I think it's amazing how players like Magriel and Holland and Dwek, etc., figured all of this out back then, without the benefit of any computer analysis at all. Their knowledge came from their own roll-outs (by hand!) or via intuition... or both.

Hi Marc, great video. Back in their heyday of the 70's it was not seen as correct in any way to make the inner board splits to the anchor. it was totally frowned upon. i learnt in the early 80's using all those 70's books of Mariel, Lewis Dewong, Barclay Cooke, Crawford et al. they were paranoid about splitting the back checkers. it was seen as weak. they wanted more builders for the home inner board. they relied on small doubles to advance the anchor. even double 1's advanced to the 23 pt which many liked. Certainly 2-1 off the bar made the 2 pt and considered strong then.!! they liked to run with the large rolls and bring down builders into the outerboard with the others, but never split. Barclay Cooke was very influential. he won many tournaments and was highly respected. but he was ultra conservative especially on the splitting. maintaining his anchor was of utmost importance to him. & although they understood the Golden Pt (20pt), they didn't split to make it. and never ever considered a 2 split to the 22 pt, for fear of the blitz from the 'dreaded double 5' in return. Additionally, they were obsessed with making their own 5 point & the bar point, and so provided builders from the midpoint for them. They preferred in order, the 5pt, then bar pt and then the 4 pt and never the 3 or 2 pt. hence NO 5-3 to the 3pt ! and bringing all hose builders down, was all ok, b/c they always still had their anchor (24pt) in their opponents homeboard - that's how they rationalized it & so they couldn't be blitzed. thats how i remember it all. i played like this for ever. only until the bots came in did i change. Barclay Cooke and those guys never saw the relevance of developing all boards with those home boards splits. the only exception was Joe Dwek who did split the opening moves, as seen in the book 'World Championship Backgammon' which featured Barclay Cooke as both a player in the tourney and a writer. they panned Joe for his opening minor split moves. Turns our Joe was right !!! lol. so a little trip down memory lane. we cant fault them. the neural nets have changed the game forever. no one was smart enough to know what the computer knows back then. really interesting video. i hope you do more on this - then & now analysis. but do be easy on them,, they were legends of their time and did all they did with no computer learning. pretty damn good !

After reading paul's book when it was published, people talked.. i remember many debates back in the mid 70's concerning "modern" versus "old ways". The 1920's, 30's & 40's all held "modern concepts", as will the 2040's. With 16 ply, ect. Let's call it "Current" The evolution of the game at that time was interesting. From money to matches, from simple to complex. Even setting up gammons, by hooking "the fish". Playing off the 13 and 6 with a 4-1 , some called it fishing. Grabbing your opponent's 20 point i.e. The gold point, allowed greater flexibility and defense. Fighting (Slotting or Hitting) for your 5 point was considered noble. Since single cash games were the norm, a good player may at times "hustle" some games. Play loose to get cubed. Accept a "too good". Yet, have a killer 1-3 or a 1-4 back game. Not today. Computers don't hustle. That 6-4 "Lovers Leap" still works well. A following 2-3, 3-4 , 4-5 all play. 2pt vs 9, 10 or 11pts. ?? Still, I liked his book, he worked hard on it. It benefited the community greatly. As has yours.

Magriel’s gift to the world. Easy to read and understand. IMO It can quickly move a player from novice/beginner to advanced without a doubt. Then, can keep going with software and articles. Always something to learn.

Mange tak. This was great for me. The discussion about when to use the different rolls was particularly useful. My first and only book was the Jacoby book about 25 years ago. (going to get your books soon). I remember it said something interesting about 4-1....If you were offered to start a game with one checker on the 8 point, you would be happy. Made logical sense to me. But the splitting also makes sense now.

Excellent video, thanks Marc as always.

These Magriel videos are great. Thanks Marc.

Wow, so much good info here. I will have to watch this probably 3xs...lol

Thank you Marc. I am a beginner just delving into theory and I found this video extremely helpful and easy to follow.

very good explained, easy to understand. Thank you!

We love Rain. Thx backgammon buddy.

Awesome Class! I'm a beginner and addicted to this game. I mainly play on computer because I can't find any humans to play against. I'll put this class on the que to rewatch it. I'll probably pick up on something I missed in the first class.

As an older player only recently returning to the game, I could not be more appreciative of the invaluable info you've presented here. (and it goes a long way towards explaining the strange pauses my opening plays seem to elicit when playing on BG Galaxy!) Thanks.

Hey Marc, it is incredible how many nuances there are in Backgammon and how we continue to learn after 5000 years. This is what keeps Backgammon such an exciting and awesome game!

Very good work, keep these videos coming! It's so interesting how concepts have changed and how different plays are best suitable in different situations.

Very informative..thanks

Outstanding Job as Usual. Incredibly informative and enjoyable.

I think it is still one of the best books learning pipcount and tricks to compair the count of both players.

Great videos! I'm just starting to play Backgammon more seriously and I saved this video to use as a quick opening reference.

Awesome video Marc. So many different sites have different roll outs. Nice to get the goods from a GM that explains the flexibility in some of the rolls in light of the match score etc. Thanks from Vancouver Canada!

Keep these videos coming. Extremely instructive!

Wow, I am learning so many words from this tutorial! blitzing! contact game plan! I am waiting for "Basics to Badass" to arrive in the mail and I am getting excited for it just by watching this video! Thanks!

Thank you very much for this interesting break down!

Great stuff Marc

Great video Mark, keep them coming, so many things to learn in it about the game.

I really appreciated the structure and visual explanation of opening theory then and now. You’ve become one of my main go-to resources for knowledge and the array of videos you provide for free is excellent. To show the love, I’ve just purchased From Basics to Badass on Amazon to have something to have close buy that doesn’t involve switching on a computer :).

I would say it is the number one book for beginners.

Marc, in his book Backgammon, on page 113 on bottom of the page , Magriel refers to his 20 point anchor, for the first time ever, as the “golden Point “.

Wow, love the explanation at 19:18 of how playing 4-3 with 24/21 13/9 is better than 24/20 13/10, because of the diversification of rolls. You took great notes, and thank you for the explanations! Question: I am on Backgammon Galaxy so I do "analyze" the games with Extreme Gammon after the games are done. But is there a way that I can play myself and check what the computer thinks of each move I make, as you are doing?

The Galaxy skin is awesome!!!

Very cool, thank you!

great video Marc, thank you

So helpful. Thanks.

One thing I have not heard discussed is the calculation of common rolls or making sure that closer to the middle of the game the urgency of crossing points. I play a lot online and very rarely loose. When I sense my opponent is building up a solid defense I go blitz. I usually pull the game when I do that. Knowing the odds of certain roll combinations is huge!

Funny how two down from the midpoint on 5-3 is now considered old-fashioned. In the 1970s, making the 3-point was what old guys had done in the 1920s-1950s. THAT was the old-fashioned play, the nice safe running play that doesn't expose a checker. 5-3 down wasn't just Magriel's idea - just about all the books in the 1970s recommended it. I think of it as the signature move of the 70s.

really useful video to teach best moves and why they are good!

Nice video. Thank you

Great Stuff 🙏

Hi Marc, I really liked your explanation of why (with 43 opening) its better to bring a man down to the 9pt than the 10, and better to split to your 21pt. Many thanks love your analysis..!

I'm just getting started with backgammon, and the first thing I read was Magriel's Backgammon. I've been following it like a bible since I read it in March. I very recently purchased 501 Essential Backgammon Problems by Bill Robertie, but I haven't read it yet. Are there any other books that you would consider essential reading? PS. Thank you for Backgammon Galaxy. I don't know any BG players where I live, so without Backgammon Galaxy I would probably have given up and tried chess :P

👍 Fantastic information! Truly is priceless 💰💰 Love it❤️🍻🎲🎲👊

thx for video

If he doesn't know that he should hit lose is going for the 20 point best or for 21? Going for 21 is second best otherwise (essentially a toss up with the best move, bringing 2 down) so which split is better against such an opponent?

Thank you.

I agree with Magriel, i usually do not play 5/3 as a prime/blitz set up.. splitting a 5/3 is more versitile i would rather have a pip on 10 to maybe set up a prime from the 8, 7 or 6.. there is only 1 in 18 chance shot to hit with a 6/3 or 5/4 The point of Magriels strategy is by having a pip on 10 can set up a prime structure blocking the opponent from escaping with rolling 6, 6/3, 5/4, 5/3 The reward is greater than the risk & even if you fail to make your prime, you can run for it or blitz ! Sometimes if my strategy is a run game then i will not play 6/1, 5/3, 4/2 as a prime set, sometimes i will split on purpose to provoke a Cube double so i can re-cube back

fantatic video Marc. Great info for beginners and intermediates. keep em coming. Love the XG skin. is it available in the store now?

Love it.

The reason they didn't like the split with the 5-2 was the fear of 5-5 as being so terrible. It was an irrational fear that many of the players of the time had. I talked to Barclay cook about it at the Renaissance Festival in Minnesota back in the 80's. He was there for a backgammon tournament.

I think it comes down to who you are playing I played nine games today and won eight with the computer telling me in three of them I was super human I dont know about that but it's coming back

in comparsion to chess there seems to be a quite limited backgammon literature -- has somebody a good web page that collects and reviews back gammon literature ... I am totally new to this game, but I think I like it ... thanks for your help and cheers from Zurich, Switzerland

I want the XG skin, please. If I can’t have the Neptune board, at least I can pretend on XG! Very cool!

Hey Marc! What about the doubles rolls? Did Magriel’s ideas align with modern theory?

Hi Marc. Great video! I think you didn't mention the 6-3 and the 3-2, did you? Ty

Hi Marc. Great video as always. I understand that there is a 2nd edition of your book "From Basics to badass" that was published in 2020. Amazon sells the 1st 2015 edition. Where can I buy the new edition? Continue the good work..

Virkelig en go video Marc! Jeg håber du dessekerer hele hans bog! Vi tales ved. Hilsner AM

Great

What is the program used here to show moves?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make this galaxy skin available for the XG. I don't like any of the color schemes in XG. Having this color scheme in XG same as the platform we all spend so much time on is much appreciated. How do I get it?

Any chance of doing one on the best reply moves to the opening moves?

Marc, what WOULD be your recommendation for a book for a beginner to casual player? Thank you.

Can you do a Video of the eastern way of playing . Called long backgammon . All checkers start from frist pip.

Need a break from playing against the bot. Why is the board set up different than what is on the screen (1,2,3...)? Good discussion.

2 2?

Marc what is the #1 recommended book for begenneners? Is there a modern version of Magriel's book that has taken AI rollouts into account?

The Golden point will always be the Delhi point for me now.

xg gammon, it might be great program but the graphics man? it looks like graphic around beginning of 2000!

We just believe the old one

when did we nerds become fans?

When Magriel did his analysis it was based on the odds of rolls. The computer algorithms of today seem based on the personal style of the progammer

It is the bible

Damnation…learned a lot…appreciate your insights, knowledge and analysis…your awesome!