Backgammon Shots
Before I start to explain the concept of backgammon shots, I want to recommend all you numberphobic from continue reading. Stop right now and go read Ulysses instead. This post will discuss the subject of shot counting in backgammon and will include scary words such as probabilities, pip counts and lots of numbers. Backgammon Shot Counting Direct Shots Dice Combinations Table Double Shots Indirect/Combination Shots
Backgammon Shot Counting
In backgammon, a shot is an opportunity to hit the opponent blot. Wouldn’t you like to know beforehand how many shot numbers there are at a given position? By shot counting, you’ll be able to tell the possible shot numbers.
Let’s start with explaining how to count direct shots:
A direct shot is an opportunity to hit a blot with a single number from one die. How many opportunities do you think you have? Each die has six sides; six double six equals 36 different combinations. Obviously, you must include in your counting similar combinations such as 1+4 and 4+1 to make an accurate shot counting.
36 Dice Combinations
11 12 13 14 15 16 21 22 23 24 25 26 31 32 33 34 35 36 41 42 43 44 45 46 51 52 53 54 55 56 61 62 63 64 65 66 As you can see, your chances of rolling a 6 using a single die are 11/36. Now that we’ve got direct shots counting figured out, let’s move on to double shots counting.
Double Shots
A double shot is, well, the opportunity to hit a blot with 2 numbers from both dice. So, if your chances of rolling a single number are 11/36, your chances of rolling two numbers, for example 1 and 4, are 20/36. Look back at the dice combinations table if you are experiencing any doubts.
Indirect Shots/Combination Shots
Indirect shot or a combination shot is an opportunity to hit an opposing blot using the numbers on both dice used together. To calculate indirect shots, you can use the previously learned lessons. In other words, if you need to roll 2 and 4 to hit a blot, your chances would be 20/36; if you aspire to roll a 5, your chances go down to 11/36…