Bray's Learning Curve

Cube Power

Picture of Chris Bray
Chris Bray
Match Play. Red trails 0-2 to 9. Should Red redouble? If redoubled, should White take?
Unlimited games. Should Red redouble? If redoubled, should White take?
Overhead view of a backgammon board with red and white checkers on the points, some on the bar, and edge scores showing 2/9 and 0/9.

Answer and Commentary

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Unlimited games. Should Red redouble? If redoubled, should White take?
Poker odds panel showing Winning Chances ND 64.78% vs 35.22%; Cubeless Equity bar; N: +0.460 D: +0.936; Cubefuls section lists No redouble, Redouble/Take, Redouble/Pass with +0.705, +0.710, +1.000 and related deltas; Best Choice: Redouble/Take.

Bray’s Learning Curve — A Great Member Benefit

Bray’s Learning Curve is a USBGF online series by author Chris Bray. Each week Chris lends his sharp insight and easy to understand analysis to help you improve your game.

Visit the USBGF Facebook page every Monday to challenge yourself with an interesting backgammon position and join in the lively discussion.  Return to usbgf.org on Tuesday to view the answer with commentary.

More Bray's Learning Curve

Backgammon board in a mid-game position with red and white checkers on numbered points, dice visibles and a red/red doubling cube edge.

The Single Falcon

Most modern players are aware of the concept of the “Double Falcon” where you run off a high anchor with both checkers in front of an opponent’s stripped point to either escape or generate

Top-down view of a backgammon board with orange/beige triangles, showing red and white checkers on various points, red checkers stacked on the left bar, and dice near the bottom-right.

Back Game Theory

White has a 1-4 back game that could become a simple 4-pt holding game. Red needs to get his checkers working for a living and the worst stack is the one on his 6-pt. It is very clear to play