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Backgammon Literature on Doubling

Posted By: Phil Simborg
Date: Tuesday, 6 December 2011, at 5:09 a.m.

In Response To: Backgammon Literature on Doubling (neilkaz)

There is a reason players like Stick and Neil don't use PRAT as a formal strategy. PRAT is a pretty good way for a beginner or intermediate to look at a position if they are not clear what is going on. It's like a checklist that helps them look at the main features: race, position, threats.

Players like Stick and Neil don't need these kinds of shortcuts. They always have a good sense of what is going on. They don't need to be reminded to look at the race, to consider what the threats are, and what is going on with the position. They had a good sense of these things three rolls ago. But the fact is, while they don't use the 2 out of 3 method of ROT to decide on cube action, they absolutely are thinking about these factors, putting great weight on the factors that really matter the most and virtually ignoring those elements that are superfluous.

If a position is totally foreign to you and you seem lost, PRAT or ROT is not a bad way to get your bearings. If you are a Giant, it's tough to find a position where you are lost, and in the rare situations where it might happen, you have more direct tools and better references to help make your decision.

Because you cannot expect an intermediate, or even a low open player, to have the same degree of knowledge, reference positions, and skills, until those are acquired, there are many useful tools including PRAT that can be helpful and should not be discounted just because players like Neil and Stick don't need them.

When I play golf, I don't use a 5 iron to hit a 210 shot to the green, but the pros do. If you are John O'Hagan, you can use Ward, Kleinman, Keith and EPC to decide on the cube action. If you are Mr. Average player, even if you had all these tools, it would take you an hour to use them and you'd probably get it wrong.

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