Rolling doubles: four moves, not twoBeginner
When both dice show the same number you play that number four times instead of twice. It is the rule that makes backgammon swing, and it is also the rule most often confused with the doubling cube, which is a completely different thing.
The rule itself
Roll 3-3 and you have four threes to play, not two. You can move four different checkers three pips each, or one checker twelve pips in four hops, or any combination, provided every individual hop is legal. The usual obligation still applies: you must play as many of the four as you legally can, and you only leave moves unplayed when the board genuinely blocks them.
What it looks like bearing off
The diagram shows fifteen checkers home and a roll of 4-4 about to take four of them off in one turn. This is where the rule is most visible. A race that looks settled can close in two rolls if one side throws doubles, which is why conceding a race early is usually a mistake and why the doubling cube exists at all.
Doubles from the bar
A checker on the bar must enter before anything else moves, and that applies to doubles too. If you are on the bar and roll 5-5, you enter on the opponent's 5-point if it is open, and then you still have three fives left to play. If it is blocked, you forfeit the entire roll, all four of it. That asymmetry is exactly why a strong home board is worth so much.
The opening roll cannot be doubles
Backgammon starts with each player rolling one die, and the higher number moves first using both dice. Two equal numbers mean nobody has won the start, so the dice are rolled again. That is why there are fifteen opening rolls rather than twenty-one: the six doubles cannot occur on the first turn of a game.
The numbers, computed
Every figure below is enumerated over all 36 ordered outcomes of two dice, not quoted from a table. Shot counts assume the intervening points are open.
| Situation | Rolls that work | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling doubles | 6 of 36 | 16.7% |
Rolling doubles: One roll in six. Over a game of forty or so rolls, both players can expect a handful.
Averaged over all 36 outcomes, a roll is worth 8.17 pips. Without the four-move rule for doubles it would be exactly 7, so the doubles rule alone adds 1.17 pips to the average roll, close to a sixth of all the movement in the game. That is why a game can turn on a single roll, and why a player who is behind is never as far behind as the pip count makes it look.
What most players get wrong
Rolling doubles is the same as doubling, so rolling a double raises the stakes.
These are two unrelated things that unfortunately share a word. Rolling doubles means the dice matched and you get four moves. Doubling means offering the doubling cube to raise the stakes, and it has nothing to do with what the dice show. You can double at any point on your turn before you roll, and you can roll doubles without the stakes changing at all. Almost everyone who learned the game socially has these tangled at some point.
Play a rated game and every decision gets reviewed afterwards against the best move available. The dice are committed before you roll and checkable after, so the number you end up with is a measure of you, not of luck.
Play a rated game freeFrequently asked questions
What happens when you roll doubles in backgammon?
You play the number shown four times instead of twice. A 3-3 gives you four moves of three pips, which you can spread across up to four different checkers.
Does rolling doubles mean you double the stakes?
No. Rolling doubles is about the dice and gives you four moves. Doubling the stakes is a separate action using the doubling cube, offered on your turn before you roll.
Do you roll again after doubles in backgammon?
No. In standard backgammon a double gives you four moves and then your turn ends. Rolling again after doubles is a house rule some families play with, not part of the standard rules.
Can the opening roll be a double?
No. Each player rolls one die to start and the higher number goes first, so a tie is simply re-rolled. That is why there are fifteen distinct opening rolls.
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