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Poker Fans Embrace Online Backgammon

Online backgammon is fast becoming the poker enthusiast’s second favorite game. When you start studying the backgammon rules, it is easy to see how this fast-paced and competitive game has won over thousands of poker players worldwide. Combining luck with intellect and skill, online backgammon offers unique wagering opportunities, lucrative tournament action and the social environment poker players are accustomed to.

Learning how to play backgammon is relatively straightforward. The object of the game is to be the first player to move all of your checkers off the backgammon board. This board, which is divided in half by the bar area, is where all the action takes place. It also features four sections containing six triangular spaces known as points which each player will use to move his 15 checkers. A player first moves his checkers toward his home area on the board and then removes them based on the pip count of the dice he throws for each turn.

In a backgammon game, a checker can be moved to any unoccupied point on the backgammon set, a point that is already home to one of your own checkers or to a point. You can also move a checker to a point that is occupied by one of your opponent’s checkers, which effectively removes his checker and sends it back to the bar. This slows your opponent’s game down as he must now play the checker out of his home board before moving any of his other checkers.

You can choose how you move your checkers as long as the move relates to the pip count of the two dice. For example, if you throw a four and a five, you can move one checker four spaces and a second checker five. Alternatively, you can move one checker nine spaces. If you’re unable to move any of your checkers checkers, you lose your turn.

When played by experienced players, internet backgammon moves at a rapid pace as all players are attempting to be the first to remove their checkers from the board. This is referred to as bearing off in both live and online backgammon. For the purposes of backgammon gambling, your opponent will often try to hit one of your checkers while you’re bearing off. If this happens, you must bring the checker back into the game and move it round the board again before you can bear off your other checkers.

As you can see, backgammon requires discipline, a quick mind and a competitive spirit. It is no surprise then that poker fans the world over are being won over by backgammon online.

Before you play understand the backgammon setup

Backgammon is becoming increasingly popular on the Internet and there are literally hundreds of thousands of players from around the world that are all joining in on the action. That’s because it’s a game that requires intense player strategy and concentration. Everyone has his or her own style of playing but one thing that is essential before you start is understanding the backgammon setup. Follow these easy backgammon instructions to get going.

The backgammon board game is played the same way online as it is offline. In the standard version of the game you play on a board with 24 points (alternating colored triangles across the face of the board). The board itself has 2 halves –one side is the inner board –also called the home board, and the other side is the outer board where players race their men (also called checkers) in order to reach the home board and bear off (meaning to take their men off the board an out of the game). The first to do wins.

Now looking at the backgammon set up, point 1 in your homeboard is the where you want to bring your checkers and point 24 in your opponents homeboard is the furthest away from where you want to go. To make it easier to understand, point 1 should be in the lower right corner of the backgammon board closest to you. Start by putting 2 checkers on point number 24 (furthest from your home board), then 5 checkers on point 13 and then 3 more checkers on point 8 and finally 5 checkers on point 6 (these are already in your home board). In total you should have 15 checkers and so should your opponent.

Now your opponent simply sets up his men in a mirror image of yours –in other words on the points directly across from where you placed your 15 checkers. To avoid any confusion each player has their own color men –usually light and dark. Now that you understand the backgammon setup it’s easy to get going. The nice thing about a backgammon game download is everything is set up automatically when you start playing. That’s why so many people are turning to backgammon software as their preferred way to play.

The backgammon download is easy and free. Just install and you can play whenever you want for fun or for real money bets. Free backgammon is a popular way to practice and sharpen your skills. Backgammon takes skills and is not a game of chance. A strong player that has much practice and experience will almost always beat out a weak player. That’s why backgammon strategy is essential when paying. In addition to learn how to play backgammon there are many advanced tips and strategies you can read about online in order to improve your playing abilities and your overall chances of winning. Good luck!