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Improving my game with GNU

Posted By: Phil Simborg
Date: Tuesday, 14 May 2013, at 1:33 p.m.

In Response To: Improving my game with GNU (matthieu_in_hk)

I can't disagree with any of the advice given here, but I must tell you that when I first started taking the game seriously I tried to do exactly what most here recommended, and I learned little and became extremely frustrated. The fault, of course, was not with the books or the backgammon programs, but with the way in which I learn. The books confused the hell out of me. As a beginner, I was reading so much information I didn't understand it was overwhelming. I didn't know which information was critical and which was just good background information, and I was on to the next chapter before I really understood the previous chapter. Then, when I tried applying the stuff I was reading, I would constantly find out that there was something else I hadn't learned yet that was the reason I was missing the play. For me, it was overwhelming.

But I still loved playing, and I liked chouettes and I was wealthy enough not to mind donating some money to the sharks playing for $5 or $10 a point, and I started learning a lot of really good stuff from the better players. I soon found that a few of them, like Jake, were not only brilliant and usually right, but they were very generous with their time and advice.

After hearing Jake tell me about why I need to count the pips and how that helps me decide whether to run or stay back, I was then able to go back to that part of the book and learn more about game plans. And he, and others, showed me many other things like this.

I went on from there to take lessons, first from Kit (on the internet, typing everything to each other while we played on Fibs), and then from others including Nack, Myerburg, Howard Ring, and others. And over time, I tapped into many other great mentors and got a lot of help from Malcolm, Neil, David Wells, and then Perry became my primary teacher. Today, I still get a lot of help from Stick, John O'Hagan, David Rockwell, MCG, and others.

Everyone learns differently, and I just couldn't "get it" from books and bots on my own. For me, it was mentors and teachers and THEN I was able to go back through the books and understand what they were talking about.

So if you can find a mentor or a good coach or teacher, it can save you months of pain. Just to have someone to ask a question or two once in a while when you absolutely don't see why it's a double, or why this play is better than that play, can light up a whole new area of your brain that you would never discover on your own.

And then, get out there and play with good players. Whether it is in chouettes or tournaments or club events, or even some heads up, but get some real, over the board experience and ask questions and listen. Take lots of pictures and really study the positions where you don't have a clue.

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