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If you have never
played live before there are some procedures that you would do
well to practice before you go. Get hold of a real backgammon
board to practice on and find a real opponent to play against.
This is best done in a local Backgammon Club where things are
generally more relaxed and friendly rather than at a National
Tournament where people are really playing to win. In particular:
A)
Be comfortable. If your chair is too low for you, get
another. Most tournament room chairs stack and it is not unusual
for players to sit on two. This will give you more of an aerial
view of the board which is what your eyes are used to in online
play.
B)
Have a drink with you. Live play usually takes longer
than online play but you don’t want to be dry mouthed during a
match.
C)
Empty your bladder before a match. Sounds simple but
it’s just not comfortable if your body is sending you un-required
messages to your brain while it is working. Breaks of 2 x 5
minutes are allowed during 7 point matches but you’ll do well to
reserve these for thinking time.
D)
Be in good time for your matches. If you are staying in
another hotel do not leave it to the last minute to get to the
tournament venue. Penalty points apply to late arrivals because
the Tournament Director has a duty to all players to keep to the
schedule. The most frequent offences are on day 2 or day 3 first
matches. Take an alarm clock with you and do not trust a hotel to
give you an alarm call no matter how much you are paying for your
hotel room.
E)
Do some physical exercise before you play. If your hotel
has a swimming pool then use it. You need your body and mind to be
at one with each other.
F)
Be able to play equally well both ways round (clockwise
and anticlockwise.) A favourite trick in real play is for your
already though to next round opponent to come and watch your
match. There’s nothing illegal with this. S/he may observe which
way round you are playing this match and set up the match with you
the other way round. I’ve seen this seemingly simple thing fluster
an online player who never bothers to swap directions into playing
badly live. Don’t let it happen to you.
G)
Tradition says you should “play towards the light.” I.E.
to whichever is the brighter side of the room you are playing in.
However this is not always observed and it is as common for the
player whose board it is not to choose the direction of play. If
the direction of play cannot be determined by mutual agreement
then a roll of the dice often decides it.
H)
Do not let yourself be bullied in any way, shape or form
by your opponent. Face to face backgammon is far more
physiological than online backgammon. If your opponent learns that
you are a “virgin real life player” s/he might try to take
advantage of this. Stand up for yourself and take no rubbish. If
there's something you're not sure about, do not hesitate to ask
the Tournament Director. There is no shame in thinking one way,
but finding out otherwise. And shame on anybody who bullies the
newbies.
I)
It’s traditional to shake hands with your opponent
before a match starts. Get used to this routine by actually doing
it.
J)
Get used to setting up the board. Again as an online
player this is done for you by the computer so you might not be as
able as a practiced real life player to do this simple task as
smoothly as you might. Setting up the board includes re-centering
the doubling cube.
K)
Get used to actually rolling the dice rather than
clicking your mouse.
L)
You’re going to have to use dice cups in a tournament so
use these too.
M)
Always roll on the right hand side of the board and
learn how to roll without repeatedly rolling cocked dice.
N)
A real life board has no point numbers on it. Turn off
the points numbers on your online board now and get used to
visualizing numbers and learn how to pip count in your head.
Written aides are not permitted in live play so please don’t
starting learning to do a pip count by writing it down – this is a
job you must be able to do in your head (with the aid of your
fingers and toes.)
O)
Get used to moving your checkers with just one hand.
Using both hands is illegal because it increases the chances of
illegal moves.
P)
Do not be too hasty to roll and thus make a pre-mature
roll. Again this is another thing you cannot do in online play but
can happen in live play. Do it and it could well cost you a game
or the match.
Q)
During a game do not reach for or touch the doubling
cube unless you really mean to. If you do it can be interpreted as
a double and a Tournament Director is highly likely to rule that
you have doubled. Be very careful in this matter.
R)
You and your opponent should both keep the score of the
match on written scorecards. Do not leave it to your opponent
alone to do this. In the case of a match score dispute the
Tournament Director is going to have to favour the player that did
keep the score. Apart from that writing the score down is going to
imprint it upon your mind more firmly. When a game finishes concur
with your opponent that you both have the same score written down.
S)
Watch your opponents play. S/he might make an illegal
move. If they have be ready to gently take a hold of their arm or
cup your splayed hand over their rolled dice before they can pick up
their dice and hence prevent him/her from taking away the evidence
of the true roll. I’m not saying live players are cheaters; by far
the vast majority are not because they know they would be run out
of backgammon but wishful thinking sometimes “informs” a player
that they threw a better roll than they actually did.
T)
I’d advise a “virgin live player” to keep chat over the
board before and during a match to the minimum because every time
you open your mouth your opponent has another opportunity to know
you’re new to this type of backgammon and hence you are giving
him/her a psychological and actual advantage.
U)
Reserve your chat with your opponent until after your
match. Then, sure, chat away for a little while.
V)
However don’t delay too long in reporting your match to
the Tournament Director. You will probably have another match to
play and you don’t want to time out or delay the schedule.
W)
Remember that the T.D. is your friend. S/he wants you
there because you represent a player that has “come over from the
other side” and s/he might be earning from laying the event on. As
such you should be encouraged rather than discouraged. Don’t be so
in awe of things that you feel you cannot ask questions or for a
ruling should you feel one is required.
X)
Read the rules of play:
http://www.backgammoninlondon.com/rules.html
You do not have to learn them verbatim but have a good working
knowledge of them.
Y)
Enjoy yourself. You’re going out for a good time.
Contrary to some peoples opinion most people do not play well when
drunk but most people enjoy one or two drinks while playing.
Z)
Get some zzzzzzzzzzzs in. Don’t be tired when you play.
Ok – I hope I haven’t freaked you out so much into deciding that
live play is not for you by giving you this long list of “to dos”
and “not do dos.” In reality they are all very normal procedures
and nothing really to worry over once they become second nature to
you which they will if you give them the chance to do so. In my
opinion live backgammon is a far more interesting experience than
online backgammon. |
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Very thoughtful and
thorough recommendations.
Mike has taken a strict (but, IMO, reasonable) approach to
advising a newbie to face-to-face play. But keep in mind that he
has emphasized some things that will very seldom happen while
others you will see your opp's doing ALL THE TIME. For example,
using both hands to move the checkers. I watch one nationally
known US player do that several times this weekend.
Do not be surprised, in fact expect some of these etiquettes/rules
to be broken. But if you always do your best to follow the rules
to a T, you will find many fewer disputes / misunderstandings will
occur (not that there will be that many, anyway).
Whenever an issue comes up, it's a good idea to use as much tact
as possible. Here I would even recommend being honest about being
a newbie "Excuse me. I'm an online player new to face-to-face
play. It was suggested to me that a player should always.... Was I
given the wrong advice?" If calling for a ruling: "I'm unsure
about the proper action here, would you mind if I brought in a
director to explain..." But if your opp resists, be firm and do it
anyway.
Keep in mind that most opponents (and, again, I'm talking >95%)
are there to have fun, are not going to try and intimidate you,
will be friendly at least before the match. However, expect them
to be sloppy in following the rules strictly and don't be
surprised if they clam up after you beat them. Expect it and be
surprised when they can find a smile and warm comment after being
beaten by a newbie. :) |
