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BGonline.org Forums
Controversy in the Chou
Posted By: Jason Lee In Response To: Controversy in the Chou (Phil Simborg)
Date: Sunday, 27 September 2009, at 6:23 p.m.
Phil Simborg: where do you draw the line?
This is the point that needs to be addressed. I'm pretty much with Phil on everything here -- I don't think Phil is out to be a bad guy -- what he wants to know is, where are we supposed to draw the line? If I create a gray area, where does it end? Those who want to bend the rules in the interest of being a good guy can be commended, but you should know that it's going to cause problems.
I've been involved in a football pool with some college buddies for more than 15 years. It's a close knit group with a few semi-outsiders. We have a rule about submitting picks for the week -- the picks must be received by the schedule start of play. No exceptions. Over the years, our ruling body has had to decide a number of appeals, and they have all been decided against the person who has submitted their picks late. One guy tried to send a text message on a plane. He physically put the text message in his phone before kickoff, but because he was out of range, the message didn't actually get sent (and to HQ) until after kickoff. We ruled against him. All the people who get ruled against have reached a state of understanding: the rules get bent for no man, for no reason. It has created a terrific precedent. There are no arguments, no pleading, no hard decisions. The rule gets enforced with no hard feelings.
It's pretty obvious that most people think there is a big difference between tournament play and chouette play, and it's for the reason I posted earlier... once you have a fish on the hook, you want to play him for all he's got. Nobody can sit around and tell me that they're in it for fun, blah blah blah, unless the stakes are so low as to literally not care. You play a chouette to win money. In a tournament, you play for money too, but there's also prestige at stake.
I once had almost the exact same situation in a tournament match -- my opponent rolled a 65 that hit a checker along the way. It was obvious to anybody who might be observing that he would want to hit the checker. Of course, there was another way to play the 65 -- just blast past and not hit. Well, my opponent moved his checker 11 pips (not doing any little tap), picked up his dice, and then went to put the checker on the bar. I insisted upon the checker not being put up -- he made a legal play, and then picked up the dice.
There is one universal, overriding rule that EVERY backgammon player knows: once you pick up your dice, your turn is OVER.
Again: I'm fine with those who want to bend the rules for being a nice guy, but I'm kind of tired of getting castigated because I want to follow the rules. And, because I want to follow the rules, I get screwed over because if I'm the guy who makes that mistake, I don't even DREAM to ask for redress. The very thought is foreign to me.
JLee
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