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Backgammon: From Basics to Badass
"Backgammon - From basics to badass" is the cutting edge, modern backgammon book, which teaches you all the basic concepts and principles in the game. It beats the older backgammon theory books by a mile. It starts out softly, but don't let this fool you! The book is full of insights from a true expert. The philosophy is a thorough and well structured learning, which leaves you no gaps in your game comprehension, as well as bringing new theory to the backgammon literature, for instance "the value-equation" and probability tables on jumping primes.
It is very easy to read even for beginners. The purpose of the book is to connect the basic theory with the advanced theory. All earlier backgammon books tends to focus on just one of these categories.
Since publication in Denmark early 2013, this book is now owned by roughly half of the members of the Danish Backgammon Federation, the worlds largest backgammon federation.
When writing this book, Marc was ranked frst in the Danish rating system.
In 2014 Marc won his frst "Grand Slam," the prestigious international tournament: Nordic Open in Copenhagen.
Reviews:
""It's my humble opinion, that this is a must-read for everyone who wants to take his game to another level. The book is highly informative, easy to read and packed with educational positions. I've been privileged to know Marc for many years, and he is currently the best backgammon tutor in the world. Don't waste this formidable chance, buy this book right away!"" - Sander Lylloff, the best backgammon player in the world.
""Tremendous all-round book which suits backgammon players of all levels. It presents the concepts in a sharp but still educational way. The book has numerous new approaches to the facets of the game, that can be very complex. It appeals to new, as well as more experienced players. I'm positive that everybody can obtain new knowledge and inspiration. Read it!"" - Karsten Bredahl, Super Grand Master and double winner of Nordic Open.
""Marc has truly succeeded in writing a book, which starts from the bottom and ends on a very high level, without the usual gaps you can encounter. It is a solid book that everybody can beneft from, regardless of experience. The examples and explanations are top notch."" - Peter Hallberg, backgammon world champion 2004.
It is very easy to read even for beginners. The purpose of the book is to connect the basic theory with the advanced theory. All earlier backgammon books tends to focus on just one of these categories.
Since publication in Denmark early 2013, this book is now owned by roughly half of the members of the Danish Backgammon Federation, the worlds largest backgammon federation.
When writing this book, Marc was ranked frst in the Danish rating system.
In 2014 Marc won his frst "Grand Slam," the prestigious international tournament: Nordic Open in Copenhagen.
Reviews:
""It's my humble opinion, that this is a must-read for everyone who wants to take his game to another level. The book is highly informative, easy to read and packed with educational positions. I've been privileged to know Marc for many years, and he is currently the best backgammon tutor in the world. Don't waste this formidable chance, buy this book right away!"" - Sander Lylloff, the best backgammon player in the world.
""Tremendous all-round book which suits backgammon players of all levels. It presents the concepts in a sharp but still educational way. The book has numerous new approaches to the facets of the game, that can be very complex. It appeals to new, as well as more experienced players. I'm positive that everybody can obtain new knowledge and inspiration. Read it!"" - Karsten Bredahl, Super Grand Master and double winner of Nordic Open.
""Marc has truly succeeded in writing a book, which starts from the bottom and ends on a very high level, without the usual gaps you can encounter. It is a solid book that everybody can beneft from, regardless of experience. The examples and explanations are top notch."" - Peter Hallberg, backgammon world champion 2004.
319 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
20 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 25, 2022
Book #1 - Backgammon: From basics to badass by Marc Olsen. I'm a fan of Olsen, who is with Backgammon Galaxy, so I decided to read this and, hopefully, learn a few things. I am glad I did. The book starts out with basic concepts and gets more advanced from there. It manages to explain things most readers may already knows but does so in a non-patronizing way. While I had general ideas about the basic concepts described (the race, the prime, buried checkers, etc) and the basic game plans (running game, priming game, hitting game, etc) this explained it well and thus I learned a great deal. I am glad I acquired this and if you're looking for a good backgammon game that starts simple but also goes into subjects I don't understand as well, like math equity, this is the book for you.
November 22, 2023
Really improved my backgammon game which is the point of this book and it’s an excellent beginner-intermediate book. You should definitely know the fundamental rules of the game before reading as even the chapters explaining the rules are pretty bare. If you don’t know the general lingo of the game the book might trip you up at times. But if you’re fairly familiar with the terminology and general strategy (watching a few championships is a good way to get there) then this book is an amazing next step.
Downside is that this book is translated and though being over ten years in print has yet to have a second editor go through and fix some grammar issues and spelling mistakes and such. For being one of the oft recommended beginner books by one of the biggest names on the scene, I’d have figured someone would’ve given this an additional once over edit in that time. Also the book is print on demand on Amazon so it was almost 40$. The information is worth it if you’re a serious (or want to be) a serious player but for 40$ I’d expect a bit of QC.
Downside is that this book is translated and though being over ten years in print has yet to have a second editor go through and fix some grammar issues and spelling mistakes and such. For being one of the oft recommended beginner books by one of the biggest names on the scene, I’d have figured someone would’ve given this an additional once over edit in that time. Also the book is print on demand on Amazon so it was almost 40$. The information is worth it if you’re a serious (or want to be) a serious player but for 40$ I’d expect a bit of QC.
October 28, 2020
Well-rounded backgammon book with lots of examples and highlighted messages accompanying each section.
"When you are already in a commanding position, it is rarely needed to force anything, Unless you are fighting to win a gammon, you should play safe and score the win."
"If you have an advanced anchor, you can usually take the cube if you are being doubled. However, you should not take if the opponent has additional advantages, such as an extraordinary big lead in the race or if you have vulnerable blots, if you have a checker on the bar or if the offensive player has a massive structure in her outer board in front of the anchor, which makes it easier for her to get home safely."
"When you are already in a commanding position, it is rarely needed to force anything, Unless you are fighting to win a gammon, you should play safe and score the win."
"If you have an advanced anchor, you can usually take the cube if you are being doubled. However, you should not take if the opponent has additional advantages, such as an extraordinary big lead in the race or if you have vulnerable blots, if you have a checker on the bar or if the offensive player has a massive structure in her outer board in front of the anchor, which makes it easier for her to get home safely."
May 14, 2020
A superb book achieving the almost impossible task of taking the reader from basic understanding to complex concepts and strategies. I suppose I should confess I already had a good understanding of a lot of the subject matter, but I learnt so much I had missed out on previously. As I mostly play online with pip counts showing, the face to face play pip counting techniques were a revelation. As were the various techniques for approximating the double/take decisions during race situations, amongst many other gems. Backgammon is, as Marc Brockmann says, a game where there is always more to learn.
June 7, 2023
A great introduction for newcomers to the entertaining game of backgammon. Well organised and clearly presented and illustrated concepts, gradually progressing from beginners' level to advanced strategic gameplay and cube management, this can be read without any need for an actual backgammon set. Highly recommended by the Danish backgammon federation.
April 21, 2015
Det är verkligen en bra bok om du är nybörjare och vill vinna över din älskling. Senare i boken är lite mer avancerat, och som en fullbordat backgammon spelare i många år, tror jag att 90% av alla backgammon spelare kan förbättra sitt spel med denna bok. Det är bra!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews