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Pipple Count

Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 2:20 p.m.

In Response To: Pipple Count (Jason Lee)

Great questions. In principle it ought to be straightforward to go through a database of bearoff positions and see how many times the Pipple Count works when (say) the Keith Count doesn't, and vice versa, to see which one is better.

However, in Woolsey's article, I don't think he explains how to compute the Pipple Count with the precision needed to write a computer program to simulate your over-the-board calculation. For example, there is some choice involved when you mentally unstack points—which points do you unstack where? And he doesn't specify exactly how to convert Pipple Count into cube action.

Simplifying the Pipple Count and quantifying the superiority over other counting methods looks like a good research project. To do it properly, one needs access to a database of bearoff positions and their correct cube actions. Is this available somewhere? Presumably it can be extracted from GNU Backgammon somehow but I don't know how.

Messages In This Thread

• Cube action for a short race
  Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 5:35 p.m.
  • Let's try the Keith Count
    Jason Lee -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 5:57 p.m.
    • Let's try the Keith Count
      Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 8:28 p.m.
      • Let's try the Keith Count
        Jason Lee -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 8:44 p.m.
        • Let's try the Keith Count
          Daniel Murphy -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 8:58 p.m.
          • Let's try the Keith Count
            Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 10:04 p.m.
            • Let's try the Keith Count
              Jason Lee -- Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 12:06 a.m.
              • Let's try the Keith Count
                Daniel Murphy -- Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 12:14 a.m.
  • Cube action for a short race
    W Womack -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 8:47 p.m.
    • Cube action for a short race
      W Womack -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 9:06 p.m.
  • Cube action for a short race
    Bob Koca -- Tuesday, 27 October 2009, at 10:03 p.m.
    • Pipple Count
      Jason Lee -- Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 12:11 a.m.
      • Pipple Count
        Timothy Chow -- Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 2:20 p.m.
      • Pipple Count
        Chuck Bower -- Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 4:13 p.m.
  • 3-away 7-away cube action
    Chuck Bower -- Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 12:49 a.m.
    • Daniel, did you put the hex on me? *NM*
      Chuck Bower -- Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 1:06 a.m.
  • Cube action for a short race
    neilkaz -- Wednesday, 28 October 2009, at 4:45 p.m.