Games of Logic and Strategy (eg. Chess, Backgammon)

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Forgot to add that I got my first whiff of high stakes backgammon on Monday night. A guy turned up that I'd never met before. Apparently he used to be a regular and is supposedly a strong player (although he was rusty last night). He's starting up a home club called Club 11, for a maximum of 6 players at a time.

For 2 players, play is head-to-head for $5, $10, $20 or $30 a point.

For 3 players, play is chouette (1 player v a team) for $5, $10, or $15 a point.

For 4-6 players, a round robin tournament is played for $50, $100 or $200.

That's some high stakes, especially the head-to head and chouette.
 

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Another week, another backgammon tournament cash :thumbsu:. 2/10 again.

Made a terrible blunder in one game where I'd managed to make a big comeback but was too focused on bearing off than realising I had a perfect redouble/pass opportunity, and my opponent rolled two doubles and won 2 points. After someone pointed it out, I couldn't believe my stupidity. I'd completely forgotten about the cube at that stage of the game :rolleyes:. A very noob mistake. Every roll is a potential cube decision. Doubling strategy is at the core of good backgammon play.

The guy that will be running the new club I mentioned (Club 11 in Balwyn) won the tournament then proceeded to destroy everyone during the chouette, taking home $250 (I'm yet to play in a chouette). At a mere $3 a point, and just an hour or so, that's a good win. If he had his way, he'd play for upwards of $30 a point. To appreciate the stakes, if you are in the box (ie. playing against a team) and playing 3 opponents at $30 a point, if each cube was on 4 and you won a gammon, you'd win $720 for just a single game of backgammon (10-15 minutes work?).
 

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After 2 successive cashes, I'm planning on lashing out tonight and paying $20 for my tournament entry (have only paid $5 each time so far).

And I might as well play the chouette (cash game) also, maybe I'll walk out with like $50 :thumbsu: :)
 

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Well I didn't cash in the tournament above, the last for 2007. But I did cash tonight, again the bridesmaid, finishing 2/10. That's three 2nds out of 4.

Won my first match 5-0 :thumbsu:, lost the second 0-5 :thumbsdown:, won the third 5-0 :thumbsu:. How's that for consistency?

And I have some further news re Club 11 that I mentioned earlier.

Club 11 Backgammon Tournament
- When: the first Sunday of each month, 9:30am for a 10am start
- Location: The Melbourne Backgammon Club, 741 Centre Rd, East Bentleigh
- Format: 16 player knock-out tournament
- Entry Fee: $65 - $80 depending on experience and ability (decided by tournament organisers)
- Rebuys: Available until 12pm
- Prizemoney: $1,000 Guaranteed
- Winner: $500, Runner-Up: $300, Semi-Finalists: $100
- Rounds 1 & 2 - 11 pts; Semi Final - 13 pts; Final - 15 pts

If you wish to contact Jurek, the event organiser, PM me.
 

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2008 SA Open Backgammon Tournament - flyer

With $1000 added prize money.

Paul Weaver, co-author of best selling, "Backgammon Openings" and one of the world's top 20 player since 2001, will be attending, entering and playing.

Paul will present a 45 minute seminar before the tournament commences.
 

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Scrabulous on Facebook - Online scrabble to be shut down?

OFFICE workers could be left searching for a new way to waste time after one of the world's most popular online games was threatened with legal action.

Facebook is being pressured to shut down the popular Scrabulous application by the makers of the Scrabble board game, Hasbro, Fortune reported.

Scrabulous, an unofficial web-based version of the board game, was started by Indian brothers and Scrabble devotees Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla in 2006.

The game exploded in popularity after it was made available on social networking website Facebook, where more than two million people play it against their friends.


screenshotwp1.gif
 

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Woohoo! I've done it! I broke my cherry. I won the backgammon tournament tonight, winning all three matches for the first time, 5-0 (guy i beat last week 5-0), 5-4 (last week's tournament winner) and 5-4 (club president).

Played and rolled like a man possessed in the first match. In the 2nd, I was up 2-1 and took a tough cube against a 5-point prime with two men back. I took a few minutes to decide, but there was no way I'd lose a gammon, and if I rolled a 6 in one of my next two rolls, I'd be a good chance to win. I got to a racing lead and if he didn't roll a 2, I would have re-doubled and he would have had to drop. But he hit, won, then won the next game, and was leading 4-1. Somehow I came back and won 5-4. In the 3rd match I got off to a terrible start and was down 0-4 yet came back again to win 5-4.

So in my last 5 attempts, I now have one 1st, three 2nds, and one non-placing.
 

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I've paid for the SA Open Backgammon tournament in February, so now I have to go (ie. book travel/accommodation).

Looking forward to going to church, being bored and becoming a serial killer.
 

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After winning my 3 backgammon matches last week and winning the tournament, I lost all 3 on Monday for the first time. 4-5, 4-5 and 0-5.

Was up 4-0 in the 2nd match and somehow managed to lose.

Me and a friend have booked a bus for Adelaide, so I'll be off for the SA Open backgammon tournament at the Hilton Hotel on Feb 10th.
 

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So I'm back from Adelaide, having played in my first backgammon tournament. Major tournaments usually have a main draw, then one or more consolation events. If a tournament is not "Open" based on skill level, then there could be separate Pro, Intermediate and Beginner tournaments.

