When you’re first approaching a backgammon set, it can be a bit of a confusing experience.  Before I started playing backgammon I always saw the backgammon board on the back of my checker board and could not figure out for the life of me what it was.  But despite the different look, a backgammon set is actually a very simple thing to understand.

 

 

First off, let’s clear the air about the big triangles all over the board.  If you look, you will find the board is divided into 4 sections with twelve triangles in each section.  These triangles are called points and they are simply the spots you move your checkers around the board on; like the squares in checkers.  The points are long simply because you can place more than one checker on a point.   Now, as I said, the board is divided into 4 sections but that means nothing.  You move from one side of the board in a horseshoe shape to the other in order to then move your pieces off the board to win.  The sections do not affect movement or anything else.  The final thing to know about the backgammon set is that the any colors are for design.  You can land on any point, regardless of color, and no other color affects anything.

That’s it.  That’s all there is to any backgammon set.  So now that you know if you want to try it out, pick up a board and get a friend or go online.  You can play online backgammon for free and you’ll find thousands of other players to play against.

The notion that, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, could very readily apply to the online casino industry.  The fact that the UK Government decided to interfere in the casino industry as a whole, rather than leave well alone, probably says more about the British Government than it does about aspects of gaming, including the online casino.

Although a highly lucrative industry, UK casinos seemed to manage perfectly well without added government regulation.  However, it is precisely because of its profitable nature that it was probably only a matter of time before there was governmental interference.  This is of course not to say that it is now illegal to gamble in an online casino, far from it, but regulation has changed the nature of that which was growing more organically.  With a certain amount of behind the scenes tinkering, well respected and exclusive clubs and casinos, who had tried to break into the online casino market found that the red-tape generated by new legislation was putting a stranglehold on development.

Maybe, those reading this are thinking ‘so what’?  I can still play my favourite online casino games; blackjack, roulette and baccarat, so how does this really affect me?  Truth is; it doesn’t really.  In the US, online gambling is prohibited, though this is circumvented by setting up offices in other locations around the globe.  Though this might impact a little on security, in terms of who you can turn to should things go a little awry, the fact is that millions of people around the globe, who have taken the right precautions are still able to enjoy the great world of an online casino.

A year ago a good friend of mine got a contract to work in Iraq.  It was a crazy thing to do but the pay was too good to turn down.  We had been poker buddies for a long time and not only was I going to not see him now, but I was going to miss our poker nights.

 

 

Then, messing around on the internet, I learned about internet gambling and online casinos.  I got to thinking, hey, maybe distance doesn’t have to stop our poker night’s after-all!

I told my buddy about the online casino poker.  He looked into it and got as excited as I was.  It’s not like you can just hit up the night life in Iraq after-all, he was going to have some time on his hands.  We both joined and online casino and got some practice rounds in with the free casino games that were available.  Then we set a time and started playing together online with some other online gamblers.  We’ve had a blast, made money, and also met some great people online.  I think it really helped my buddy with home sickness as well.  He even got some of his friends over there to join on! With anything from sports betting, horse racing betting, a simple backgammon game, or even just those looking to play casino free of charge, there’s something for everyone at these places.

Sometimes I’m not big on technology, but internet gambling is definitely something I’ve benefited from.  Who would have thought that a friend in the States and one in Iraq could keep their poker nights alive with online poker and internet casinos?  Crazy! It’s even possible to play poker UK style, regardless of your location, allowing my buddy and me to expand our poker knowledge.