Backgammon Con Artists, Hustlers, and Their Victims

Backgammon is one of the most widely used games by con artists and hustlers all around the world, and one of the easiest with which to rope victims. I know a few people who have made or currently make a large portion of their comfortable living just by playing backgammon. And I'm not talking sponsored backgammon tournaments in Vegas here. Travelers are the most common victims of backgammon hustlers and con artists (many do nothing besides work trains, planes, cruises, vacation resorts, or hotels, etc.). However, anyone anywhere who's willing to play a game of backgammon with a stranger can easily become another in an endless procession of victims of hustlers and con artists.

Why backgammon? Backgammon has one crucial characteristic that few other games have which makes it supremely enticing to hustlers and con artists: the common perception is that backgammon is a game of luck rather than a game of skill, as it's played with dice; however, this is absolutely false. Backgammon requires quite a lot of skill and many years of constant practice to master, and backgammon is, when played by experts, even more complex than chess. The belief that backgammon is almost completely a game of luck is what encourages millions of unsuspecting people (read: victims) with a fun gambling spirit, year after year, to play for money with the legions of backgammon con artists and hustlers roaming just about every inch of the globe.

Backgammon is also appealing to hustlers and con artists simply because of the enormous pool of potential easy victims. A lot of people are just familiar enough with backgammon that they know the rules and don't hesitate to play (perhaps with a quick refresher course from the stranger), while they have no idea that the game is anything more than a race depending on the highest rolls of the dice. And so they play, and so they become the victims of backgammon con artists and hustlers. Many more will follow them.

I'm using two terms: "hustlers" and "con artists." In backgammon and other games, there is an important difference, though both are very dangerous and neither has any shortage of victims. Hustlers, in backgammon and anything else, generally entice people to play by pretending they're not that good at the game, maybe even letting their victims win a game or two at first. That's the classic scenario, though by no means the only method used by hustlers. Despite initial appearances, hustlers are in fact experts. The same is true of con artists, but not only are they experts, they're cheaters on top of that. They don't need to cheat, but they do anyway. Con artists rely on that unscrupulous treachery to ensure victory. Hustlers can and do lose on rare occasions (even the top-ranked backgammon players in the world don't win every game), and they don't mind it. Remember--when you gamble or bet on anything, assuming the amounts are fairly consistent, you only need to win a majority of the time to turn a profit, not all the time. Backgammon is no different. But the greediest of the greedy--the con artists--will cheat.

Perhaps you're wondering how backgammon hustlers and con artists are able to lure victims into believing they have a shot at competing. One major component of the method is that all expert backgammon players, including hustlers and con artists, can tell their opponent's skill level immediately, based only on the moves made in the first turn or two. From this information, decisions are quickly and easily made on how well and how aggressively to play each game with each of the victims.

In a money game, backgammon is usually played for a specified amount per point. Each individual game is worth 1 point. However, backgammon is played with a doubling cube. Briefly, this is a six-sided die marked with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64. At any point, a player who believes s/he is significantly ahead can offer the doubling cube to double the stakes of the game. If the opponent rejects the cube, s/he forfeits the game and the point. If s/he accepts the cube, the game is now worth 2 points, and s/he takes possession of the cube. This means that should the advantage turn, s/he can at any time turn the cube to 4, offering to quadruple the stakes. The original doubler is now faced with the same decision s/he forced on the opponent previously. And so on.

Backgammon can also be won by a "gammon" or by a "backgammon." A gammon is when one player finishes the game by removing all pieces before the opponent has removed any pieces. A win by gammon automatically doubles the stakes of the game. A game in which the cube was never used goes from 1 point to 2. Had the cube been offered and accepted twice, showing the number 4, a gammon doubles that, making the game worth 8 points. A win by backgammon is when one player bears off all his/her pieces while the opponent still has at least one piece in the winner's home quadrant of the board and has yet to bear off any pieces of his/her own. A win by backgammon--which is very rare--triples the stakes of the game. A good player can play to win by gammon, but a win by backgammon is almost always, if not always, a lucky fluke.

To decide which player has the first turn in backgammon, each player rolls a die, the first turn going to the high roller. Many backgammon players, including most backgammon hustlers and con artists, use a rule of automatic doubling of the game stakes if both players roll the same number.

What does all of this mean? Basically, backgammon hustlers and con artists can offer to play games with victims for, say, $5 a point. Sounds harmless enough--losing 4 games would only cost $20--not too bad for an hour or two of fun. When the victims agree to play, they aren't thinking of all the ways the game stakes can (and will!) increase. Con artists will frequently use loaded dice to trigger the automatic doubling rule mentioned above. Both hustlers and con artists will bait you into giving them the cube to double the stakes. They will give you back the cube to quadruple the stakes at a key time so that you accept it. The tricks are endless, too many and too complicated to go into in detail here, but the result is always the same for the victims: before long, one $5 game will be worth $20, $40 or even $80. Now imagine how the hustlers and con artists who target wealthy travelers willing to play for $100, even $1,000 a point make out. And this is just one game--most victims don't stop there!

Backgammon con artists (all con artists, for that matter) have dozens, if not hundreds of ways to cheat. I've mentioned loaded dice (and in that alone, there are dozens of varieties--all sorts of ways to fix dice and all sorts of ways to use them), but cheating can be as basic as moving pieces close to, but not exactly as specified by the roll. It's far less likely to be noticed by victims than you might think. In bearing off pieces at the end of the game, a practiced hand can effortlessly remove 3 pieces rather than 2. Victims never see it. Though I've made a distinction between con artists and hustler, I should point out that there are those who would largely fit my description of hustlers who wouldn't be above the occasional bear-off of an extra piece when necessary. Unfortunately for victims, that old adage is far from true--cheaters do prosper.

It's also worth mentioning that con artists and hustlers, in backgammon and in most every other arena, are usually the most respectable looking characters around. They're not in tattered clothes, raving like lunatics, or grimacing under shifty eyes darting back and forth looking for prey--they may come from and work the streets, but successful con artists and hustlers--backgammon and otherwise--are not street people. Hustlers and con artists are well-dressed, well-mannered, charming, friendly, funny folks. Everything about them is deliberate, to earn the trust of victims. The only exception you're likely to see are the hustlers and con artists pretending to be drunk. Sometimes they'll even be a bit obnoxious so victims will be eager to beat them.

The only lesson to take from this is to never play backgammon with a stranger for money. Don't be surprised if you encounter the situation eventually, especially if you're a frequent traveler. Assume anyone who offers a backgammon game for money is one of the countless backgammon hustlers or con artists trolling for victims. In fact it doesn't even have to be a game for money--many con artists and hustlers will play "for fun" once or twice, let you win, then introduce the thought of a wager. At that point, the victims are more than happy to oblige. Don't be fooled by the presence of dice in backgammon--it's no game of luck. In general, just because a game involves dice or cards does not necessarily mean it operates primarily on chance. Gin rummy, for example, is another popular game for hustlers and con artists. It's a card game, but it's a game of skill. And it's important to realize that con artists are just that--artists. Their ability to cheat flawlessly with dice or cards in thousands of different ways are astounding.

There will always be an infinite supply of victims for backgammon hustlers and con artists. Don't be one of them.