In an exclusive interview, backgammon player and author Robert Wachtel talks about playing backgammon for a living, confirms the rumors about his PhD in philosophy, looks back at his many wins and one unfortunate loss, recalls the prehistoric computerless era and reveals a secret plan to bring peace to the Middle East, with backgammon help, of course.

Robert Wachtel, 61, doctor of philosophy of science from the University of Toronto, was born in New York City and now resides in Playa Del Rey, California. He was introduced to backgammon about 30 years ago, and since then he won the national backgammon championships of the UK, Sweden, and Italy, championed the 2001 Las Vegas Open (Championship and Doubles) and finished second at the 2004 Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship. Robert  Wachtel is also the author of the backgammon book In the Game until the End: Winning in Ace-Point Endgames, and he is currently looking for a publisher for his second book, a deeply researched non-fiction book that does not involve backgammon.

"I learned to play backgammon at age 29, in a chess club in Toronto, Canada, where I had just finished my postgraduate studies. I was self-taught; when I first learned the game, I spent most of my waking time playing and studying." Wachtel strolls down memory lane to Play65 blog’s request.

When did you decide to become a professional backgammon player?

"I never decided to become a professional backgammon player. It was more like I discovered that I could make money and have fun playing at the same time. But of course, to the extent that this discovery discouraged me from pursuing other career paths, one could, I guess, count it as a ‘decision’."

What are the characteristics one needs to become a world-class backgammon player?

"Patience and above all - a love of the game. If you truly enjoy playing and thinking about backgammon, you will not need to "discipline" yourself or get yourself "motivated" to study. You will wake up and go to sleep with puzzles that you simply enjoy solving."

On Backgammon Prehistory

"We had Magriel’s book, which is still a classic, but we did not have strong computer programs. This meant that you had to learn by trial and error, mathematical analysis, and playing positions out hundreds of times. By the time that Jellyfish and Snowie came out, I had a collection of some hundreds of puzzles: positions that I had never been able to solve definitively. I cannot describe what a thrill it was to finally be able to get the "answers" to them. Nowadays, I routinely analyze as much of my play as possible."

Backgammon & Gambling

Despite, or maybe in spite of losing $100,000 on a single roll of the dice in the 2007 Crowns Cup, Wachtel is not flinched by the association of backgammon and gambling.
"In my latest writing project I set myself the task of proposing a healthier approach for society to take towards gambling than it does at present. Specifically, I argue that the moral and political attitude of viewing gambling as a "vice" is socially dysfunctional."

Can you play backgammon without money involved?

"Yes, you can absolutely play backgammon without playing for money or being a gambler, ‘though if you really hate to invest any money in your play you can hardly become well-known. Even tournament play involves the financial commitment of entry fees, travel and expenses."

Future of Backgammon

"I am confident that some young producer will find a way to televise backgammon so as to make it as exciting as poker." Robert Wachtel looks forward for the next exciting evolution of the much loved game. "And, of course the project of cultivating the millions of natural players in the Middle East, which Play65 is involved in, would be a great way to advertise the peace in that area that we all wish for."

Some more backgammon tips gathered since the last update: 

Making the Best Possible Move

Generally, it is advisable to go through all possible moves before playing the roll. Or in other words, don’t make any move until you’ve ruled out the alternatives. An easy way to accomplish it is by playing half of the play with the second half in mind. For example, in the game, if your opponent has hit loose on his 5-point and you plan to enter with a 5-3; you can play the 5, hit, and then look for the best possible move to play the 3. 

Splitting in the Early Game

In the early game, it is commonly correct to split your back checkers, especially if you have 1/2/3 that does not hit or make a point. By that, you can easily escape your back checkers, plus it will put pressure on the opponent in case he/she will leave blots in the outer board. In the early game, split your back checkers when your opponent has 2, or even 3 checkers on his 8-point, but if he has 4 checkers, don’t split. 

