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BGonline.org Forums
Matches +1, Phil the preacher -1
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: Matches +1, Phil the preacher -1 (svilo)
Date: Sunday, 22 July 2012, at 1:11 a.m.
There is no question that context is important, and that is why, when a relatively inexperienced player cannot see why a given play is right, I strongly recommend playing the position out...you simply cannot learn from looking at the rollout results WHY you get gammoned so much (that you hit loose and switch to an attacking game if you can) or that you will not have an efficient cube because the game pretty much ends if you hit or not. Yes, these are the kinds of things you will see when you look at matches, but are your really "seeing" them? Are you truly seeing how the game would play out if the rolls did not allow you to attack, or if the cube had been centered instead?
You do need both. My point is efficiency. Unless a player knows the basic concepts of when you race or don't, when you blitz or don't, when you double an opponent in a back game and when you don't, watching a given match will not give you these comparative insights.
I do plead guilty in not having sufficient knowledge of Dreyfuss and other classic studies, but I am CONSTANTLY reading the latest literature on improving your brain, your knowledge, and your expertise in any area. Virtually all of the modern, recognized experts and studies give strong evidence for "deliberate practice" to be the surest road to success and excellence.
In one hour with Stick MCG and Perry, I learned more about blitzing and attacking than I had learned in 30 years of play and watching and playing with the best players in the world. In one hour with Stick, and some additional insights from John O'Hagan, I have virtually mastered PVP cubes...something that had eluded me for years in spite of all of the literature and all of my years of practice. And I pass on these EXACT same principles and application of deliberate practice to my students, and their immediately improved PR ratings and results are far more than just anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of the approach.
For those who feel the need to quote experts, the latest studies and evidence can be found in many books, but my favorites that I have read recently, underlined, summarized, quote and apply to my thinking and teaching are from:
The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain--Barbara Strauch;
Think Smart--Richard Restak, M.D.;
Getting Things Done (The Art of Stress-Free Productivity) by David Allen;
Brain Rules by John Medina
Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman;
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely,
and Dance with Chance by Makridakis, Hogarth and Gaba.
No question that some of the above contain modern, pop-psychology, but the scientific studies done and quoted are all consistent with the model of deliberate practice, including breaking down the big picture into bits and mastering the bits, as the surest road to excellence in all complex endeavors. Tiger Woods did not learn how to putt by playing rounds of golf...he mastered putting (master bearing off); he did not learn how to drive by playing...he did it by repetition on the practice tee (study all first and second roll moves at all scores and understand why each is best).
Call me "preachy" but I would prefer you understand that I have enough respect and regard for the people on this forum to share what I have found to be most effective over many years of study and teaching backgammon. That doesn't mean I am right, or that my preferred approach is best for everyone, or that studying matches isn't valuable on some level...it's just not an efficient way for "less-than-giants" to improve their game. (In my preachy opinion.)
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