If you’re new at backgammon, there’s one name that you should know just as well as tried and tested techniques in the game: Bill Robertie.

Bill Robertie is a chess and poker player – and a backgammon master. His greatest feat as far as backgammon playing is concerned is his having won the Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship twice, in 1983 and 1987. He is one of only three players who possess this most elite and revered of backgammon titles.

Not surprisingly, he is a Harvard graduate and a systems analyst, a profession which no doubt sparked or enhanced his skill at mind-boggling, logic-focused games. Some of the other tournaments he won in backgammon and chess are the Bahamas Pro-Am, the Istanbul World Cup, and the US Speed Chess Tournament.

Robertie is also an author of many books, some of which he co-authored with Dan Harrington who was poker’s World Champion in 1995.

These books include Backgammon for Serious Players, 501 Essential Backgammon Problems, Backgammon for Winners, and Advanced Backgammon; Easy Endgame Strategies and Master Checkmate Strategy; and the popular Hold’em and Cash Games series he wrote with Harrington.

Since we are more interested on backgammon, let us focus on his books on the game we love.

Many long-time players who purchased and read Robertie’s Advanced Backgammon say that the book, published in two volumes, offers a different outlook compared with Backgammon, that classic written by Paul Magriel. Robertie’s book aims to raise backgammon player’s game to expert level and provides numerous problems (there are a hundred of them) about chequer play and cube decisions that players can work and practice with. Some find Robertie’s strategy stronger and truly challenging.

If you’ve only been playing for some time and want to improve your game and skills, the best Robertie book for you is Backgammon for Serious Players. It offers valuable information on the best opening moves, replies or retaliations, middle, end, and back game techniques, and fascinating strategies for tournament play and doubling cube play. It contains Robertie’s personal and expert analysis of numerous problems. Most readers have testified that because of Robertie’s Backgammon for Serious Players, they’ve come to beat others who have been playing the game longer than they have and who used to beat them. Clearly, book will help you amp your game and take it to the next level.

In Backgammon for Winners, Robertie gives lessons that reflect his “dynamic backgammon” style of playing. It’s a way to see into Robertie’s mind and how he approaches a play, which is already a treat considering his stature in the world of backgammon. He goes through every step of the game (with three sample plays) providing diagrams and explanations. Some expert players have noted, though, that novices are the ones who can benefit more from this book, with Robertie’s easy explanations on the rules of the game, basic objectives, and suggested opening moves.

There are many more books written by no less than Bill Robertie – the world’ best backgammon player – and you can bet there’s one that’s perfect for you.