Backgames and Holding Games

Two important strategies in backgammon concepts, which are discussed in detail on this page including some interesting analysis about the various ways to plan such games and how to defend against such tactics. There is also a basic description of these strategies on the backgammon strategy page.

Holding games and Backgames in Backgammon

Backgames are fascinating to some players, especially newer ones. Since backgammon is supposed to be a race, the idea that you can win after being hopelessly behind in the race - and even trying to fall further behind - seems curious.

I'm anything but an expert on backgames. But because of the level of interest in the topic, I thought I would put something here about them.

First, let's look at a couple of positions.

  13  14  15  16  17  18     19  20  21  22  23  24
|  o           x       x  | | x   x   x             |
|  o           x       x  | | x   x   x             |
|              x          | | x       x             |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | | o       o             |
|                      o  | | o   x   o   o   o     |
|                      o  | | o   x   o   o   o   o |
  12  11  10   9   8   7      6   5   4   3   2   1

This common position is not a backgame. This is referred to as a "holding game." The main feature of a holding game is that the side staying back is perfectly happy to hit a shot at any time. In this position, x is not in perfect position to contain a checker if he gets a shot and hits it, but a hit will swing the balance in the race decisively unless o can immediately reenter and start running.

On the other hand, this is a backgame:

  13  14  15  16  17  18     19  20  21  22  23  24
|      o   o       x   x  | | x   x   x   x       o |
|                         | | x       x             |
|                         | | x                     |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                 x   x |
|                      o  | | o   o   o   o   x   x |
|  o       o           o  | | o   o   o   o   x   x |
  12  11  10   9   8   7      6   5   4   3   2   1
 

Note the difference here. First, the pip count is very lopsided, 190-125. Second, x holds two points deep in o's board. Third, x is not in any hurry to hit o - he wants to wait until later when his own board is stronger.

Backgames have an intrinsic appeal. When you win one, you feel like you've pulled a rabbit out of a hat. But they are the desperation plan of backgammon. It is almost never right to try to play a backgame. You play one when you have had several checkers hit, and you are trying to play the position correctly.

Backgames are a very difficult subject, and I'm not close to good enough to really discuss them in detail. But let me offer a few comments on how to play a backgame, and then why not to play a backgame.

  1. You need to consider the position carefully. Timing is everything. "Timing" refers to whether your position will improve or deteriorate as you roll. In general, what it means, is that you have to be very far behind in the race so that you can build your board without it collapsing.
  2. Although a 1-2 backgame (holding your opponent's one and two points) looks the strongest, it has a very serious liability. It will generate the most shots, but it also gives your opponent a much better chance to pin too many checkers back. Inevitably in a backgame, you need to keep getting checkers hit, re-entering them, and moving them around. If you pin your checkers back on the one and two points, you might need to roll a 6 just to escape one - and if you don't, you may lose your blockade on the other side of the board. Losing your ability to contain the opponent's checkers once hit is obviously fatal.
  3. The 3-1 backgame is the strongest, and 3-2 is good also. 4-2 is ok, 4-1 and 5-1 are very weak, because the two points you hold are too far apart. Your opponent has many fewer rolls that will force a shot. In most cases, you can't choose which backgame to play - you have to seize the points that the dice give you. Sometimes you can, though, but more importantly, when it looks like the best you can hope for is a 4-1 or 5-1 backgame, you probably want to try another plan.
  4. Because timing is so important, I'll mention it again. Typically for a successful backgame, you need to be at least 75 pips behind in the race, and that is marginal at best. Usually 100 pips or more is required.

Defending Against a Backgame

When defending against a backgame - that is, when you are the player with the racing advantage - here are some tips on playing the position.

  1. Just as your opponent, consider the timing. Don't automatically hit everything in sight. But remember, there are two ways to win the timing battle. What you desperately want to do is force your opponent to play his checkers on his side of the board down to his low-numbered points. If you can enter your checkers, you will win the game. He's going to be down by 100 pips or so, so you can get hit a few times and fail to reenter a few more and still win the race. So consider this position: 
    
  13  14  15  16  17  18     19  20  21  22  23  24 
|      o           x   x  | | x   x   x   x         |
|      o                  | | x       x             |
|      o                  | | x                     |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                      o  | |                     x |
|                      o  | | o   o   o   o   x   x |
|  o               x   o  | | o   o   o   o   x   x |
12  11  10   9   8   7      6   5   4   3   2   1

    o to play 4-2

    o leads in the race by 73 pips, so x is already in trouble - he's not far enough behind. Here he can hit x or pass him. Hitting would seem to give x more time, but this is deceptive. Unless x reenters and jumps one of his checkers out, he will have to play his rolls on the other side of the board. If o does not hit, x can probably play two full rolls with that one checker. In general you want to give your opponent either too much timing or not enough. Too much timing can be bad also. When he has 8 or 9 checkers on your side of the board, how much of a blockade can he make on his side?

  2. When your opponent finally leaves one of his points, try aggressively to seize it. He is probably so far behind in the race that he has no chance at all of saving a gammon unless he hits, and you will win quite a few backgammons.

It is enticing sometimes to try to get into a backgame. Once you are 25 or 30 pips behind, you look and say “Hmmm, I’m not going to win the race here. So I’ll try for a backgame. I’ll leave a few blots around and dare my opponent to hit me. If I enter on the 4 or 5 point (if they’re open), I’ll leave the blots there instead of covering them, hoping to get hit and pile on the opponent’s lower points. Maybe he’ll even get cocky and double me. Then at the last minute he’ll realize his folly. He’ll have to leave me a double shot, I’ll hit it, I’ll hop all my checkers out and run home while he sits helplessly behind my prime, and score a dramatic victory.” And it is almost always wrong.

Why is it wrong? Consider these factors about a backgame:

  1. First, you need to get the right position. You need to get enough checkers sent back and entered on low-numbered points. But you often are faced with a dilemma. If you don’t run or cover, your opponent may point on you. So you start with this position: 
    
  13  14  15  16  17  18     19  20  21  22  23  24 
|  o   o       o   x   x  | | x   x   x   x       o |
|  o   o                  | | x       x             |
|                         | | x                     |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | | o                     |
|                      o  | | o                     |
|                  x   o  | | o   o               x |
|                  x   o  | | o   o   x   x       x |
12  11  10   9   8   7      6   5   4   3   2   1
    pip count: x 174, o 149
    x to play 2-1

    x has a number of nice strong plays. Best is probably 20-22 3-4 (using the points as shown above). He is still trailing in the race by 22 pips with his opponent on roll and has some blots on the board, but nothing terrible is going to happen. But instead he says “Aha, I’ll go for the backgame. I know that 4-1 backgames are weak, so I won’t play 3-4, and anyway, I need a lot more timing. I’ll play 8-11 and dare my opponent to hit me. I’ll let a few more blots be hit, including some as my opponent escapes his back checker. I’ll just build my opponent’s 3 point, put the rest of my checkers on the other side of the board, and reach this position: 

    
  13  14  15  16  17  18     19  20  21  22  23  24 
|                  x   x  | | x   x   x             |
|                      x  | | x   x   x             |
|                         | | x                     |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | | o                     |
|                         | | o   o       x         |
|                  o   o  | | o   o   o   x   o   x |
|                  o   o  | | o   o   o   x   o   x |
12  11  10   9   8   7      6   5   4   3   2   1

    “o will roll 6-5 and play the forced 8-2 7-2, leaving me shots with 4’s, 5’s, and 6’s, and before he knows what hit him, I’ll scamper home with a win or maybe a gammon.”

    And you know what happens?

    O hits a blot, and also hits on the 4-point. x reenters and hits, but o enters and hits, and also re-hits on the 4-point. x enters on the 2-point, and o closes the 4-point. o keeps hitting aggressively, since x has no way to contain him even when he’s hit, and eventually this position is reached

    : 

    
  13  14  15  16  17  18     19  20  21  22  23  24 
|                         | |                 x   x |
|                         | |                 x   x |
|                         | |                 x   x |
|                         | |                 x     |
|                         | |                 x     |
|                         | |                       |
|                         | |                     x |
|                         | |                     x |
|                         | |                     x |
|                         | |                     x |
|                         | | o   o               x |
|                      o  | | o   o   o   o   o   x |
|          o           o  | | o   o   o   o   o   x |
12  11  10   9   8   7      6   5   4   3   2   1

    o rolls 5-5 and takes a checker off, x rolls 4-3 and can’t move. o rolls 6-2 and takes two more off, x rolls 5-2 and can’t move. x rolls 6-6 and is forced to take 4 checkers off leaving a blot. x confidently shakes the dice and rolls 3-3, and still can’t move. o rolls 5-3, taking a checker off but leaving another blot. x rolls 6-2, running one checker out. o cleans things up and is soon writing down “6” on the scorepad, having scored a doubled backgammon.

    Far-fetched? Not at all. Probably much more common that the successful backgame above.

  2. Timing is everything, and you often need your opponent’s cooperation. There is a delicate zone between enough timing to execute the backgame and so much that you can’t play effectively on both sides of the board.
  3. You only have 15 checkers. If you have 4 or 5 or 6 on your opponent’s side of the board, you only have 9 or 10 or 11 to build your prime. You can’t do everything at once.
  4. When you lose a backgame, you often lose a gammon or backgammon. Because you can’t build an effective prime right away, if you hit only one checker, your opponent gets multiple chances to reenter and thread his way around the board. I’ve won more than a couple of backgammons after being hit, then reentering with double 4’s or 5’s, scrambling around the board, hitting a checker or two in the process. Also, when you give up a point to hit, sometimes your opponent is able to attack and make that point, leaving you in an ace-point game with a checker on the bar.

Yes, there are times when it’s right to play a backgame. But these are almost always when you are already way behind in the race and there is no other reasonable alternative. Losers look for backgames, winners let backgames find them.

Before I leave the topic, let me say a few very general words about inner-board holding games. By that I mean a position with the following characteristics: 

One side is holding a single point in the opponent's home board, and has no other checkers that need to be put in harm's way. There may be some checkers on the midpoint, but these can probably be easily cleared if desired.
The other side has two or more checkers on the midpoint yet to be cleared, and is leading in the race.

Backgammon Games Main Considerations

 The following are the main considerations in the position:

  1. The side defending the holding game - that is, the side trying to get home against the holding point - usually has a double if the lead in the race is at least 20 pips. The racing lead compensates for the chance of a checker being hit. The lead required is greater if you don't also still hold at least one intermediate point (often the 8-point) and less if the opponent no longer holds their midpoint or any other intermediate point.
  2. The side playing the holding game should always drop when the point held is the ace or 2-point, take when holding the 4 or 5 point, and take holding the 3-point only when all the other conditions are ideal. However, when the racing lead is over 50 pips you need to begin to exercise caution, as you may get gammoned.
  3. Once the side defending the holding game has brought all their checkers onto the 9-point or lower, the proper cube decision is double/pass. If the checkers are on the 10 or 11 point and there are some intermediate points to give a good chance to advance without leaving a shot, the position is also a pass.
  4. The side playing the holding game will often want to preserve his anchor, even if it means breaking an inner-board point. But always be aware that there comes a point when your best chance might be to run, hoping for a set of big doubles. If your shot chances are dwindling but you are only 15-20 pips behind, it often pays to play your pips more efficiently. But when gammon danger is small, sometimes the right play is to run with one checker, to preserve your board, and leave the other checker back.
  5. High-anchor holding games are the best example of the "Pay-now/pay-later problem." When faced with a decent roll that lets you take a chance now and solve your problems if it works, or wait hoping for doubles or a very good roll that will not leave any shot danger, consider three factors: As a general rule, the answer to all three questions should be "yes" to make the risky play, rather than waiting.

If you make this play and it succeeds, are you pretty much certain 
to win the game?
If you have to take the chance a few rolls from now, is your position 
likely to be weaker and/or your opponent's position stronger?
Is there "life after death?" If you are hit, do you still have some 
non-miracle sequences to win the game?

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