Alan Cook's Blog - Posts Tagged "backgammon"
Blog on a Blot: Backgammon Anyone?
My new mystery/suspense novel, HIT THAT BLOT, has a backgammon theme, but since there don’t seem to be many backgammon players around I’m glad people are telling me it’s a good read even for those poor souls who don’t play the game.
Backgammon is a game of chance (using dice) with a strong element of skill. People who know the odds of certain events happening have a big advantage. My understanding is that it used to be much more popular in many places, such as the US, than it is currently.
I, myself, learned to play backgammon many years ago. I even read a book on backgammon and learned good opening moves and the chances of hitting my opponent’s checkers or getting hit. At that point I figured I was ready for a tournament being held nearby. I entered the advanced category instead of novice because the prizes were better. Of course, I was quickly handed my head by a bunch of Armenians who were born playing backgammon, but in spite of that I’ve been playing on and off ever since.
Not long ago I started playing backgammon on the Internet, using a Microsoft app that hooks up players from all over the world, and did quite well. This led me to the idea for a new Carol Golden novel, since Carol is a mathematician and likes to play games. In doing research for the book I discovered that the backgammon guru (or MFIC—don’t ask what that means) for the Los Angeles area is Patrick Gibson, a man I used to work with in a previous millennium.
I entered one of Patrick’s tournaments and got handed my head again, but I also found that I’m not that bad. I had some good games, although I lost the matches. So I wrote the book, making Carol a better player than I am. Then I had the hubris to add a series of appendices giving backgammon tips and a glossary of terms. The feedback has been positive, I’m happy to say.
Whether or not people play backgammon I hope they enjoy the book. But deep down inside I’m hoping to start a backgammon revival.
Backgammon is a game of chance (using dice) with a strong element of skill. People who know the odds of certain events happening have a big advantage. My understanding is that it used to be much more popular in many places, such as the US, than it is currently.
I, myself, learned to play backgammon many years ago. I even read a book on backgammon and learned good opening moves and the chances of hitting my opponent’s checkers or getting hit. At that point I figured I was ready for a tournament being held nearby. I entered the advanced category instead of novice because the prizes were better. Of course, I was quickly handed my head by a bunch of Armenians who were born playing backgammon, but in spite of that I’ve been playing on and off ever since.
Not long ago I started playing backgammon on the Internet, using a Microsoft app that hooks up players from all over the world, and did quite well. This led me to the idea for a new Carol Golden novel, since Carol is a mathematician and likes to play games. In doing research for the book I discovered that the backgammon guru (or MFIC—don’t ask what that means) for the Los Angeles area is Patrick Gibson, a man I used to work with in a previous millennium.
I entered one of Patrick’s tournaments and got handed my head again, but I also found that I’m not that bad. I had some good games, although I lost the matches. So I wrote the book, making Carol a better player than I am. Then I had the hubris to add a series of appendices giving backgammon tips and a glossary of terms. The feedback has been positive, I’m happy to say.
Whether or not people play backgammon I hope they enjoy the book. But deep down inside I’m hoping to start a backgammon revival.
Playing Games and Beating the Odds
I recently (January 2018) read A Man for all Markets, a new book by Edward O. Thorp. The reason I knew about Ed is because I read his book, Beat the Dealer, published way back in 1962! Beat the Dealer tells how to win at blackjack using card-counting techniques.
I used some version of Ed’s method off and on for a number of years in Las Vegas and Reno. I never won much money with it but I had a lot of fun. One time when my brother and I were passing through Reno we stopped for 20 minutes so I could play blackjack. I won a few bucks and then we went on our way. Because of that I was a lifetime winner in Reno for many years, until my wife and I went there with our son when he turned 21 so he could try his skill. My wife and I also eloped to Reno to get married, but we weren’t there long enough for me to lose any money. Instead, we went on to the great national parks and played with the bears.
One time I pulled an all-nighter in Las Vegas. I wasn’t betting enough to scare the house—or so I thought—but for some reason they placed a house man in the seat beside me. He didn’t use much subterfuge. He was betting with special house chips and never busted. I’m not sure what his purpose was but at least they didn’t kick me out of the casino. Another time I was kicked off a table so that a drunken high-roller could bet five hands at once. I watched in awe as he lost about $20,000 in 20 minutes. The woman with him said, “Let him play. He won that money earlier.” Well, okay, but Ed would have disapproved.
