Hrqls: I'd welcome a reduced-doubles variant but also think that no blocks is a detriment.

In the existing Hypergammon I'd welcome the Jacoby rule: Gammons don't count unless the cube has been turned.

grenv: *nod* my thoughts as well .. (i left the stairs with single games :))

still a double six can easily make a game (or even a 5 point match)

Hrqls: I think the removing of blocks is silly. The whole point is that by creating a block you get a certain type of advantage, but limit your options next turn etc.

I think the addition of the cube negates the point about this game being too much luck. A good 5 point game is pretty skillful.

alanback proposed to use different rules in hyper gammon (fencer proposed to create a new type with those rules ... well fencer didnt say he would .. but if such rules would come into place then it would be easier to create a new game type for it :))

the new rules are

1) double count as normal rolls (only use each die once)

2) no formation of blocks (a player can not place more than 1 piece at a position)

i didnt want to clutter the feature request board with this discussion so i started it here :)

would this game be better ?
i can see the point of treating doubles as normal rolls .. i think that would be a good change ...
but removing the blocks makes the game too much a lucky race i think ?

pentejr: lol .. more the opposite for me ... i wonder why i didnt double sometimes .. and often wonder why i accepted :)

Hrqls: I know we've played, but I don't know if we've played with the cube. So maybe there's still time for mindless doubles. Sometimes I look back at some of the doubles I made, and I wonder why I made them.

pentejr: *nod* i do look at the pip count .. but only when the board setup makes me decide to accept the double with a little doubt

thanks for taking a second thought when playing me .. thats a good compliment .. although i would rather have you offer mindless doubles ;)

Hrqls: That's a definite drop, in my opinion, I halfway agree with playBunny that, in essence, your opponent may have been doing you a favor by offering. Had I been your opponent, though, I probably would have offered, for two reasons:

1.) I'm 20 points behind in pip count, which means you're going to have a decent chance to bear at least one off even if I get you stuck on the bar for a while. So chances for gammon aren't good, I would say.

2.) If I didn't know you, I would double because many players on this site will accept a double based on pip count alone, regardless of position, so that doubling and gammoning may not be mutually exclusive here. Against a bad cube player, there's a chance to win 4 here. Now, since I have played you, Hrqls, I know you are a careful and patient player, which would make me less likely to double in this spot for the same reason. But if I hadn't played you before, this would be my thought process.

playBunny & Pythagoras: thanks! i am trying to create a feeling for when to accept and when not :)

the chance to gammon made me doubt indeed :)

Hrqls: Two loose blots and a resonably open enemy table.. I'd have played on for the SIZZLE. But then I do like gammon.

... GnuBg thinks ...

GnuBg 3-ply says it's right on the border between double and too-good-to-double. 1296-trial rollout says it's a definite double and pass, not good enough for gammon.

I would decline too. Too many hit choices for black and a strong home board....

at this point i was offered a double .. i declined .. any comments ?

http://brainking.com/en/Tournaments?trg=13290&trnst=0

For anyone who enjoys a face paced tourney.. Please.. I wish to offer it to those who will play continuously.. not just one turn a day ..

°°·.,,.·°¤`'¤¸`°´`°«*Scarlets Springtime Follies*»¸.¤°´`°'¤¸¤´¤°·.,,.·°°

Pedro Martínez: I believe that was the point. The U.S was planning to hold their own cup between their A and B teams and call the winner the world champion. Oh, wait, they already do that in some sports.

Czuch Chuckers: There will be no World Cup in 2096, LOL.

Pythagoras: Well... the 2096 world cup winner will be the US, but I dont think will be visiting the new year, thank you.

but don't tell me i want to enjoy watching it

When you meet our new year, tell it a hello from me..... Oh and while passing from 2010 tell me who will win the football world cup then.....

2095 now....

grenv: Maybe I was just over rated and the cube has exposed my poor play....

Czuch Chuckers: Since the cube came in my hyper rating has skyrocketted, which supports the view that single games are too much about luck. If you want a fairer rating play at least 5 point cube matches.

Czuch: Yep, I won't play singles when they are so unfairly rated. That's one part of the solution. Another part is to make fewer mistakes.

playBunny: Yeah... Imthink part of it is the two game stair matches I play, for one example. I end up losing 14 bkr points in a draw against a low rated player, or even worse if I happen to lose both games!

I have to be like you, and become more discriminating in the kinds of games I accept and play!

Czuch: It's hard to know if the free fall is due to the runs of luck that Pythagoras was referring to or whether it's a change in your playing. Certainly stress will make me play badly (and it even seems to affect my luck somehow). Sometimes these things happen because you get a set of games which are exploring new territory so you go down because you're making mistakes, but you learn from them and are better in the future. Have a look at the graphs of other players and you'll see similar patterns. Alanback, for instance. His skill cannot be doubted but he has the ocassional bad patch followed by a climb back to glory..

Czuch Chuckers: It depends from you your opponents and the dice.....Such distribution is normal.
I've dug out some results from me against Jellyfish (5-point matches). Here are the results (1=win for me , 0=lose for me):
1011000110111011100100111111111010111011101


01011000000011011001001110101101 101001 = 48/80 = 60%
As you may see i have series of 9 matches won and series of 7 mathes lost. That is normal.....

An easy way to stop the free fall is to stop playing for a while so the graph would stop look like a free fall....

2102 now! Stop the free fall!!!!

playBunny: I guess I am wondering what I am doing differently..... How have I gone so awry?

Czuch: "What happened?????"

You played the last month in a dream and didn't notice all those "Your opponent has moved all their pieces out" messages.

Czuch Chuckers: According to your rating graph, your peak rating was 2232.

Czuch Chuckers: This happened:
http://brainking.com/cz/BKRGraph?df=14&mf=1&yf=2006&dt=21&mt=1&yt=2006&submit=Odeslat&u=5745&tp=23

XUG?????

I was at 2250, and in 13th position about a month ago, now I am at 2115!!!!!!

What happened?????

alanback: LOL. That's funny!

playBunny: So every blocked player is a Pandora's box of vituperation waiting to be unleashed . . . reminds me of something one of my partners once said: "One day the sky will be black with chickens coming home to roost!"

alanback:

And there's very possibly a correlation in that idea.

Pythagorus: As BBW said: "They can continue to write and think they are writing to you, but you will no longer have to read it.". I tested this by blocking a friend in a game just now. All the messages - his and mine - disappeared and then reappeared when I unblocked him. Presumably, then, the offending diatribe plus any additionas will be in the game record for such time as the writer is unblocked.

Pythagoras: Are you suggesting that only Type A personalities can be blocked? ;-)

BIG BAD WOLF: I think you need to try again LOL

Matarilevich:

I would a bit correct the aforementioned like this:

A person that is on you list of blocked users as Person-A cannot:
* invite you to a game using the Person-A profile,
* see you on Who is online page using the Person-A profile,
* send you a message using the Person-A profile,
* add you to their Friends list using the Person-A profile.

>but i am not sure of he can not write you a message into the started game. Maybe someone can help you about this doubt.

He can't write you any message on an already started game using the Person-A profile....

BIG BAD WOLF: Thanks BBW :)

This is the backgammon board, lets try to keep our heated discussions on how the dice cheat people. :-)

I have removed all the off-topic posts - please do not be offended if I removed one of yours even if you were trying to help, but they did not make much since once I removed the original posts. I left Matarilevich's post below since it is very good advice for anyone that is having a problem with another user to place them on their Blocked users list.

Plus if you have someone as a blocked users, you will no longer see in-game chat from the person. (They can continue to write and think they are writting to you, but you will no longer have to read it.)

Thanks.

ShunAyumiTaiki: The player from the list of blocked users cannot:
* invite you to a game,
* see you on Who is online page,
* send you a message,
* add you to their Friends list
but i am not sure of he can not write you a message into the started game. Maybe someone can help you about this doubt.

playBunny: But it would happen quite often if 100 people play 500 moves a day (once a week or so).

Czuch: I'm slow today but now I gotcha. Don't mind me, I'm from sleep deprivation, lol.

And it's a 9100 to 1 happening, so pretty wierd indeed. ;-)

playBunny: Okay, my first 50 moves today in backgammon games I didnt roll any doubles.... that is what I meant to say! I now have rolled 3 doubles since then.

Czuch: Then I'm not sure what you mean by 50 different games. You've only got 51 games and 8 of them aren't Backgammon and now it turns out you haven't moved in a number of others, so... I'm lost. What are you saying happened?

playBunny: Okay, but only one of those was a move I made today, and that one was after my first post on the subject, and I am not drinking quite yet today!

playBunny: Yes, the third link you posted was a move made today after my first post, and the fourth link that was not a move I made today as well. Nice try though....

Czuch: Eh? The first link is a pass for your opponent, janka/Amálka, and a 4-4 for you (move #21). The second is a pass for CindyTN and a 4-4 for you (move #9)! Have another beer, mate.

Pythagoras: LOL

Matarilevich: She be past the age of majority plus a little bit more.

playBunny: hat first link, that was doubles for my opponent, the second link, I havent made a move in that game yet today, I havent looked at the other two yet. Since I posted the first time, I now have rolled 2 doubles today.