When I first started to play backgammon it took me a long time to become a good player.  The main reason was that backgammon is a game you learn by experience.  You can read all the books on backgammon rules and strategies, but until you apply what you’ve read you won’t become much better.  Like chess, the best backgammon players have become that way by playing backgammon constantly and learning what strategies work for them, how to respond to their opponent’s strategies, and how their opponents will respond to theirs.  Watch a professional play backgammon and you can see how fast they move and how they know what they’re going to do several moves in advance.

Now, for casual players we don’t have to get that involved, but if you’re going to play backgammon, especially for money, you might as well be good.  My advice is to read up on different strategies and play backgammon online.  There are lots of free sites to play while you’re learning and practicing and you can play thousands of people all over the world.  Then, when you feel confident in your skills and your game you can move on to the real money tables and reap the rewards of you time investment.

Backgammon is an awesome game that’s always fun to play; win or lose.  But, if you’re going to play, you might as well win; it’s just more fun that way.  And if you’re going to put money on the line you’ll definitely want the confidence of knowing you’ve put the effort into playing backgammon and building a solid game.