Backgammon for Losers: Updated 3rd Edition Kindle Edition

I have been teaching backgammon for over 20 years and I make sure my students get the best books to study based on their skill level. I have never been satisfied with the books available for beginner and intermediate players...most books are simply far too complex and written way over the heads of these players. Finally, there is a book that is absolutely perfect for beginner and intermediate players, and, by the way, highly experienced players will learn several excellent shortcuts and new theories. As a bonus, Simon also has many interesting stories about his experiences and others, along with great quotes, tips, and rules of thumb. I must admit that one of the reasons I am so high on this book is that Simon gave me the honor of helping provide material for the book and editing, and I helped come up with many of the positions and examples used in the book, so I do have a personal attachment to this work. But the book has also been carefully studied by other top players and experts and their feedback was provided and included in this final, updated edition. In short, it's a great book and a great read and I recommend it highly.

Good overview of backgammon strategy. Doesn’t contain the same mathematical detail as Trice’s Backgammon Boot Camp, which makes it more suitable for a beginning to intermediate player. One aspect of the book I liked which I haven’t seen in others is the author’s discussion of how to use backgammon software, such as ExtremeGammon, to improve your game.

Good book for the beginners. Well written ,easy to understand with great references of similarity of the game to real life. Cute anecdotes about celebrities and backgammon championsHighly recommended

Highly recommend this book for beginner to intermediate players. The author’s humor makes this a very easy read packed with a lot of strategy and techniques. Hadn’t played in years and this helped get me back in the game. Already gave it to several friends who have never played.

There a few books on backgammon, but not near as many as say, chess, so this is a good one to have and read from

Excellent read with updated rollouts and latest modern theory of play. Board and movement illustrations are also excellent. Highly recommended companion to earlier classics and Chris Bray’s Backgammon for Dummies.

This book really fired me up on learning about the game of backgammon!I wish i had known years ago the game was so much fun and so many levels of complexity.5 stars.

Hi I had a good time reading and applying the lessons. In fact I began to win more games than before, and initially I did not tell my ususal rivals but later shared the book so our overall games will be more interesting

Backgammon is one of the great games: easy to learn; quick and simple to play; every game different; mentally challenging with no right answers; balance of luck, tactics and strategy; and above all the play is fun and exciting.The problem is that it stops being fun and exciting if you lose all the time.Modern backgammon has come a long way from the 1970's, with a much greater emphasis on equity, doubling and match play, and with the help of computer learning from neural networks to solve ancient debates between risk and reward. Playing without the cube and match play is rather like playing bridge without rubbers, or tennis without sets, and doubling adds an extra dimension to the excitement. The computer has reminded us that one phase of backgammon is war, and that you rarely win these without aggression.The good news is that once you're fluent in identifying moves, and advancing pieces, getting competent really isn't that hard. This is the ideal book for players with forgotten skills, who want to get back to the stage where they can start winning again.Simon reminds you of the strategy, tactics and understanding of the dynamics of the game that you need to play competitively, going back to first principles in case you missed any the first time. This isn't a book for total beginners, who should read Chris Bray (who has generously contributed to this edition) for example, but for intermediate players who want to get a lot better fast. A stream of anecdotes from real life play remind you of the fun you've missed, and why backgammon is so addictive.Beyond this level lie many more books, thousands of hours of obsession about probabilities and reference positions, and much less fun. Perhaps Simon should have called it the "Bluffers Guide to Backgammon", as it contains quite enough knowledge to give the reader a good chance of beating most players most of the time. Strongly recommended.PS The reviewer should declare that he knows Simon Hill, that he has made some suggestions for this updated edition, and that he hasn't always lost to him!

This book is very readable with much useful content for the beginner wishing to progress. Anecdotes and illustrations add to the experience. Worth the money.

Great introduction to the game - and it's history and characters! Reading it for the 2nd time now. And applying the advice to my game... Very interesting and very easy to read. Well done, Simon!

I'd say this book is fine for beginners but I'm not experienced enough to comment on it's expertise.

Great book, l now have a much better understanding of the game.