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Luck in Backgammon

Posted By: Tom Keith
Date: Saturday, 19 December 2009, at 3:31 p.m.

In Response To: Luck in Backgammon (Phil Simborg)

"How much luck is there in backgammon?" "As much as you allow there to be."

This answer makes it sound as if you play skillfully enough you can eliminate luck in backgammon. But that can't be true -- the outcome of a game between two perfect players will be completely determined by luck!

I like to think of luck in backgammon as a fixed amount to be divided between the two players. When you play well, you aren't changing the total amount of luck in the game, you are just changing how the luck is apportioned. If you play better than your opponent, you will get more luck and he will get less.

Some people call the portion of luck that the stronger player has in excess of his opponent's luck the "skill" advantage of that player. If you don't count this difference as "luck", then the total luck goes down as the skill difference goes up. The stronger player can reduce the total luck in the game even further by playing better. But the weaker player actually increases the total luck in the game when he plays better.

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