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BGonline.org Forums
Play Matchplay the Cooke Way
Posted By: Colin Owen In Response To: Play Matchplay the Cooke Way (Bob Koca)
Date: Monday, 6 June 2011, at 3:11 a.m.
Bob,
You cite an example where the recube take point under the prevailing rules would be much closer to a money play take than with the rules I propose, ie a total ban on overage (Cooke/Bradshaw Rule). You might have suggested a more extreme (and rarer) example, of course, like the 3.125% take point on a recube from 4 to 8 at 5a 5a. Without calculating a full table of take points for the proposed new rule - something that is beyond my capability - perhaps my claim that the take points would be closer to money should not have been made.
What I had in mind though was how banning overage would make the game more akin to money play, in terms of the qualities needed. The prevailing rules create take points, particularly recube take points, that are often highly counter intuitive. This changes the skill set from fluid to more concrete knowledge. The traditional skills of judging relative equities (chequer plays) or absolute equities (cube decisions) therefore become less important. You can make up for a shortfall here - qualities that only great study and experience would otherwise bring - by being able to memorise frankly boring tables of numbers, or do complex arithmetical calculations in your head. Backgammon in it's original form - ie moneyplay whether headsup or chouette - is not really about that. It is about more fluid qualities, having reference positions stored away somewhere (ie not necessarily in the conscious mind) and being able to make often intuitive adjustments. If overage was banned, then the resultant match equities and doubling windows are bound to change more smoothly and predictably; that I feel certain of. This would bring the skills needed for tournament play back to that of the original game. And I think that would encourage new players, not turn them away.
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