Studying your Backgammon Game

Backgammon matches in professional tournaments and championships are often recorded for studying and analyzing. But even if you are not a pro, you can save your online backgammon matches and analyze them (using backgammon programs such as Snowie or JellyFish) to learn from your mistakes and get better in time. Note that the bots, and most of the human players are not so strong on backgames, therefore, you can feel unobligated to adopt its recommendations in these cases (or others). 

Match Play vs. Money Play

Cube decisions, in particular, are more difficult to make in match play comparing to money play, so if you are used to play money games you are obviously required to adjust the match situation and score when you are playing backgammon tournaments. To learn the difference, you can use any backgammon analyzing tool of your choice to run evaluations of the same play at double match point and as a money game. By that, you can learn how gammons (or their absence) affect the cube decision or any other decision.

Exactly 4 years ago, the new edition of Magriel’s Backgammon was published. The classic backgammon book was first published in 1976 and was regarded for years as the backgammon bible. Back then, it was the first book to introduce terms such checkers play and positional play in an easy to understand language. Generations of backgammon players have grew up on Magriel’s Backgammon and the legend continued to haunt backgammon players even when worn out copies of the books were rarely found in used book shops.

The new edition of the classic book, which was published in 2004 by Rose Press, put an end to these searches. On top of the original content, the 2004 edition of the book featured a prologue by Renée Magriel Roberts (half of the book authors and the former wife of the second half, Paul Magriel, also known as X-22) with fascinating inside stories on the 1970’s Las Vegas backgammon scene.

Yes, the biggest and wildest online backgammon tournament on the net will take place Monday eve, October 1st, 8 PM (GMT) sharp on play65 backgammon room. The winner will grab a $50,000 prize, and 127 more players will have to suffice with slightly smaller prizes. It happens once in two months, and you don’t want to miss it! The largest and craziest of play65 backgammon tournaments occurs. 128 players will win cash prizes but only one skilled online backgammon player will win the grand $50,000 prize! To join the tournament, simply click on the “Event Tournament” tab, and then choose “enroll”.

What makes a backgammon player an expert in its field? On top of the obvious characteristics (experience, talent, knowledge), the brain of a backgammon expert is filled with reference positions, according to which they analyze and conclude similar positions. A reference position, if you are not familiar with the term, is a key position in backgammon by which other backgammon positions are judged.

Since not all of us backgammon players are gifted mathematicians with phenomenal memory, the least we can do is study some key positions and generalize them to similar positions. A reference position is a leading tool in the backgammon player’s life. It shows you the borderline between two possible moves: between a safe play and playing aggressively, between doubling and no doubling and between taking and passing.

If you are a backgammon beginner of an intermediate player, take the time to learn and memorize some reference positions. The more backgammon games you play, your collection of positions will grow, it will be easier for you to recall similar positions and to make the right move.

As someone who has gained some experience playing backgammon online, I allow myself to provide some advice for online backgammon beginners. Then follow this list of do’s and don’ts in online backgammon to improve your play. Starting in a positive perspective with the top 7 online backgammon do’s and continuing with 5 common mistakes you should avoid.

