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Two Temporal Apophthegms

Posted By: Matt Ryder
Date: Wednesday, 16 December 2009, at 9:10 p.m.

Inspired by MCG’s latest GV zen-wisdom, here are two time-based principles I employ to foster the right mindset.

1. Consider the past, but only when the time is right!

So you just made a blunder costing you 4 points? Forget about it! You just danced on a two point board 5 rolls in a row? Move on! You’re 50 points down on the chouette scoresheet? Put it out of your mind! Dwelling in the past can be deadly; backgammon decisions should only ever be about the road ahead. Avert your eyes from the rear-view mirror until you’ve reached your destination. Then by all means revisit your mistakes with a critical eye and try to learn something from them.

If Kierkegaard had been a gammon player, he might’ve opined that the game can only be understood backwards, but it must be played forwards.

2. Consider the future, but only when the time is right!

A great backgammon player needs to be a soothsayer. You must look at the configuration of checkers as though they were tea-leaves arranged for divination. What’ll become of your position? Who’s ahead? Who’s going to crunch? Who’s prime will collapse first? Who will gammon or be gammoned? These prognostication skills are vital.

But considering possible outcomes is a total waste of precious mental energy if there’s nothing you can do to influence them. In a post-contact bearoff, for instance, why fret about the dice? No amount of fervent hoping, praying or fearing will make them spin out of the cup any differently. So why not conserve your emotional reserves for the next game and the difficult cube decisions ahead?

Go ahead and predict the future, but never pretend to know it. Backgammon punishes such hubris. Even if you’re pretty sure it’s in the bag, it usually isn’t 100% gin. Prejudging sets you up for a fall. Even more damaging, never assume you’ve lost until you actually have. Even if you need an improbable series of miraculous doubles and post-Crawford turn-arounds, keep going one move at a time until the match’s conclusion…

Messages In This Thread

• Two Temporal Apophthegms
  Matt Ryder -- Wednesday, 16 December 2009, at 9:10 p.m.
  • Two Temporal Apophthegms
    Rich Munitz -- Wednesday, 16 December 2009, at 9:40 p.m.
    • Two Temporal Apophthegms
      Matt Ryder -- Thursday, 17 December 2009, at 5:04 a.m.
  • Two Temporal Apophthegms
    Matt Cohn-Geier -- Thursday, 17 December 2009, at 12:35 a.m.
    • Two Temporal Apophthegms
      Matt Ryder -- Thursday, 17 December 2009, at 4:37 a.m.
      • Two Temporal Apophthegms
        Matt Cohn-Geier -- Thursday, 17 December 2009, at 5:17 a.m.