As with anything in life, it counts a lot if you are goal-driven, and as important as that is to use the best ways to achieve that goal. Often you can develop your own strategies, but it is better to check first on how others play as when in Rome it pays off to do as Romans do. There are several strategies to win and sometimes you may need to combine them. Yet you should quickly shift from one strategy to another one depending on the course of the game.

Having a strategy when playing backgammon is important, similar to other games which involve chance like poker, bridge and others. Strategising involves creating a long term plan of action with the ultimate aim of improving your winning chances. Adopting a game plan from the outset of a backgammon game allows you to predict, and to some extent control, the moves of your opponent, placing you in an optimal game winning position. For beginner level players, make sure you understand the general game instructions and game concepts before introducing strategies into your game.

As you develop your backgammon skills and begin to test out different tactics during money play, your overall planned objective is always finding a way to get your checkers around the board and off before your opponent does. There are a variety of strategies available to do that. The strategy you choose is often dictated by the dice rolls early in the game and the strategy chosen by your opponent. If your first two rolls are 65 and 65, you will often move your back checkers forward and get into a race. If you are hit early and have checkers sent back, you will choose a holding game or a back game.