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Open Player Survey Conclusion

Posted By: Rich Munitz
Date: Wednesday, 30 September 2009, at 1:46 p.m.

In Response To: Open Player Survey Conclusion (Phil Simborg)

Phil, there are certainly ways of looking at the various attributes of the position to help do a bit better than just "feel" how strong an advantage someone has and gammon potential. Things like race, board strength, prime, number of checkers back, anchors, blots, checkers in the zone, men on the bar, etc. And there's the general notion of "what can go right (or wrong) between this roll and the next one". These are all things that anyone should be thinking about.

But the cube decision cannot generally be made into a formula (ingnoring special situations like race). If it could, we wouldn't have to work so hard to get good, and everyone could simply read a book and be a Giant in a month. Intermediates must walk before they run. If they don't have a general "feel" for whether a position looks like a double or a take, how in the world will they be able to estimate win or gammon percentages? If they don't yet have a sense of where the decision probably falls in a simple money game, how can you expect them to be worrying about how to figure out if it is a take for the current match score. Again, you can discuss match generalities like "when behind, gammons are worth more, cube ownership is worth more", or "don't double at -2,-4 until the game is almost gin because the cube will immediately come back in your face at 4", or "try to avoid gammonish positions if you're 2-away". But forget match equity calculations.

Teach aspiring intermediates how to think for themselves about what's going on in the position. Those with serious talent willing to put in the effort and to develop the necessary experience will then be capable of surpassing the teacher on their own. No amount of memorization and crunching of numbers will ever compensate for the lack of understanding of a position. No amount of instruction will ever turn an eager, hard working player with a lack of talent into a Giant. But first things first and a focus on concepts will maximize how far they can go.

That's my philosophy for teaching. I hope it helps.

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