A difficulty I've had with so many expert writers and commentators is their reliance (well, over reliance) on percentages. For example, a match commentator might note that, at that particular match score, the leader's winning chances are 73.6%. Or they might say that a cube should be taken if a player has at least 29.8% chances. But even if I memorize live-cube-take-points, how is that going to help me when I'll never be able to assess a position with anything approaching that kind of accuracy? Heck, I'm happy when I can figure out middle game win/loss percentages within 5% points. And then there's the entirely separate art of estimating gammon chances.... This is where Nick's book is pure genius. Nick provides a more 'qualitative' approach to match play. Here's an example. Early in the book Nick discusses cube handling at 2-away v 4-away. Using computer analysis, Nick shows that at this score most positions often go from 'no double' to 'too good' in the blink of an eye. So Nick simply proposes a general rule -- if you're leading at that score, don't double. It's not always technically correct, he says, but it's correct often enough that it's a good approach. Man, is that refreshing... and easier to remember! Another great feature of the book -- he suggests adjustments to match play at 3 different levels. For example, in the 2A-4A scenario, above, Nick ends the section with this summary. Level 1 -- a 'general rule to follow' for average players ("don't double") Level 2 -- a more nuanced approach ("double when it looks like a money pass in a race position...") Level 3 -- the kind of advice that a pro might use ("Cash end games when gammons are lower and wins are clear...") He then gives 3 levels of advice for the trailer, who's deciding whether to take or drop. Every possible score for matches up to 7 are covered in this way. Especially helpful for me is his chapter on redoubling - a concept that has long confounded me. In the introduction Nick writes, "The most common solution to match play oddities that I see presented is to learn how to do very complicated math.... Memorize match equity tables, learn how to use risk and reward formulas, and do all this math over the board when needed." Nick continues by writing, "I'll teach you how to develop an intuitive feel for what's different at various scores." This approach is a game changer. I wouldn't be surprised if many a bg coach read this book and changed their teaching methods to follow it. At least I sure hope so May you enjoy "Adjusting to Match Play" as much as I have. Read more

The strong points of this book are the pure practical approach to backgammon match play and the clear and concise writing style. This is the book I would have liked to own forty years ago when I was starting to learn the intricacies of match play. But even decades later I can learn something on every page. Read more

I’m relatively new to backgammon and have generally picked up a lot of the basics quite well I think. However, I’ve so far really struggled to get my head around the dynamics of different scores and how cube decisions and checker play are affected. It’s always seemed quite complicated and I’ve been too daunted to really make a fair stab at understanding it. Then I bought this book. What I like about it is how it uses straightforward, non-pretentious English and how that makes the subject matter relatively easy to understand and less daunting. It has different levels of summaries for the sections and that makes it suitable for both new players like me and for more experienced players. I think it’s a book I will likely keep returning to over the next few years. The book wont do the hard work for me; I know that. I will still need to absorb it and apply it to my matches but I’m not sure I’d have even tried to learn the subject matter properly if it wasn’t for this book. I’m actually quite excited as I get the feeling that with some hard work it will accelerate my improvement and understanding of this great game. Read more

I think this book is a good additional help to the Theory of Backgammon - (book by Dirk Schiemann). It is simpler but at the same time a subtle book covering, I dare say, most parts of the important score features. It gives value for your money for sure. Il you work hard to study cube decisions with this book, it will take you to the next level no doubt. I have read the first part of the book (4a-4a), repetated it many times heading now to the last parts of this rewarding book. Read more

I now understand better why my main source of blunders identified by Extreme Gammon was cube decisions. I was definitely unconsciously incompetent — didn’t know what I didn’t know. Cube decisions have huge impact on PR and match outcomes, and I now know how much we need to vary action based on the match score. Nick drives the point home with some situations of dramatic shifts, e.g., many examples of cube action being No double/Take for money shift to opposite Double/Pass at 4 away doubling 2 away. The book really suited my desired approach to backgammon — understanding the concepts in English, not detailed mathmatical formulas (gain/gain = risk, dividing by 1296, etc) that drained my brain and clock time OTB. As promised, it is an intuitive approach for adjusting cube decisions based on match scores. I took lessons from a BG HOF member giant that is expert at the math and I spent time memorizing formulae and created mnemonics to help, but it didn’t translate for me nearly how much I learned from Nick’s book. The gifted Albert Einstein said: “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.“ I memorized, but now have a much better understanding based on having an intuitive feel for different actions at different match scores. Nick offers a very nice blend of categories of score situations, several game-type examples (blitz, race, holding), and varies both the match scores and checker placement to demonstrate how decisions vary. With the repeated examples, I began to get a good feel for common situations and proper cube action for them. He added easy to understand verbiage and clear examples on how checker play strategy varies at DMP, Gammon-Go, and Gammon-Save, as well as post-Crawford. I will conclude with an example of how easily Nick’s methodology can be applied. I watched a steam of a match between two extremely recognized giants. One was way up in match, but lost a couple of games. He recubed to 4 in a situation where he was slight favorite to win in last-roll situation (game and match) with checkers on 4 point and 2 point, but it was easy take for opponent who would win the match if opponent rolled a 1. While he was thinking OTB, I calculated in a few seconds the proper action was No Redouble given the score, but giant recubed, rolled a 1, and lost the match very astonishingly given he was winning the entire way. The two giants discussed the decision after the game and verified using XG that it was indeed No Redouble. Before reading the book, I would probably also redoubled knowing that I was favorite to win and not understanding the dramatic match score impact. Despite knowing that we might play each other sometime and I will regret you having greater insight, I highly recommend the book. Read more