“M” Backgammon Terms

The method of competition used in tournaments and on many backgammon play sites. Two competitors play a series of games until one of them acquires a predetermined number of points (4). The doubling cube may be used except in the Crawford game. Unlike money play, you do not use automatic doubles, the Jacoby rule, or beavers in match play.

A player's probability of winning a match.  Compare: EMG Equity.

Builders.

See: Dice Mechanic.

A move made with little thought because it seems to be obvious.

A technique used in pip counting in which you imagine that some checkers have been moved to a higher or lower point where they can be counted more easily. You must either keep track of the number of pips moved or make a compensating shift elsewhere on the board.

Match equity table.

A backgammon variant similar to Acey-Deucey (2) in which a roll of 1 and 2, called a Mexican, gives the player extra turns.  See: How to Play Mexican Backgammon.

A 9-inch clear plastic tube with baffles across the middle and capped ends that contains a pair of dice and is used to randomize dice within. You place the tube on one end with the dice lying on the bottom. To roll the dice, you pick up the tube, quickly turn it 180 degrees, and set it back down, allowing the dice to fall through the baffles and land on the other side.  Website: Meyer Dice Tube.

The main body of the game, which begins after the players have settled on their initial game plan.  Compare: Opening Game and End Game.

Your thirteen-point (the opponent's twelve-point), where you have five checkers at the beginning of the game.

Moving one of your two runners from the opponent's one-point to the opponent's two-point or three-point.   Compare: Major Split.

A backgammon variant in which the object is to be the last player to bear off all of your checkers.  See: How to Play Misere Backgammon.

Two thrown dice with different numbers on their upper faces.  Compare: Doubles.

The degree to which a position permits dice rolls to be played freely while maintaining the position's key features. A mobile position strikes a balance between the made points and spare checkers.

A term used in the late 1920's and early 1930's for the new rules of the time, including the use of the doubling cube and chouette play.

A term used in the late 1990's and early 2000's for a style of play inspired by computer analysis.

Choosing appropriate stakes to play for so that you do not exceed your bankroll. Money management has two goals: to ensure that your bankroll lasts the entire session and to make playing more fun by removing some of the stress involved in dealing with money. See post by Adam Stocks.

The normal style of competition in backgammon in which games are played individually and the participants bet on the result. At the end of each game, the loser pays the winner the agreed initial stake multiplied by the value of the doubling cube and further multiplied by 2 for a gammon or 3 for a backgammon (2). Money play backgammon is normally played using the Jacoby rule and participants may also agree to play automatic doubles and beavers.  Compare: Match Play.

Location of the annual World Championship of backgammon.

A Java applet that plays backgammon.  Website: Motif Plays Backgammon.