Basic Backgammon Opening Maneuvers
Having a firm grasp of the standard Backgammon opening moves will be essential given the fast paced nature of the game. If you are just starting to learn the game, knowing some of the tried and tested opening maneuvers will help you play in the proper manner.
When playing Backgammon, one of the objectives you should aim for early in the game is to try and create new points with each roll. With a 5-3, the aim is to go for the third point. A lot of players, particularly during the 70s and 80s, did not, believing that going for a point that deep, especially for an early dice roll, was too risky.
However, by the early 1990s it was statistically proven that going for the three point in fact helped players get momentum and more wins. Now almost every one who plays Backgammon plays 5-3 that way.
With a 64 roll, Backgammon players have three options. The first is to get your checker to the 8 point. The second option is to run a piece to the 14th, and the third is to move a piece from the midpoint downwards.
There are other Backgammon moves that you should know when in the opening stages of the game, such as the 31, the 61 and 42. The way to play these rolls is well known and documented.
With these types of rolls, you will have a clear advantage over your opponent, the reason being you will be able to move your checkers around more freely, and in addition make points.
All of these, while still in the early stages of a Backgammon game, will go a long way towards helping you prepare your pieces for the latter stages of the game where you can bear them off. Unlike other games, there is no such thing as a feeling through period in Backgammon; every move, every roll counts.
Of course, you cannot possibly remember all the moves that you will need to make when playing the game. But by learning to play the opening moves, or the major ones, you will be able to make headway early in the game.
Of course, you will not always get the ideal rolls when you play Backgammon. There will be times when you will get other types of rolls. But the fact is that by learning the rolls that make the best opening moves, it will help you understand and learn other types of rolls, and how you can use them when you play.