Doubling Cube: Backgammon Advanced Strategy
The game of backgammon for several players is for relaxing and having fun while killing away time. A more serious reason in playing backgammon is to battle with other advanced competitors in money tournaments and games.
In contending with a tough player, the advanced backgammon participant can use a strategy that increases the possibility for him to win the competition. Doubling cube is an example of an advanced strategy. Such strategy is well-known to many advanced backgammon players and actually unheard to most ordinary backgammon players. Doubling cube is an indispensable strategy during serious and tough backgammon tournament and games.
The main goal of the cube in a game or match is to elevate the stakes. The addition of the cube to backgammon has led to its popularity and has made the game more interesting and attractive to beginner and veteran players.
A doubling cube has six faces. Each of its face has a corresponding number marked on it such as the even numbers 64, 32, 16, 8, 4 and 2 (the smallest). A doubling cube is normally situated on the BAR that divides the home board of each player. It is placed beside the board at the start of a backgammon match. Doubling cube strategy may be utilized at any phase of the match. It is more effective for a player leading the game to use the doubling cube. The proposal to double the stakes is always done before throwing the two dice and the doubling cube should be positioned with the marked number 2 faced-up.
When one of the participants decided that the stakes should be raised and he utilized the doubling cube, the other participant is allowed to take some time to examine his position. The other player has two choices. Either he refuses his opponent's proposal to raise or double the stakes and he is declared lost or he accepts his opponent's proposal so the game continues but this time with higher stakes.
Once the opponent accepts the proposal of doubling the stakes, he will get his chance to doubling the cube and the only party this time who is allowed for the next doubling of the stakes. It is just the same process. The doubling cube is set with the faced-up number 4 before the dice is rolled.
Upon reaching this stage, the first participant has the choices to either accept or decline the proposal in doubling the stakes. In case he will reject, the 2 units will be lost. In case he accepted the proposal, at this point, stakes are up to four times higher from its original amount and he will get his chance again to manipulate the doubling cube.
Doubling cube is just passed around from one participant to the other provided that stakes are raised. An advance player utilizes the doubling cube strategy if the situation is advantageous to him. Any one of the players who yields off all of his chips is the winner and he is the one entitled to get the entire prize.
