FIBS Board backgammon forum

Just joined and have played 4 games - two dropped and one was so slow I left - not a good start

it's hard starting... i seem to remember, among many rides that i was taken on, being invited by a quiet s.american to have a 42 pt game when i started, who dropped me , but as the weeks wore on we got closer to a finish. then there was parviz - a serial dropper - but it became quite exciting trying to guess when he would drop = then one day he resumesd - came back into the match,,...and i dropped him .. he would occassionally play and finish - you get to know who to play and sometimes you take a punt...

enjoy

as stog says, "it is hard starting" .. however, finding FIBSboard after only 4 games is impressive, so welcome to FIBSland .. it is a most amazing little world .. we were all newbies once, some more recently than others .. therefore we all have some sympathy and empathy for newbies and wish to be welcoming, but patience often wears thin with time - four games is no time at all .. so, garp_02, have a little patience and keep us posted on how you feel after 40 games, 100, 400, and even 1,000 games which as you'll see from many players experience (Exp on the player list) really isn't much time either

meanwhile, consider these few tips for new users:

• Learn to use RepBotNG
• When invited to play or inviting someone, ALWAYS use TELL REPBOTNG ASK <player_name> to inquire about a players reputation (Rep)
• When a player has a negative or low Rep or low Exp, ACCEPT or INVITE with caution
• Learn to recognize phone users, particularly those with little experience, and use caution playing with them
• Several clients are available for interfacing with FIBS, the best for beginners is JavaFIBS - if you don't have it, get it
• With JavaFIBS you can compile Friends and Villians lists - use them - make anyone you'd like to play again a friend and anyone you'd like to avoid an enemy
• Programmable buttons are also available in JavaFIBS with this feature using RepBotNG is a simple button click
• Read and participate in SHOUTs - ask questions, engage in conversations, and find people you'd like to meet and play with
• Try to create a small group of friends with whom you play regularly, even daily .. not only will you build a network of reliable opponents, you'll find you enjoy those games as much or more than random invites
• Participate in FIBS based tournaments .. entry requirements for most are very easy to attain .. some have no requirements at all other than a FIBS account
• Become a regular reader and contributor to FIBSboard
• Browse through the FIBSboard archives, do a search on a topic or two .. many questions have already been answered and new ones are always welcomed

finally, use a nickname at FIBSboard that matches your nickname at FIBS .. while not required, FIBSboard is an extention of the FIBS community .. it's always nice to get to know folks here as well as at FIBS .. when i did a WHOIS garp_02, i found no such user registered at FIBS .. had i done that first, i might not have bothered to respond .. while user comments and criticisms are always appreciated, anonymous ones are often not worth responding to, like some new users they are here today and gone tomorrow .. i hope we'll see you around tomorrow and you'll continue to provide us feedback and introduce yourself with your FIBS nick

Try plain garp,or better, a*****e #0. Isn't it obvious Garpey is an oldie goldie? 

Hi stog and sixty - thanks for the replies.

I do intend to stick around and I'm sure things will improve.

As for the name thing - garp_02 is an old nick which, when I tried to register with FIBS, I discovered I could use _, so had to register as plain old garp. Should I re-register here as that?

Not sure how to take Adrian's comments   

You should be registered here as the same name you use on Fibs, whatever that is, when possible.  

socksey



"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you." - Dick Cheney, Vice President of the United States

Stick around and you'll rapidly get a better experience. Two pointers which may help:

You're very unlikely to play a dropper if you play someone who expresses a personality in the shouts (unless it's a dropper whom you'll be able to recognise by the response to their shouts within the shouts!).

Learn to use repbot.

Quote from: socksey on December 29, 2008, 01:40:34 PM
"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you." - Dick Chaney, Vice President of the United States

Is "Chaney" Cheney's pseudonym pre W's pardon for him sox? (sorry - just fun to catch sox with a typo).

Quote from: spielberg on December 30, 2008, 03:48:58 PM
You're very unlikely to play a dropper if you play someone who expresses a personality in the shouts (unless it's a dropper whom you'll be able to recognise by the response to their shouts within the shouts!).

excellent tip, spielberg .. it makes me recall all the problems i had when i first started .. my saved game count was over 60 at one time .. it was coming out into the shout lobby in self-defense when folks, like socksey, started issuing dropper alerts when i'd login that enabled me to get to know people .. most of my saved games were due to my connection problems which i soon learned to resolve, but as many as 20 or more were matches with genuine droppers that i soon leaned to recognize by using RepBot .. as my saved game count went down folks, like socksey that are now good friends, started accepting my invites

another feature of RepBot that was useful, for me, is the ALERT ON feature, TELL RepBotNG ALERT ON, that enables RepBot to send you a Tell each time a player with whom you have a saved game logs in .. with that feature and my persistent hounding of anyone with whom i had a saved game, i was able to clear up most of my saved games others just disappeared in time .. i think the ALERT ON feature still works as it once did, but recall hearing it has been changed recently

so, garp, get to know us in shouts and here at FIBSboard and you'll likely have a much better experience and i'd even bet a 100 Naccis that sooner or later you'll admit to being impressed with our little community

Hi guys,

Thanks for the advice - have sussed out the reputation thingy which is helping.

Things are looking up and I may have to change the header of this thread.

Off for a few days away now for New Year - see you in 2009.

Garp

QuoteIs "Chaney" Cheney's pseudonym pre W's pardon for him sox? (sorry - just fun to catch sox with a typo).

Yep, you caught me again!     Quit picking on me, will ya?     But not my typo.  Typo was from copy source.     Obviously, I wasn't paying attention.  Again!   

socksey



"We come into this world crying while all around us are smiling. May we so live that we go out of this world smiling while everybody around us is weeping." - Persian proverb

Quote from: spielberg on December 30, 2008, 03:48:58 PM
Stick around and you'll rapidly get a better experience. Two pointers which may help:

You're very unlikely to play a dropper if you play someone who expresses a personality in the shouts (unless it's a dropper whom you'll be able to recognise by the response to their shouts within the shouts!).

What about those of us who just shout without displaying any personality?

QuoteIs "Chaney" Cheney's pseudonym pre W's pardon for him sox? (sorry - just fun to catch sox with a typo).

Better than potatoe!  

socksey



"A woman is an occasional pleasure but a cigar is always a smoke." - Groucho Marx (dedicated to vegasvic)

Quote from: lewscannon on December 31, 2008, 02:55:02 PM
What about those of us who just shout without displaying any personality?

But you're regal Lews - a personality would hamper your Majesty.

To take the thread back to it's theme you'll find many fine opponents in Naccilandand fibsleagammon by the way garp. You don't have to join up, just look thru' the names of "known" fibsters!

PS

Quote from: socksey on January 01, 2009, 11:47:30 PM
"A woman is an occasional pleasure but a cigar is always a smoke." - Groucho Marx (dedicated to vegasvid)

is "vegasvid" new or just that "Showgirls" movie you were in sox?

Have to say I'm enjoying the whole experience a lot more now. Some great players. Some arseholes too but I guess you get that everywhere.

Really impressed by some of the puzzles and lessons on here, particularly the analysis by some of the members.

Would love to know what thought processess go through their minds while actually playing.

Regards,

garp

good to see you've stuck around and are enjoying yourself, garp

i've often wondered what goes on in the thought processes of great players, too .. for example, i played a pair of 7-pointers with BillyCraven (our newest 1900+ player) in a best 2 of 3 set yesterday .. i was a little distracted, but i was thoroughly trounced in the first match losing 0-8 in only two games .. match two was closer, but at 3-3 i was gammoned with the cube at 2 .. using GNUbg, which i haven't yet on those matches, will help me see what BillyC was thinking

as for getting inside the mind of BillyC or even vegasvic, NIHolympic, or donzaemon, not to mention many other great backgammon minds around FIBS, i'd be afraid i might not be able to get out  .. i have enough problems with my own mind



"My mind has a mind of its own.
Takes me out a walkin'
when I shoulda stayed at home.
My mind has a mind of its own."

-- Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Texas singer-songwriter 

I'm not sure analysing would help me 

When I read the analysis of the likes of dorbel, I can follow what they are saying and understand the theory. I assume such analysis takes some thought and also assume that in the time-constrained world of playing, whether the greats still went through the same process or was more of it intuitive, based on their knowledge.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Garp

Glad you can follow my stuff. That's the first essential for any analysis. When I write about a position, it is always with hindsight. I have had time to think, run the position through a powerful computer program, sometimes play the position myself many times over. By this I arrive at the reasons for the play, with the hope that we can reverse the process when we meet a similar position in real life.
Do I do this over the board? Sometimes, although of course in a very truncated form.
I too wish that we could see the thought processes of the great players. The one sure thing that we can assume is that they are all different. I think we can reason from this that organising our own thought processes to arrive at answers in play in the way that is most efficient for us, is the single most important step to becoming a strong player. You have to be able to summon up what knowledge you have and apply it where and when it is needed.
Too many players, in my opinion, think that the game is about acquiring knowledge. That's part of it, but organising our approach to the game in such a way that we can recall and use that knowledge is more important. This, you have to work out for yourself because only you know what goes on in your head.
I would say that any player below world class can jump 100 rating points permanently, just by eliminating the mistakes that they are already good enough not to make! As a starter, don't ever play thoughtlessly or "for fun". Think about what you are doing every roll, every game every match, until such application is second nature. Don't ever play when you are hungry, thirsty, intoxicated, distracted or just plain tired. Above all perhaps, just play a bit slower. Great players do not rush. Imitate them!
Playing better wins more often in the long run, always more fun, but for me the single most important reason for improving is that the game becomes more interesting!
Enjoy the game!

Quote from: dorbel on January 09, 2009, 08:51:06 AM
Don't ever play when you are hungry, thirsty, intoxicated, distracted or just plain tired.

What are you trying to do, dorbel, empty out fibs?

garp, we seem to have digressed from the original topic in this thread which is fine - some threads meander, some whither, some never go anywhere, some never seem to go away

some posts have a subject title that says it all, but this title seems to be out of date .. first, you're no longer "New" .. while we've never played or even met outside of this thread, garp, your posts here have been sufficient introduction for me .. second, you seem to now really be enjoying yourself .. whether you are "impressed" or not doesn't really matter .. we're all here to enjoy ourselves in one way or another .. so, Welcome Home, amigo

your desire for commentary during a game is a common one shared by many including me .. i have gone to great lengths annotating games in GNUbg with the intent of creating a method where a group of annotators can share thoughts on a game for each decision .. i really liked the potential of that idea, but it never seemed to go anywhere .. i may attempt to resurrect it soon

dorbel's comments are right on, IMHO .. while we all love to tease dorbel for his often very dry sense of British humour, e.g. his infamous dorbelian remark "dumb as a fencepost" which many of us fenceposts have refused to allow him to forget, he is an excellent teacher .. i have read and followed more than a few of his game commentaries with great care and have always enjoyed his analysis .. Zorba and donzeamon are also excellent commentators

at one time i thought a live video recording with commentary might be a great way to learn the game for beginners and those interested in the subtleties of complex positions and decisions - many are available at YouTube .. but having tried that, i have yet to find a commentator or set of games that is worth the time and trouble to follow in depth as recorded video .. for me, i need more time to review and often replay a position to really get it -- GNUBg gives me that and more .. i am sure there are some excellent commentators out there outside of FIBSboard, but i haven't found him or her yet (perhaps i should include the keyword redhead in my next search - i would enjoy watching and listening to a cute redhead read the phonebook)

for example of a video commentary, here is an unusual and very dramatic video with commentary of the final ten minutes of the 2007 World Backgammon Championship match .. pay close attention to the opening analysis and ultimate move in that first position .. you may need to replay it a few times to really see what happens .. it is most unique

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zAIgDC1ZoQ

keep playing, studying, and enjoying yourself, garp .. FIBS is a great place and FIBSters, friends and villians alike, are a most interesting mob .. i hope to see you across the board sometime soon and have enjoyed watching your evolution since your first post

Thanks to dorbel and sixty for your replies.

I have been playing around 10 years now, having come from chess and looking for something a little more......how shall we say.......um.......let's just say a game that moves a little faster.

In those 10 years, I think I have progressed, but have still much to learn and every day is a schoolday as we say here.

I'm not one for analysing positions and that's one reason why I may never progress beyond my current level of playing, but I do enjoy the occasional reading of someone else's thoughts.

Going back to the chess thing......in many ways I think BG is harder to play. With chess, I am used to thinking 2...3....4.... etc moves ahead, but throw in the dice and it makes it a lot more difficult. Analysing probabilties? Makes my brain hurt.

As dorbel says, the more I learn, the more intersting....and enjoyable....the game becomes.

Hope to see you all acroos the virtual board sometime

garp