playBunny: I think my move on turn 6 is better, but I can't say why. As for the other turn I suppose that other move was available, but I don't like giving up advanced guarded points in my opponent's home base while leaving everyone as a blot to get messed with.

As I say, "Luck beats skill."

So I won the game despite playing poorly, or am I better player than you and this machine doesn't know what it's talking about?

What are plies? One person's turn, or both players making a move? Or something else? You say the machine only thinks 2 plies ahead? I think lots further ahead when I play Backgammon. Leaving blots or missing them on purpose can be arguable as to which is the right thing to do at that time as compared to the long run, but in a individual game the dice are rolled now and you get what you get. The very first moves of a game are argued about in some cases! The starting position hasn't changed in over a hundred years and yet experts will still debate about what to do in some cases. Even a roll of double fours as player two's first roll has debate about it. As for later in the game, I can see experts debating the merits of a particular style or play. How does the machine come up with its recommendations? You did some explaining earlier on the BrainKing discussion board, but someone had to write down for the machine how think about going for the win. Let alone how it would dispense advice.

Do these machines ever play against each other? I've heard some of you guys saying they've played against people and have done very well in recent years.