Backgammon is arguably the ultimate strategic board-game infused withliberal elements of skill and luck. The luck factor is a given for anygame driven by the engines of dice, which hold even the most skillfulplayers hostage to the vagaries of chance. We have all borne witness tothe cruel brutality of unbelievable sequences of jokers, which mock ourgame plans only to reward our seemingly less skillful opponents. Therelative skill to luck ratio is a moot point, suffice to say:

From the back streets of Cairo to the sumptuous game halls of MonteCarlo, Lady Luck can, and will, take every opportunity to stamp herauthority on the outcome of a game.

So, you have decided to take your shot at becoming the 2001 WorldBackgammon Champion, pitting your skills against the worlds best inMonte Carlo. You have paid your entry fee; bought your plane ticket;read all Kit's articles in GOL; and spent the last three monthsanalyzing your matches with Snowie. What are your chances of taking thetitle? Perhaps, 50 to 1?

Are there further measures you could take to improve your winningchances? Well, throughout history a multitude of keen gamesters fromevery continent thought so. Royalty, commoners, scoundrels, even formerworld champions, have all sought to curry favor with the goddess Fortunaby resort to esoteric practices in hope to gain that winning magic.

The word lottery is derived from the Italian 'lotto' - meaningdestiny or fate. Lotteries represent games of chance in their purestform. No skills could apparently confer the gamester with an edge overany other participants. Each combination of lottery numbers has an equalprobability of winning, yet extensive surveys have shown that around 20%of lottery participants select the same numbers each week, often basedon birthdays, anniversaries or addresses etc. The chance of hitting thejackpot from a single entry -typically in the order of 'one infourteen million', (figure based on the UK lottery) - beliestheir incredible global popularity. Given these odds it would seem thatpunters focus on the relatively vast prize money from a modest entrystake rather than the probability of winning.

The national Thai lottery is an inveterate source of amusement formillions of gamblers. In Bangkok, locals and visitors alike, flock topurchase their tickets from a multitude of vendors often located outsidefamous Buddhist temples. Perusing the ticket booths, the visitor will besurprised to note a 30% range in the price of individual tickets. Uponquestioning the reason for this disparity, the prospective punter willbe informed that the most expensive tickets feature the winning numbersas predicted by monks after consulting various deities and gods. Thecurious tourist schooled in the art of science and probability theorywill no doubt scoff and dismiss this explanation as a blatant attempt byunscrupulous vendors to fleece the ignorant. However, the pricesactually reflect the Neo-classical economics of supply and demand.

Thousands of local gamblers subscribe to dedicated mazazines, whichpublish a plethora of predictions based on the movement of the plantetsand observations of sacred objects. The cognoscenti then rush out tosnap up the 'lucky' numbers hopefully before their rival punters have achance. Particularly auspicious number sequences can command over a 100%mark up. Despite the lack of hard evidence, most inveterate players willhappily relay a rags to riches story of a local blessed by thepredictions of the gods. Moreover, many a monk has apparently enjoyed anabove average 'fifteen minutes of fame' !

'I don'twant to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve itthrough not dying.' - Woody Allen

The Ancient Egyptian game of Senet is widely regarded as adistant ancestor of modern backgammon. Senet was a race board-game ofparallel motion (as opposed to the contrary motion of backgammon). Eachplayer moved a number of pieces according to the numbers generated bybinary throw sticks, hence the game involved elements of both luck andskill. The earliest Senet boards discovered date from around 3500 BC,and the game remained a popular pastime until well into the Roman times.By the Nineteenth Dynasty, the secular game of Senet had become imbuedwith mystical significance, evident by carved game chests, which becamestandard funerary equipment of the era. Examples of these latter boardsfeature elaborately decorated points (known as houses) which symbolizeda mystic route from the mortal realm to the netherworld itself. TheEgyptian 'Book of the Dead' contains illustrations of a game of Senetbetween a mortal and an invisible opponent from the spirit world. Thedeceased mortal was playing for the ultimate stakes; his victory wouldensure a joining with Osiris and immortality. Failure to be the first tobear off all his pieces from the board implied a devastating loss ofeternal life.

To improve the chances of victory in this ultimate game of life anddeath, it became a common practice for Ancient Egyptian gamesters tohave incantations carved on their tomb walls and doors. The followingtext is adapted from an inscription found in the Theban tomb ofInherka.

When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in the Americas, they weresurprised to note that a local board-game played by the nativesresembled backgammon (or tabula as it was known in those days). Thisgame known locally as Patolli, incorporated many of the features ofbackgammon - binary lots were used as Dice to govern the movement ofcheckers around a race track, the winner being the first to bear alltheir 'men' from the board. The Spanish author Diego Duran commentedthat the Indians gamesters eager to ensure victory against theiropponents would go to great lengths to honour and pay homage to thespirits of the dice and the board. The boards and dice were placed inprominent locations in the home, and burning incense sticks, offeringsof food and drink and even ritual sacrifice, appeased the spirits. Themain dice-god was Macuilxochitl; whose name the gamblers invokedwhenever they cast the lots. Another god went by the name of Ometochtly,whenever they wished to throw a deuce they would invoke this deity.

