How a Pro Practices a Backgame
Ever wonder how the pros
get so good? Practice!! Here are a few games where Kit Woolsey was working on
his backgame vs. the tough GGRaccoon bot at Gamesgrid.
If you want to check out more of Kit's
matches or even participate in a match against him, sign up at the great online
magazine GammOnline.
GamesGrid Bots
(GGcheaterbots)
Now maybe it's because I'm a
little bitter about losing 150 rating points to these stupid things.. or maybe
they really do cheat somehow. At the very least, the GGOtter and GGRaccoon are
very inconsistent as far as ability of play goes and they win more than their
fair share of games. The reason I liked playing them is because they play at
lightning speed. No waiting at all. It rolls it moves and it takes about 1
second. If you play fast you can get in many matches in a short amount of time.
The problem with playing fast is you tend to overlook the best play on occasion
so I wouldn't suggest it if you are trying to get better.
GGOtter
This little rodent is set to play at an "intermediate"
level meaning around 1700 because it makes "induced" errors. Intermediate my
butt. With a highest rating of 1896 on Gamesgrid there is somethin fishy goin
on. "Intermediate" according to Snowie means an error rate of between 8.8 and
12.6 (GGOtter's was 7.2 in 15 matches against me, making it a good Advanced
player.). Intermediate means a rating around 1580. The Otter's highest.. almost
1900 (World Class). This is even more amusing because it only accepts
invitations from players 1750 or below. All this means one of several things.
1. It's level of play is set too high 2. It cheats like a fiend 3. It's level
of play changes at times or is very inconsistent (not what you would expect
from a bot).
Out of 15 games Otter won 12. Based on our levels of play Otter
was expected to win 50%, it won 80%. There is no way this should happen without
some shenanigans! One thing Snowie will tell you after it analyzes your games
is the luck factor, meaning who received better rolls and by how much. The luck
factor is determined by the differences between the equity of the rolled dice
and the average equity of all the other possible dice combinations. The luckier
player often but not always wins. The Otter had an outstanding average luck
factor of 6.1, a little tough to overcome and possible evidence he's a little
cheating rodent.
GGRaccoonThis
bigger meaner cousin of the Otter is set to play at an "Advanced" level or
around 1850 as it looks a couple of rolls ahead for each play. With a highest
rating of 2069 on Gamesgrid, again there is somethin fishy goin on. "Advanced"
according to Snowie means an error rate of between 5.9 and 8.8 (GGRaccoon's was
4.1 in 50 matches against me, making it a World Class player). Advanced means a
rating around 1700. The Raccoon's highest 2069 (Extra Terrestrial). The funny
thing about this rating is that it is higher than the highest rating of GG's
highest level bot (GGBeaver) who is set to play at an expert level. Again this
means one of several things. 1. It's level of play is set too high 2. It cheats
like a fiend 3. It's level of play changes at times or is very inconsistent
(not what you would expect from a bot).
Out of 50 games Raccoon won 28.
Based on our levels of play Raccoon was expected to win almost 60%, and it won
56%. I did fairly well against this one so I couldnt complain as much. The
Bot's luck factor was again higher than mine (you would think it would average
out a little after 50 matches) with an average of 2.1.
|