Yesterday the Adelaide Hilton Hotel held the 30th annual South Australian Backgammon Open. We started with a seminar from Paul Weaver, the #16 player in the world. Then we got down to business. The Open event started with 30 players at the round of 32, so there were 2 buybacks available. I struggled through my 1st round and lost 4-9, but something interesting happened at 1-5 down. I had doubled and as we were bearing off, my opponent was seriously considering redoubling to 4. I had a 4-2 left, he had something like a 4-2-1 left but was on roll. He missed, but I got off for the 2 points. I would have taken a double, and when he missed, I would have then redoubled to 8. If he takes and I get off, I win 9-5, otherwise he drops and it's 5-5.

So I was then in the Consolation Event. This started at the round of 64, so players were allowed to re-enter multiple times. I bombed the 1st time, and again the 2nd, until I finally had a win with my 3rd attempt (2nd re-entry). And then I won again, and again, until I found myself in the semi-finals.

I played a French lady and was leading 4-2 to 5. I had her stuck with 2 men on the bar, a 5-point home board, but 1 blot on my 2-point. And as I was bringing other checkers round, she rolled 22 to bring both in, hit me, and hit me on the other side of the board. That killed that game. Then the next game I had a 5-point board but had to vacate my 6-point. Of course with 1 man on the bar she rolled 66 and won the race :rolleyes:.

So 4-4 it was, double match point. I had 9 of my 15 men off before she had, but she held on for dear life with a deep anchor and managed to get a shot. She needed a 1 to same the match, and she rolled 51, hit, put me on the bar on a closed home board, and by the time I got back in and around, it was almost too late. We got to having 4 checkers each on our 1-point. She took 2 off, and I needed any double to win, but it didn't come, and I lost 4-5, then won the final 5-4 from being 0-4 down.

Unfortunately, only the two finalists got paid in the Consolation event, and there were some nice trophies on offer too. But it wasn't to be. But for my first event, I think I played quite well, and definitely intend to get back to Adelaide for future backgammon tournaments.

The American pro won the Open Event, defeating one of Australia's better players quite convincingly.
 

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And for Falchoon and the fellow Scrabble folk, we have the word uxorious, which may or may not describe some people here.

The word is from the Vicky Coren thread over at 2p2 NVG, care of Vicky herself.
 

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I've booked flights for the Gold Coast for the weekend of Feb 23/24.

Another major backgammon tournament, and of course, I'll check out Jupiters.
 

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Well I'm glad I got tonight over with. What a fantastic evening of backgammon!

My results: 0-5 0-5 0-5. Yep, didn't win a single point.

That's great form I'm taking into the Gold Coast tournament this coming weekend.
 

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OK, entered the Qld Backgammon Open on Saturday, $65 buy-in. Next was the Calcutta Auction. Players were arranged in groups of 2, 3 or 4. I bought a group of 3 for $90 that included a very good player from Melbourne, the president of the Melbourne Backgammon Club, and some other guy I didn't know. They all proceeded to lose first round just to piss me off.

Tournament had rebuys for $50, as well as a Last Chance tournament for $25. Rebuys and last-chance went for $260 and $300 in the auction. Rebuys would account for 10 or so players that had lost and bought back, and the last-chance tournament winner would slot into the semi-finals of the Main Event, a 50/50 chance to make the final. Pool was about $2000 with payouts of 70% if your selection won the event, 25% if they came runner-up. Unsure of the event payouts, was supposed to be 2k ftw, 1k for runner-up, unsure about semi-finalists.

In the end, the American pro Paul Weaver won the event as a rebuy (he also won the tournament in Adelaide a couple weeks back). He also had purchased the rebuy group in the auction, so he had a good collect all round. The guy who beat him in Round 1 won the Last Chance event and made the final, although this time the tables were turned.

I won my 1st round against some lady from Brisbane. She knew how to play, but had no idea about cubing. She just couldn't drop a cube, sort of like an ATM in poker, chase chase chase, call call call. She made one deplorable error when she accepted a cube she should have dropped, but to compound her situation, I was bearing off and had just 4 checkers left on my 2-point, she had 1 back on my 1-point. She rolls 6-x and didn't come out, waiting back for a shot that wouldn't have won her the game anyway. Well, I rolled boxes (double 6) to bear off and win a backgammon for 6 points when it should have been a gammon for 4 points, or actually just 1 point for a dropped cube. I won 9-3.

Played some NZ guy who was supposedly one of their best players. Lost 3-9. He was a very good player but geez he rolled well. He got lucky with the cube on 2 when I had him trapped and a chance for a gammon win when he escaped, hit me, and I was in trouble. Racing two checkers home myself to save the gammon, he rolls 66 then 44 then 22 to take 12 checkers off and I fall just short of saving the gammon. I was pissed :mad:. Anyway, he played solid and had the share of the luck and that was that. Rebuys were over by the time I finished my match.

Didn't play any more backgammon for the weekend.
 

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Thread on 2p2 about a call Stu did against Matoubi with 10-high.

Hellmuth wrote an article about the hand, including a couple of Stu's other feats:

http://www.philhellmuth.com/articles.html?id=44

In the 1980's Stuey was considered the best in the world at gin (in fact he was the best for two decades), the best no-limit Hold'em player ever (by then he had won two World Championships, with one more to come), and one of the best backgammon players in the world as well. To be at the top in any of those games is quite a feat, but to be at or near the top in all three at once, was truly unbelievable. There are many other great stories about Stu Ungar and the amazing abilities that he had; soon there will be a book coming out about Stu; and a movie about Stu is currently being shot as well. I'm looking forward to both.
 
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