DOUBLE YOUR MONEY!

When I was growing up the back and white TV in the corner of the room used to echo to the tones of ex Canadian Air Force Colonel Hughie Green the presenter of talent show Opportunity knocks and in 1955 a quiz programme, 'Double your Money.'

This programme was simple, get a general knowledge question right and you can either take the money or double it.

This format is similar in many ways to the doubling cube in backgammon, because the cube is offered to the opposition as a method of doubling the score or rejecting it, rejecting it is the equivalent of Green's quiz being a wrong answer as you are effectively eliminated from both. Both require you to make decision, namely to double, of course in 1955 a fifty pound win was a lot of money and most took it the money. With the backgammon double there is no such luxury accept or lose it's clear cut.

The doubling cube is placed on the bar at the start of the game, and is never thrown, instead it is offered to the opposing player by he one who opts to use it. The doubling is a form of betting, playing a hand of backgammon as you would bet on cards, if the double is accepted the initiative then passes to the other player. This is where strategy comes into play, judging when to double and when to fold even it means losing is sometimes preferable, as some players even adopt beavers and then redouble keeping control of the cube. This continual doubling up to 64 times can prove very expensive in money games particularly. Sometime sth better part of valour is to quit.

NB:

Hughie Green went onto become one of the leading television personalities of the 50-60-and 70's and died in 1997, not one to be upstaged, he left behind one other great entertainment question, was he really the Father of Paula Yates, ex wife of Bob Geldorf. DNA says, he was.