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Beginners Question - How to play different before the cube is turned? (Unlimited Games)

Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Friday, 4 September 2015, at 10:57 p.m.

In Response To: Beginners Question - How to play different before the cube is turned? (Unlimited Games) (Max Levenstein)

The best rule of thumb is: Don't play any differently. In the vast majority of positions, you should make the same play regardless of cube location. (This assumes that you did not blunder by forgetting to double when you should have.)

I would say that the main exception comes when you've just rolled well and think that there's a good chance you might double next turn. Then if you have a choice between a double-edged attacking play that will win a lot of gammons if it works but might "lose your double" if it doesn't, and a solid racing or priming play that will almost surely give you an excellent double next turn, then you may want to favor the latter play, even if the former play is better when the cube is already turned. The reason is that you won't get all the benefit of those gammons if your opponent is just going to drop next turn anyway.

As for the Jacoby rule, it is an even better rule of thumb that it never affects the checker play. Again, assuming that you haven't blundered by forgetting to double, positions where the Jacoby rule affects the checker play are so rare that they belong in a Museum of Curious and Unusual Backgammon Positions.

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