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BGonline.org Forums
Disagree with Stick's Book Review
Posted By: Stanley E. Richards
Date: Thursday, 9 December 2010, at 3:27 p.m.
First of all, I have not read all of the books that Stick reviewed. Backgammon Openings, Backgammon for Winners, Praxis, and Understanding Backgammon were never purchased. My backgammon game will improve by more frequent playing, better focus, and analysis of my matches. I have learned from Kit’s GammonOnline site and his other books. I regret not purchasing Praxis, but just did not feel like spending the money. Also at a certain point, reading more backgammon books becomes much less important than playing and analysis review.
However of the remaining books, I frequently disagreed with Stick’s comments. The best beginning/intermediate books are Lamford’s Starting Out in Backgammon and Robertie’s 501 Essential Backgammon Problems. The best advance/expert books are Trice’s Backgammon Boot Camp, Robertie’s Modern Backgammon, and Lamford’s Improve Your Backgammon. I noticed that none of Lamford’s affordable books made his list.
Why do we have such a different taste in backgammon books? First of all, I have never read a pre-bot book that I did not hate with one exception. We should respect those authors who laid the foundation to understand this very difficult game. But, learning is so hampered when many positions are falsely evaluated.
The primary difference is approach to learning backgammon. Stick and many backgammon players relish in the explanation of challenging positions. The thorough evaluation of difficult checker/cube decisions gives them a perception of how to understand the essence of backgammon. They memorize reference positions. It is a chess-like approach to understanding all facets of the game. My approach to understanding backgammon is completely different. I seek to understand the simple concepts of backgammon and to know when to apply which simple concept. That’s it! My favorite books are excellent in concisely explaining the straightforward building blocks of backgammon. One can become a world class player by mastering the backgammon basics.
Stanley
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