Backgammon for Blood

by Bruce Becker

There are two ways to play backgammon: nice and easy, the way most people do it... or fast, tough, and strictly for blood. That's Bruce Becker's game, the real backgammon — the game that has intrigued and thrilled players for thousands of years.

In BACKGAMMON FOR BLOOD, backgammon master Becker shows you —
* rules of the game and their variants
* basic tactics for beginners
* insidious openings
* ruthless retaliations
* tactics during the game
* the back game: bearing off the board
* diabolical doublings: betting for blood
* tested tips for tournament survival and much more!

Whether you're a novice or an expert — whether you play for money or the sheer enjoyment of it — backgammon is the most fun when you play to win. And BACKGAMMON FOR BLOOD is the winner's choice!

Genres: Nonfiction, Games, Reference

176 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Ben Haines]

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently purchased a backgammon set at a thrift store and this book was the bonus tucked inside with the pieces. Initially I just thought, what a funny, intense looking book from 1974, then all of a sudden I was reading it. Then I brought it on a trip and was reading it for hours by the hotel pool, then I was playing backgammon in the hotel lobby, and then I had finished the book.

If we’re bringing back backgammon, let’s bring Backgammon for Blood back into print. It has a lot of good strategy with details about probability and statistics that I would really need to revisit to put into practice. But even after the one read-through I have noticeably improved my game. It’s an overall informative and entertaining book, including strategy like being confident, playing in a good atmosphere on a nice board, and the very, very important aspect of betting.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot of strategy, though some of it may be a bit outdated now.

[S. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the paperback copy I own, author Bruce Becker's disembodied head floats menacingly over a backgammon board, grinning slyly as his severed hand clutches a cigarette. We immediately learn two things from this cover: 1) Somebody doesn't know that you don't wear a black turtleneck against a black background, and 2) This same somebody takes backgammon way too seriously.

Becker's book is the kind of board game guide that one usually associates with chess, crammed full of statistics, moves, game theory, and strategic planning. The book doesn't contain nearly as much philosophical meandering about backgammon as the cover image indicates, so there is very little meditating on the ruthlessness of the titular blood sport to trudge through on the way. With chapters like "Insidious Openings" and "The Diabolical Doubler: Betting for Blood" waiting inside, you can bet this book takes backgammon as seriously as three-dimensional chess or three-week Risk campaign. When Becker gleefully recalls his daughter screaming "I hate you!" in his face after losing a game to him, you have no doubt that he is completely serious about playing "for blood."

You could say that this book is specifically for those who have friends who play backgammon like Bruce Becker, but it's very existence is itself advice that if you know somebody who takes backgammon this seriously, you probably shouldn't be playing backgammon with them. However, if you are the kind of person who often finds yourself in seedy bars playing backgammon for money while dressed like a beat poet, then you'll want to read this book twice. After that, good luck, or as the author closes his introduction, "Happy blood-letting!"

[Wenceslas]

I don’t believe that that’s Becker’s face on cover of Backgammon for Blood. Probably a model. If you search his name you get a Hollywood headshot. Nothing like book cover.
That said, does anyone know Bruce Becker’s whereabouts. Is he alive? Internet dhows nothing.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in the late 70's. Went from beginner to intermediate in one day.

[Dwight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the seventies. You can tell. Backgammon sounds fun.