BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20221106T010000
RDATE:20230312T030000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:America/New_York EST
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20231105T010000
RDATE:20240310T030000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:America/New_York EST
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20241103T010000
RDATE:20250309T030000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:America/New_York EST
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20251102T010000
RDATE:20260308T030000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:America/New_York EST
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20261101T010000
RDATE:20270314T030000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:America/New_York EST
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20271107T010000
RDATE:20280312T030000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:America/New_York EST
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20281105T010000
RDATE:20290311T030000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:America/New_York EST
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20220322T170000
RDATE:20221106T010000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:America/New_York EDT
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20230312T030000
RDATE:20231105T010000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:America/New_York EDT
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20240310T030000
RDATE:20241103T010000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:America/New_York EDT
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20250309T030000
RDATE:20251102T010000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:America/New_York EDT
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20260308T030000
RDATE:20261101T010000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:America/New_York EDT
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20270314T030000
RDATE:20271107T010000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:America/New_York EDT
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20280312T030000
RDATE:20281105T010000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:America/New_York EDT
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:33b7d247d80f3488576f943b97152ca8
CATEGORIES:Experimental Mathematics Seminar
CREATED:20230314T131338
SUMMARY:Solving the Race in Backgammon
LOCATION:Zoom
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Backgammon is perhaps the oldest game that is still played today.
  It is a game that combines luck with skill, where two players take turns r
 olling dice and decide how to move their checkers in the best possible way.
  It is the ultimate math game, where players who possess a little bit of ma
 thematical knowledge can have a big advantage over their opponents. Players
  also have the opportunity to double the stakes of a game using something c
 alled the doubling cube, whichâ??when used optimallyâ??leads to players win
 ning more in the long run. Optimal use of the doubling cube relies on a pla
 yer's ability to estimate their winning chances at any stage of the game. W
 hen played to completion, every game of backgammon eventually becomes a rac
 e, where each player attempts to remove all of their checkers before their 
 opponent does. The goal of our research is to be able to determine the opti
 mal doubling cube action for any racing position, and approximate the game 
 winning chances for both sides. By calculating the Effective Pip Count for 
 both players and identifying the positions' Variance Types, we arrive at a 
 reasonably simple method for achieving this which is demonstrably superior 
 to other popular methods.\n
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:<p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium
 ; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; 
 text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; wor
 d-spacing: 0px;"><em>Abstract</em>: Backgammon is perhaps the oldest game t
 hat is still played today. It is a game that combines luck with skill, wher
 e two players take turns rolling dice and decide how to move their checkers
  in the best possible way. It is the ultimate math game, where players who 
 possess a little bit of mathematical knowledge can have a big advantage ove
 r their opponents. Players also have the opportunity to double the stakes o
 f a game using something called the doubling cube, whichâ??when used optima
 llyâ??leads to players winning more in the long run. Optimal use of the dou
 bling cube relies on a player's ability to estimate their winning chances a
 t any stage of the game. When played to completion, every game of backgammo
 n eventually becomes a race, where each player attempts to remove all of th
 eir checkers before their opponent does. The goal of our research is to be 
 able to determine the optimal doubling cube action for any racing position,
  and approximate the game winning chances for both sides. By calculating th
 e Effective Pip Count for both players and identifying the positions' Varia
 nce Types, we arrive at a reasonably simple method for achieving this which
  is demonstrably superior to other popular methods.</p>
CONTACT:Arthur Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College
X-EXTRAINFO:Zoom Link https://rutgers.zoom.us/j/94346444480 [password: The 20th Catalan
  number, alias (40)!/(20!*21!), alias 6564120420 ]
DTSTAMP:20260828T100440
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230323T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230323T180000
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR