Reaching the Best Possible Backgammon Points

Every backgammon player needs to know what are the best points on the board that he needs to reach, in order to get an edge in the game.

In the beginning of the backgammon game, each player has two rows of 5 checkers, and one row of 3 checkers. This means that the backgammon pieces are centralized in specific places on the backgammon board, and have not yet been spread to the strategic points along the board.

In other words, in the start of the game both players compete for the best position on the backgammon board. They need to try to reach this position as quickly as possible. This is why the start of the game is the most important part of online backgammon. There are specific backgammon points that give players an edge in every backgammon game.

The Best Backgammon Point

The best point to be reached in the early stages of the game is the Five-Point in your homeboard. Try to reach the five-point early on in the game, and if you do so you'll have an advantage over your opponent. reaching the five-point has to be done with two backgammon checkers at least, in order to form a closed backgammon point.

The main advantage of reaching your five point is that you therefore manage to block your opponent on your homeboard. This means that your opponent's checkers situated on the 1-point are now blocked by the five-point if he gets a roll of 4. If he gets a 5 he is still blocked by the four checkers that remained on the six-point.

Another important rule online backgammon players should follow is to reach the opponent's five-point. This makes a strategic point for you and also prevents your opponent from reaching his five-point, and aid in hitting his checkers.

Remember that sometimes you have a choice, either to make a backgammon point on the five-point, or to make a different point, and in most cases you should choose the five-point as your destination.

Other Backgammon Points to Reach

• Other preferred backgammon points, with a lesser strategic value than the five-point, are the four-point and the seven-point. These points both have equal value.
• Below in rank are the eight-point and the three-point, also with the same value.
• The final preferred point is the nine-point, which has greater value than the two-point.

Try to remember the order of the preferred points to make and you'll make the online backgammon game easier for you, and also play a better skilled game. The preferred points in a descending order are brought to you again:

• 5 point
• 7/4 point
• 8/3 point
• 9 point
• 2 point

Felicity Stone - Technical Writer