labeled Main Idea Error. I'm trying to distinguish between two cases:

  1. Where the main idea Trice presents is accurate and helpful, but he misses a subtlety in finding the best play.
  2. Where the analysis is explicitly faulty.
For example, in 5-51 Trice explains why you don't want to make the ace point in a position where you have six men back. The point is valid, but he doesn't find the best non-ace-point play. In contrast, in 5-09 he explicitly considers why you shouldn't make the four point in a position where it's actually right to make the four point. The first error is a not a Main Idea Error and the second is, even though the former error is of greater magnitude. Obviously, this is somewhat subjective. Does it seem useful to anyone but me? And, is there a better name for it?

Hope you find this interesting, and thanks for your feedback.

Pos # Best Play Error Size Main Idea Error Note
1-01 10/6 9/4. 0.006 No Better for the most likely variation -- a close race.
1-02 13/10 6/4 0.016 No No need to strip 8 point
1-17 Bar 23* 17/12 0.016 Yes 6/1 is great if you get hit on the ace; bad if you get hit on the deuce.
1-21 6/1 5/1 0.045 Yes Wrong to volunteer, expecially before cube turn (slight double now). After cube still wrong, but only by .025.
2-05 20/15(2) 6/1*(2) 0.037 No All text is correct. But 20/15(2) 6/1*(2) is better still, unstacking 6 point and taking away half a roll.
2-25 21/16 0.049 Yes Duplication is wrong theme. White does not mind being hit. And spare is better on 8 than on 7.
2-15b 5/4 5/2 0.012 Yes 4/3*/0 buys only 3 additional gammons for 3 additional losses. Not worthwhile for money.
4-03 Pass 0.010 No Bare take reference is actually bare pass.
5-01 No Double 0.035 No Close No Double against backgame
5-04 No Double 0.038 No Close No Double against backgame
5-22 No Double 0.017 No Close No Double against backgame
5-25 Take 0.078 Yes 2-3 backgame with timing can take
5-26 No Double 0.014 No Close No Double against backgame
5-28 Take 0.052 Yes 1-4 backgame with timing can take
5-38 No Double 0.095 Yes Volitility is super low. Since this is actually a take, no reason to double.
5-46 Pass 0.169 No Trice wrote that he found the Snowie rollout Take "very surprising."
5-07 (31) 13/9 0.030 Yes 2-3 backgame better than 2-4; Midpoint not so important
5-07 (55) 23/18(2) 13/3 0.006 No Keeping 8 more valuable than keeping midpoint.
5-09 B/23 8/4* 6/4 0.023 Yes Not yet comitted to backgame
5-20 B/20 13/9 0.020 No Most pure play for building prime
5-21 B/22 24/22 0.058 No Trice writes "These two plays are almost equally good . . ." but the triple anchor is particularly strong.
5-48 6/4 6/1 0.088 Yes Keep the prime and good things will happen
5-51 16/8 0.065 No No need to break anchor at this point. (Don't make ace point.)
7-08 Take 0.001 No Close pass becomes close take
7-10 Too Good 0.022 No Close cash becomes close too good.

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