“S” Backgammon Terms

One blot which can be directly hit one way.  Compare: Double Shot.

The sixth point (1) in a player's home board; the point adjacent to the bar.

To place a single checker on a point (1) you wish to make with the intention of covering the blot on your next turn.

To slot a checker in your own home board while your runners are split.

A safe play when a bolder, more aggressive play is available.  Compare: Big Play.

A backgammon variant in which one player starts with nine checkers on the bar and his remaining six checkers in the opponent's home board.  See: How to Play Snake.

The roll of 1-1 on the dice (double 1's).

The second commercial neural-net backgammon program (1998) after Jellyfish.   Website: Snowie Backgammon.

A prime with no gaps; a full prime.  Compare: Broken Prime.

An extra checker that can be used for hitting or making a point without leaving behind a blot.

A bearoff position in which you expect to take at least two checkers off every roll, typically when all of your checkers are crowded onto the three lowest points of your home board.

To separate two checkers which are together on a point (1) (usually the opponent's one-point) and leave them as blots.  See: Major Split and Minor Split.

[Coined by Chuck Bower.]  A play that splits (at the back) and slots (at the front) at the same time. Paul Magriel recommended against splitting and slotting because it leaves you weak in two areas of the board, but there are exceptions.

To take advantage of the opponent's requirement to make a move. You leave him a position in which the only move he can make hurts his position. Often this means he is forced to break a valuable defensive point (2) earlier than he would like.

Four or more checkers piled on a point (1).  See: Candlesticks.

An optional rule where rolls of doubles are played like any other roll; that is, each number is played once, not twice.  See: Irish.

The amount wagered by the participants in a game of backgammon (1). The current stake is the initial stake multiplied by the value of the doubling cube.

Money play.

A measure of a rollout's variance or random error. A rollout will be within one standard deviation of its convergence value 66% of the time, within two standard deviations 95% of the time, and within three standard deviations 99.7% of the time.  See also: Joint Standard Deviation.

To move a checker to a point (1) you wish to make with the hope of covering that checker on your next turn.