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BGonline.org Forums
Memorizing backgammon positions
Posted By: Timothy Chow In Response To: Memorizing backgammon positions (Stick)
Date: Saturday, 2 July 2016, at 12:44 a.m.
Stick wrote:
I'm not that bright but memorizing all the third rolls over a couple month span would be easily doable and again, I suspect many other bg players could also if so inclined.
I don't believe this. I wonder if we can turn this into an actual bet.
How about if I give you one month for you (or someone else like Mochy or Phil) to email me a list of all (reasonable) third-roll positions in nactation form. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests there should be about ten thousand items on this list. For simplicity let us require a unique answer for each position (i.e., no ties).
Two months later we will conduct the test. I'll select 1,000 items from the list, listed in any order I please, with the final nactation character deleted. You will have two hours to complete the test by restoring the final nactation character. If you get all 1,000 items right then you win the bet. If you get even one wrong then you lose the bet. Failing to finish in two hours also loses the bet.
The conditions of the test can be negotiated, but I'm imagining that you'll do the test in one sitting with no breaks, and a proctor who is a well-known and trusted figure in the backgammon community. In addition to whatever money is in the bet, the loser will also pay the proctor a fee for his or her trouble.
How much money would you need to make this test worth your while? What odds are you willing to give?
Since you suspect that "many" other bg players could also do this, we could extend the test. You pick three other people to do the same test (though I might give different people different lists of positions). If anybody gets even one answer wrong, you lose the bet. I'd naturally be willing to give you more favorable odds for this scenario.
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