As detailed in the Icelandic Jonsbok Codex, a local gamester,Arni Petursson, was burnt alive before the Icelandic parliament in theyear 1681. Arni had confessed to using witchcraft to secure victory in agame of backgammon. Western occultism is replete with many magicalspells to win at gambling. Most of these rituals were of Pagan originand consequently were expressly forbidden by the Church, who seemed tohave believed in their effectiveness, as much as the practitioners. Overthe centuries, the Christian Church issued numerous prohibitions againstgaming though all tended to be largely ignored, even by men of thecloth. Periodic witch-hunts against illicit gamesters did little to stopthe practice and their use flourished until relatively recent times.

Two examples of the dark art of victory are set out below (forreference purposes only, don't try this at home children).

The head of a serpent is pegged to the ground in a foundation rite.On the first Thursday of the full moon at Jupiter's planetary hour, thewords 'Non licet ponare in egarbona quia pretium sanguinis' are writtenon virgin parchment. The head of the viper is then severed and placed inthe centre of the script, after which the corners of the parchment arefolded over the head to complete the talisman. When used in gaming, thistalisman must be attached to the left arm with a red silk ribbon.

Another gambling talisman involves the use of the crossroads as aplace of power. A formula is written on virgin parchment, but in placeof a snake's head, a silver coin is wrapped in it. The talisman is takenbefore midnight on a Sunday to a crossroads, where the coin is buried.The magician must then stamp 3 times on the ground with the left foot,pronouncing the magic words on the parchment and making the sign of thecross between each word. The magician then departs without looking back.On the next day the magician returns to dig up the coin, which is thencarried to the gaming table as a lucky charm.

It should be noted that these historic Grimoires often stipulate thatthe ritualist must donate 10% of the winnings to the poor as anoffering, with the threat that if the precept is ignored, the magicianwill invariably lose.

In the 'mega-bucks' world of the professional sports stars -where 'winning isn't everything, but losing is nothing' -physical skill would seem to reign supreme. Millions of dollars arespent on personal trainers, dieticians formulate power meals, andcomputers analyze muscle movements. Yet, a whole distinct body ofliterature has evolved dedicated to the metaphysical dimensions ofsport. From Wimbledon's centre court to Gleneagles' 18^th tee,an array of glittering superstars have attributed their success to thearcane dynamics of 'Flow'.

Flow is being 'in the zone', or 'in sync'. Flow is 'samhadi' - thehighest level of Zen consciousness, or inner awareness. Flow is thepsychology of optimal experience; and flow is one manifestation ofwinning magic. Constraints of space and time preclude detailedexploration of this topic within the context of this article. However,the use of ritual and talismen often plays a significant role in thepersonal attainment of flow states. A runner may feel uncomfortablewithout their 'lucky' running shoes; a ball player may feel unable todeliver the goods without their lucky charm, or a skater may feel nakeddeprived of the opportunity to condition their mind by breathingexercises. The uninitiated, may perceive these behaviour patterns asmere superstition, but to the athlete, they are a means to focus on amindset conducive to entering a state of flow.

A little over two decades ago, a former world backgammon champion,Baron Vernon Ball, wrote a book advising would-be future champions toimprove their game through Silva mind control 'master the art ofeffortless concentration, and influence the laws of probability withyour mind'. At first glance some sections of the book would seem tobe scripted from an episode of 'The Twilight Zone':

Our modern day champions probably wouldn't give the time of day toeven ridicule Ball's work. But, perhaps we shouldn't dismiss Ball'scontribution to the backgammon literature as solely the work of amadman. 'Alpha Backgammon' contains some sound advice to enable thereader to reap the many benefits from meditation, and to facilitate astate of mind conducive to attaining and sustaining flow. Furthermore,according to Ball, 'Silva Mind Control' served to propel him to thehallowed status of World Backgammon Champion only two years afterlearning how to set up the board!

Backgammon has a long rich heritage spanning centuries of socialand technological revolution. Does the arcane wisdom of the Ancientsdeserve shelf space in our modern world of virtual libraries where thebest players have placed their faith in the science of the machines?Could the maelstrom of technological development engender a futureshock, where players look back through their old archived collections ofGammOnline and laugh at the hocus-pocus beliefs of the Snowiedisciples?

Backgammon is a game of skill and luck, yet we currently exhibit atendency to focus solely on the skill side of the equation. Itssignificant to note that our arsenal of neural net technology iscurrently devoted to deep analysis of our game skills, but rememberSnowie can equally quantify the luck element too. When serious money andkudos are up for grabs, perhaps we should find time to consider thisquestion: