Customer Reviews

Backgammon for Blood

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I actually can relate to all the reviews mentioned below. My first book on backgammon I bought was "The Backgammon Book" from Jacoby & Crawford that I picked up in the mid-to-late 70's while I was in junior high. I couldn't read the whole thing and was about to lose interest in learning the game until I picked up this book from Becker. It really turned me around and I had a whole new perspective on backgammon. Becker really gets you enthused about the game. I then when back and studied "The Backgammon Book" along with Magriel's book and quite a few others of that period. I've just recently been getting interested in the game again after a long hiatus and wouldn't you know I went back to re-read Becker's book and now I'm back studing more of the recent material on the game. I'm also playing more on the internet. Having read quite a bit of material now on backgammon, I realize this book lacks a great deal of rational, logical and objective material but what the heck. I still enjoy reading it just to re-ignite more subjective emotions for the game; especially after studying more objective, "heady" books. I'd give this one first to anyone considering learning the game and then quickly move them to Magriel's book.

I bought this book almost 19 years ago when I was 17 years old. Before that, my friend and I would play endless games of backgammon with each of us winning about 50% of the time. Initially, I chose this book because I thought the title was cool but it was Becker's unique enthusiasm for the game that drew me in for more. After I read this book, I beat my friend the next 17 games in a row. What else needs to be said? True story.

This book is ridiculed by serious players of the game. If you are a beginner or a playing beginners this book can help you. It does a few things well (very few) it has one of the better explanations of probability. It is an entertaining read and not too bad a manual on how to play a backgame which should only be played when you have to, not as a strategy from the start of the game as Becker does. The best use of this book is to give it to a friend that likes to gamble, then you read Paul Magriel's book "Backgammon" and you will have a steady source of income. There is not enough space to explain all that is wrong with this book. You can learn to play backgammon in less than 5 minutes, but it is a deep and complex game that takes years to play really well, if your goal is to become a good player this is not the book for you. Although having said all that it is one of the first books I read, and I am glad that I did, it did give me an excitement for the game and taught me how to play a backgame. I guess that is why I gave it two stars instead of one. If you do read it be aware of its limitations and enjoy, it is a fun read.

Ray's review is excellent. This is a book that will raise a player's standing from novice to accomplished novice, but it will not, by itself, raise a player above the novice level.

This book was written before personal computers, before FIBS, before Snowie, and before GNUbg so it lacks the depth that is available 20+ years later.

But it is an excellent book to give a young child who wants to
learn backgammon.

This book is great for learning why the age old game of Backgammon is still so popular among people who have gambling in their blood. It is a game that combines luck with skill, and the killer instincts of one-on-one play, and the thrill is in taking every chance when it should be taken. Some mathematical purists might find fault with some of his conclusions about starting moves, etc., but his power to move you with the power and appeal of the game is top drawer. Get a computerized backgammon game to practice with before/during/after you read of this delicious intermediate-level game manual.

This book was the first I ever bought on backgammon, back in the mid-70s. It is by no means the most complete out there, but what it is missing in serious analysis and problem solving it comes close to making up in enthusiasm, and aggressive, in your face attitude.

Just for starters, the cover of edition I have has a photo on the cover of a man contemplating the board with a look of sly cunning and confidence, and in his left hand is, yes, a smoking cigarette! Good luck getting that on a book cover in 2005.

Add to that Becker's comments on general playing attitude, which comes across as playing to the crowd - and the women in the crowd - every bit as much as intimidation of the enemy...er, I mean opponent...and you get the general idea. It's all written with verve and style and some panache, and does not come across quite as arrogantly as I may be implying.

Becker's backgammon advice is fine if one takes it as a starting off point. He introduces the rules of the game, talks a little general strategy - pretty light stuff - and then plunges into openings. Well, some of the openings will be obvious, but some of his suggestions will be somewhat aggressive, maybe even risky. They do support his declared style of play. His comments on the midgame are sketchy - this is not a book of exercises or studies - and while his material on bearing off is good analysis, there is better out there. His best chapter is on the doubling cube, a medieval weapon of torture in his hands.

In general it's a good book to get a sense of strategy and tactics for a novice. It was my only book until I started playing for money with a regular group of players locally, as well as almost daily online. I got my butt kicked, and went back to other sources to learn more. I don't get it kicked quite so often anymore. So once a player is at a certain level, it's time to move on to other, deeper books on the subject. But until then, it's a great primer, and a fun bedside read.

I bought this book many years ago, a 7th-grade kid with no knowledge of Backgammon. My younger brother & I both read it cover to cover, then played about 1,000 games of Backgammon on our old Atari game system. Backgammon for Blood was excellent in teaching the probabilities of dice, a love of the game, and going for the throat (figuratively, of course.) A great book

I happend to stumble across this unique writing at a cofeeshop in New Orleans late Winter of 1998 and it changed my life. Bruce Becker tells the story of his life as a backgammon afficinado, how he got started, how you can get started and how to win, and yes, how to win big time! Rule number one: never play unless for money! Rule number two: probability. Becker elaborates his own system of how to easily comprehend the laws after which the set of dices are tossed, and this is, trust me, imparative if winning is the ultimate objective; which it allways is and allways must be, according to becker, read and you shall certainly agree. The genuinity of Beckers quest for blood will thrill you to; Beckers` the name, backgammons` the game!

The most difficult thing when introducing a friend to backgammon is getting them excited about the game. Anyone can learn how to play, and even play well. But, if they're going to stick with it they must get real pleasure out of playing the game. That's what this book will inject them with. Sheer strategic adreneline and the kind of bloodlust one usually finds only in pro-football. Does a book like this exist on any other game of strategy. Of course not. That's why I love backgammon. This was the first book I read on the game. It quickly imbued me with a love of the game, and a desire to play as often as possible. I've reread it many times to keep Becker's spirit of the game alive in me. I recommend it to everyone, player and not-yet-player alike!

I started playing backgammon in the late 70s, as a college student. It was all the rage and everyone, I mean EVERYONE, was playing. There were few strategy books available, and all seemed to play "the running game," move forward quickly. This book preached the exact opposite - play the "back" game. His chapter on dice probability was (and still is) excellent. But his unorthodox style (I am reluctant to call it revolutionary, like some others have) could set a traditional player on his ear. No one at my level of play (I considered myself an advanced amateur) could cope with the different style. I went from winning about 50% of my matches to easily 70-80%. Often time doubling at odd, traditionally trailing positions. Opponents eagerly accepted and often re-doubled immediately.

I look at the book now fondly, but no longer as a "be all, end all" strategy guide. It absolutely is a must read for back game strategy, I do not think there is a better guide to the back game, if you happen to find yourself behind in a running game. And again, the chapter on dice roll probability is excellent.

25+ years ago I would have given it 5 stars. Today, standing on its own and out of time-period context, probably a 2-3 star book. But understanding when it was written and the prevalent style of game at the time, and its excellent back game and probability chapters, I give it a solid 4.

A fun book that has not stood the test of time, but still has a lot to offer.