Backagmmon rules | Doubling Cube

Backgammon Rules

Doubling Cube

The rules of doubling are quite simple. Any time during the game, and after your opponent has executed his throw, you have the right to double the stakes of the game. To do so officially, you must first state this in words, and then you must pick the doubling cube and place it on your opponent's side with the number "two" facing upward. If your opponent refuses to accept the double, the game is over, and you are the victor. If, on the other hand, your opponent accepts it, the game continues on with the stakes doubled. The doubling cube remains on his side, and "belongs" to him. If at some later stage of the game your opponent finds himself with the advantage, he can double, handing the cube over to you with the number "four" facing upward. This can continue until the original stakes have been multiplied by as much as "sixty-four".
Naturally, if one of the players loses a backgammon or a gammon, the stakes are tripled or doubled once more. It should be carefully noted that whereas any of the two players can offer the first double, the privilege to do so alternates after that. While the rules of doubling are quite simple, there are several intricacies of this concept that are difficult to master. Questions like "When should I double?", "Under what conditions should I accept or reject a double?" are not always easily answered. Even the experts often disagree on the wisdom of offering, accepting, or rejecting a given double. Generally speaking, a player should offer a double when he has developed an edge in the overall position. His opponent will accept or reject this double depending on the magnitude of this edge. If the advantage that the doubler has is too strong, it is suicidal to accept a double.
There are a few initial or intermediate stages where a double is warranted. If you start the game with (6,6), you must consider doubling immediately. If your back men have escaped or you have a prime with an enemy piece trapped behind it, a double is certainly called for. In a running game, the player who is ahead and has the cube should double to eliminate any wild chances that the opponent might have in turning the game around. The conclusion is, obviously, that you must develop a keen sense of judgment on how the game is going. Are you ahead or behind? This is not always an easy matter to decide without a great deal of experience.
Mathematically at least, the concept of doubling seems quite clear. However, your opponent is not the dice and the board. He is another human being, frail in both mind and spirit, as you are. This fact changes things considerably. If you are playing with an expert, refuse any doubles he offers, even if his advantage is slight. If you are playing with an average player, refuse the double only when his position is clearly stronger than yours. Finally, when you are playing with a buffoon, accept all doubles except the clearly hopeless ones - he will find some way to lose his advantage in subsequent throws.
But then again, don't use these rules absolutely. They are strongly dependent on how good a player you are. Thus, leaving all mathematical considerations aside, doubling depends also on human factors. You must know your opponent's skill and whims, and especially your own. And this is difficult for most people. Human vanity is impossible to overcome.
There are also some additional considerations that figure heavily in doubling games. Some players, for example, use the double as a psychological weapon, even when they are behind. Watch the dice carefully to see if such a player is running hot on a given day. The present stakes are also important when you are contemplating a certain double. Some are too timid, and refuse a double when the stakes are already eight times the original bet. Others accept all initial doubles, simply because they like to control the block. Only experience can guide you wisely in the finer points of this concept. In closing we wish to point out that there are exceptions even to the rule that the player clearly ahead should double.
You can read more about Variety Doubling Cube.

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