When should I use the doubling cube?

Stack · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 24

I’ve been playing backgammon for a long time, but only recently started playing competitively for money. I’m starting to use the doubling cube, which I never had done before, but I’m having a hard time understanding when I should use it. I’ve done a little bit of research online, and most of what I’ve found says stuff like “it is worthwhile to double in this situation when your odds of winning the game are at least x %.” The issue is, I don’t understand how to figure out my odds of winning at any given point in the game. Please help me to figure this out.

Shaker · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 18

You’ll be happy to know that you aren’t alone in your doubling cube confusion. I think a lot of players, even advanced ones, have trouble calculating their exact odds of winning at any given point in the game. However, experience and knowledge of strategy and reference positions will make this task easier over time.

If you are still interested in calculating your odds of winning at a given position, these articles should help you out:

http://www.bkgm.com/rgb/rgb.cgi?view+686
http://www.bkgm.com/rgb/rgb.cgi?view+757
http://www.onlinegammon.ws/backgammon-articles/equity.shtml

Also, here’s an obvious doubling tip that a lot of people don’t think of. If you are playing a five game match and your opponent has already won two games, you should always choose to double in the third game. After all, if you double and win, the game will be tied. If you double and lose, that’s no skin off your back because you would have lost the match anyhow.