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From Online Backgammon to Live EventsLast week we talked about playing online backgammon for fun, i.e. using play/virtual money instead of real cash, as opposed to playing online poker the same play mode. This week, we will discuss the differences between playing backgammon online and playing backgammon live, in a backgammon club or a real backgammon tournament.
Again, I was inspired by a poker blog; Boston Poker Examiner Steven Ruddok warns online poker players of the unexpected downsides of playing the game in a brick & mortar card room: the inability to response emotionally (for one reason, to avoid revealing your hand, and secondly, simply because you are not expected to externalize your feelings in a poker game), and boredom.
Boredom might also be a problem for online backgammon players who go the old school way for the first time. When playing backgammon online, the board is set up automatically, allowing you to play an intensive match play without bothering to reorganize the opening position even once. Yet when playing backgammon live, you must setup the backgammon board before the start of each game. So when it is a series of game, you might be feeling a bit bored.
Emotional Backgammon
Unlike poker, backgammon is an open information game, so on the face of it, you have nothing to hide. Nevertheless, jumping for joy and/or kicking the backgammon board for fury are not common sportsmanship behaviors, nor are subtler gestures that might imply on hidden intentions, especially when revolving around cube decisions.
When playing backgammon live against unfamiliar opponents, cheating becomes a concern. Yes, you don't have to be a paranoid to carry a set of magnets to a backgammon tournament in order to verify that the dice are not loaded, and to observe the opponents' dice shaking and rolling carefully to make sure they are not pulling some kind of trick.
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