A Man for all Markets talks about Ed’s career, which includes not only winning at gambling games but also in the stock market—to the tune of nine figures. (See my review on Goodreads.com) He was really good at math and using computers. I’ve never met him, but he once lived very close to where I live before I lived here (he lives in Newport Beach, CA now), and was even a grad student at UCLA when I was there as an undergrad.
I’ve played games all my life, not only card games but others as well, such as backgammon. I play backgammon mostly online against individuals unknown and hold my own. I’ve played in a few tournaments, mostly because I know Patrick Gibson who has been in charge of the Los Angeles tournaments for many years, but even playing at the novice level (meaning much lower than the world-class players who compete in the expert divisions) I’ve never won a penny.
In 1962 my brother, Steve, and I saw a movie called Last Year at Marienbad. In it a man plays a game using cards (you can also use beer bottles or toothpicks or even elephants). He deals rows of 7, 5, 3 and 1 and challenges other people to take one or more cards from a single row. He alternates turns with his opponent. The person who takes the last card loses (although you can also play that the person who takes the last card wins—almost the same strategy), and of course the hustler in the movie always wins.
After the movie, Steve, who is a world-class mathematician, and I figured out how to win with that configuration. Years later, Steve told me the general rule for winning with any configuration. I also found out that the game is called nim, and I’ve used it in some of my novels, especially the Carol Golden novels because Carol is a mathematician and a game player.
Okay, so I’m not a world-class mathematician (or even backgammon player) but I am a world-class nim player. You’ll find that out if you ever challenge me to a game.
I used some version of Ed’s method off and on for a number of years in Las Vegas and Reno. I never won much money with it but I had a lot of fun. One time when my brother and I were passing through Reno we stopped for 20 minutes so I could play blackjack. I won a few bucks and then we went on our way. Because of that I was a lifetime winner in Reno for many years, until my wife and I went there with our son when he turned 21 so he could try his skill. My wife and I also eloped to Reno to get married, but we weren’t there long enough for me to lose any money. Instead, we went on to the great national parks and played with the bears.
One time I pulled an all-nighter in Las Vegas. I wasn’t betting enough to scare the house—or so I thought—but for some reason they placed a house man in the seat beside me. He didn’t use much subterfuge. He was betting with special house chips and never busted. I’m not sure what his purpose was but at least they didn’t kick me out of the casino. Another time I was kicked off a table so that a drunken high-roller could bet five hands at once. I watched in awe as he lost about $20,000 in 20 minutes. The woman with him said, “Let him play. He won that money earlier.” Well, okay, but Ed would have disapproved.
A Man for all Markets talks about Ed’s career, which includes not only winning at gambling games but also in the stock market—to the tune of nine figures. (See my review on Goodreads.com) He was really good at math and using computers. I’ve never met him, but he once lived very close to where I live before I lived here (he lives in Newport Beach, CA now), and was even a grad student at UCLA when I was there as an undergrad.
I’ve played games all my life, not only card games but others as well, such as backgammon. I play backgammon mostly online against individuals unknown and hold my own. I’ve played in a few tournaments, mostly because I know Patrick Gibson who has been in charge of the Los Angeles tournaments for many years, but even playing at the novice level (meaning much lower than the world-class players who compete in the expert divisions) I’ve never won a penny.
In 1962 my brother, Steve, and I saw a movie called Last Year at Marienbad. In it a man plays a game using cards (you can also use beer bottles or toothpicks or even elephants). He deals rows of 7, 5, 3 and 1 and challenges other people to take one or more cards from a single row. He alternates turns with his opponent. The person who takes the last card loses (although you can also play that the person who takes the last card wins—almost the same strategy), and of course the hustler in the movie always wins.
After the movie, Steve, who is a world-class mathematician, and I figured out how to win with that configuration. Years later, Steve told me the general rule for winning with any configuration. I also found out that the game is called nim, and I’ve used it in some of my novels, especially the Carol Golden novels because Carol is a mathematician and a game player.
Okay, so I’m not a world-class mathematician (or even backgammon player) but I am a world-class nim player. You’ll find that out if you ever challenge me to a game.