1. Do play in a manner that will not encourage your opponent to double.
2. Do make your position strong enough to take, so you’ll be able to pass a cube after the move you make.
3. Do look for a play that will give you a correct double, if you think that your planned move won’t lead to a double.
4. Do play to make your opponent drop, if you believe he can take after your next move.
5. Do fight for strategic points and take calculated risks, because, as everybody knows, it would be impossible to play without leaving blots somewhere, and it is better to take earlier little risks, for a great later reward.  
6. Do keep a good position as long as possible, and try another move, even if it means to leave a blot.  
7. Do hit your opponent twice (assuming it is possible). Nothing guarantees you that he won’t hit on his turn, and if he throws a bad cipher, you have in general the advantage to obtain a good position, leaving him behind for many following throws, or even for the rest of the game.  
8. Don’t play in a too secure manner.
9. Don’t count on your luck until the last minute; take in consideration the line point (which stops your opponent to escape with a six), and more importantly the 5 point in your home board as well as your opponent’s one. By gaining these points, you can generally control the game and your opponent will find it difficult to move, knowing that if you are hit, you have a sure refuge to get back to the game. Therefore, you must take these points every time it is possible and you should stop your opponent gain. You may also compensate the loss of a piece with other ones when the moves are compulsory.
10. Don’t advance with your pieces too far and too fast. For example, don’t take the point 2 with an opening of 6 – 4. You may occupy a good position on the board, but the risk taken is too big. All you have to do is to predict your future situation and limit your options.
11. Don’t leave a sure position too early when your opponent has three points or more in his or her home board. The result is often the loss of two pieces, which will disappoint your opponent, cause him or her to escape from a bad position while you won’t be able to come back. 
12. Don’t worry if you lose another piece even when you are left behind in the game; a good hit will put you on top again.

To sum up, anticipate the way the game will be played, be aggressive, avoid confused situations and more importunately, be lucky! We all need chance, so if you take your part and play a consistent game, you will win much more games than you will lose.

Try to win fast if that’s possible (you may also have the surprise that your opponent drops in the middle of the game because he is afraid to lose the advantage he or she has on you by playing all or nothing. You know, like they say in France: “a la guerre, comme a la guerre!” (That would mean that when you fight, you must have weapons). When it comes to the game of backgammon, you must always have a plan.

You may change it from one roll to the other, and stay concentrated on winning the game! After all, if you want something bad enough and you struggle for it, you’ll definitely head towards victory! 

Put yourself in your opponent’s shoes It must be in your gaming gene! Try to guess what your opponent is thinking, try to anticipate his move. And try to make as few mistakes as possible. Be smart. 

Always check your moves twice and always have an alternative. You must first see the game with your mind’s eyes. This is what the best backgammon players do! 

Analyze your every move. Don’t put your checkers in low points. Don’t make hasty movements. Think logically and try to calculate your movement’s risks. Well, there would be many more things that we could say about playing backgammon. Each player can speak from his or her own experience. If you’re passionate about something, then it’s impossible not to do it right! 

This is for those of you who are passionate about gaming, and especially passionate about backgammon. So, as I’m a passionate gamer myself, I thought I might “reveal” you some of my tricks and tips. For the beginners, to understand the game of backgammon and learn a few tips that a player should know when a game starts I tried to put here some tips that make this game a little easier to understand and play. And to be honest with you, many people think they really know how to play but in fact they make childish mistakes that cost them the point, or, worst, even the game. 

These backgammon tips I want to share with you are not only about moves; knowing when to double is a very important thing too in backgammon. I think I’ll start with the doubling issue in order to help you understand when it’s a proper moment to double and win a game faster by making the opponent drop, or even better, gain all the points you need in order to win the game.

Backgammon Doubling Here are some “quick” tips. The doubling cube is key to backgammon - you can’t expect yourself to win a game if you are afraid of doubling, especially when you are just a few points behind - but you can not take cubes when you are too far behind in the game…so I will try to clear this doubt for you by showing you some rules you should consider before making your move:

* If you think your opponent should double after the move you make, make sure that your move leaves him with no desire to double (I mean make the move that leaves you in a situation where your opponent can’t use efficiently an eventual double).

* If you want to pass a cube after you’ve made your move, I suggest you look for a play that can make your position strongly enough to take. * If you don’t think you should double after the play you make, look for a play that will give you a correct double or try to make a play that leaves you at least one way of getting out if an undesired double follows.

Backgammon Redouble And don’t forget that YOU CAN REDOUBLE. Redoubling is an important fact in backgammon it gives you the opportunity to win a game even if you are far behind. When your opponent doubles you to two, you can redouble to four anytime it’s your turn to roll. It’s something called “all or nothing”; you don’t want to stay in a long game where eventually you will lose.