Also known as Hollywood or Sixes, a Round Robin is a fun game for a foursome, since it allows every player to pair with the others.

Players are paired at the first hole, and then partners are rotated after each six. So, A and B would play C and D on the first six; A and C would play B and D on the second six; and A and D would play B and C on the third. Bets are placed and resolved at the end of each six.

Scoring can be done several ways:

A match play format could be used, with the best ball of each pair counting. At the end of six, the team with the most holes wins.

In a stroke play format, players could total their combined strokes for the six. Alternately, players could agree to take the lowest score of each pair on each hole and total those.

Of these, the combined strokes format works best with unevenly matched handicaps, since the less skilled players’ scores would be included in each group. Otherwise, the better player’s score tends to be the only one ever used.

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This week’s Reno-Tahoe Open uses a modified Stableford Scoring system. This is a golf game unfamiliar to most weekenders, but that deserves a lot more popularity. It creates excitement by encouraging players to go for birds. The scoring also can be highly volatile.

It does produce some funny scores, though. Instead of winning by -11 or some such, the winner is going to have a score that looks more like +22. Unlike traditional golf, higher is better.

The Stableford System was invented by an Englishman named Barney Stableford, who was attempting to devise a scoring system that rewarded risk taking. In regular stroke play, players often will avoid risky moves because they can quickly balloon a score. Under the Stableford system, the cost of taking a large number of strokes on a single hole is minimized.

Here’s how it works:

Players get no points for a par, 2 points for a birdie, 5 for an Eagle and 8 for a double eagle. On the down side, you lose a point for a bogey, and lose three for a double bogey or worse.

The effect of this is that if you blow up on any single hole, the worse you can get is a -3. Also, note that a birdie is worth two, while a bogey costs you just one. With that kind of calculus, it pays to “go for it.”

Unlike a regular golf game, the winner is the one with the MOST points.

Stableford Scoring is often used in club tournaments for precisely that reason. And it’s a reason to pay attention to the Reno Tahoe Open. It could be a pretty exciting weekend of golf.

The last PGA Tournament to use the system was The International (1986-2006). In spite of its popularity with the players who played there, the tournament was effectively killed when Tiger said he would never play there. Not coincidentally, the International was soon replaced with Tiger’s AT&T National at Congressional.

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The most popular betting game in golf likely is the $2 Nassau. The Nassau is two-sided bet: either player against player, or team against team. In fact, Nassaus lend themselves to a variety of team play formats. Scramble, four ball and alternate shot matches are common. Handicaps are most often used, but teams could decide not to play with them.

The Nasssau gets its name from the Nassau Country Club on Long Island, where the format was invented in the early 1900s. The game also is known as “2-2-2”, and “Best Nines.”

Nassaus are essentially three separate bets. with awards for winning each side (front nine, back nine) and for all 18. In a basic $2 Nassau, the player or team winning all three events would win $6.

Scoring Nassaus is something akin to that of match play golf. When a player or team has the low score on a hole, they score one point. A tie is a “push. The team or player with the most points at the end of each nine wins that side. The two nines are totaled for the 18 hole award.

But if that’s all there was to a Nassau, it is unlikely that it would be so popular among golfers. The real fun of a Nassau begins with the “press.”

In most Nassau formats, any time a team or individual is down by two or more points, they can “press” the bet. That means that an additional bet is placed for the remaining holes on the side. The original bet still stands, however. Players involved in a Nassau typically are obligated to accept a press.

Here’s an example of how it works: After six holes, Team A finds itself down by two points. They decide to press. Now, in addition to the original wager, a second bet has been placed for holes seven, eight and nine. If Team A wins two of the three, they still lose the original bet by one point. However, they break even because they won the press. If they lose two of the remaining holes, they end up paying off both wagers. In the best case scenario, they win all three remaining holes, and win both wagers.

In some Nassau formats, the press is automatic when a player or team is down by two.

Wagering on Nassaus can sometimes be difficult to track. At the end of 18, it would not be unusual for players to have placed six or seven separate wagers. Nassaus also can become quite expensive—even with the initial $2 limit. A Nasssau that has been pressed, double pressed, and triple pressed can quickly add up.

Mass confusion and bank-breaking payouts can be reduced by limiting the presses to no more than two per nine holes. Some matches also allow presses only on the last four holes of each nine.

If the number of presses is controlled, Nassaus can be a very friendly betting format. The players who are down (presumably the less skilled players—at least on that day) control the pace of the wagers. And because the bet is broken into two nines and a total, a bad nine won’t ruin the whole day.

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In some households, a person who uses a bad word has to pay a fine to the pot. In this game, players who can’t control his potty mouth pays a fine on the course.

You could do this a number of ways. First, the offending player might be forced to pay a set amount into an after round beer fund. Another option is to add a stroke the player’s score for that hole. This is especially penalizing if there are any other side bets on. Finally, the player could be forced to give up a club for the remainder of the round. A guy with an uncontrollable mouth could find himself with just a putter in hand by hole ten.

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Irish Four Ball is a four player scramble using the Stableford scoring system. It’s also known as Irish Scramble and Progressive Scramble. On the first six holes, the best score of the group is tallied. On the second six, the best two scores are totaled. For the final three holes, the group’s score is the sum of the best three scores.

In one variant, all four scores are used on the final hole. Another totals the best two scores for the first six; the best three on the second six and all four scores on the final four.

Stableford Scoring awards players points for their score in relation to par on the hole. Handicaps can be used:

2 or more over: 0 points
1 over: 1 point
Even: 2 points
1 under: 3 points
2 under: 4 points
3 under: 5 points
4 under: 6 points

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In T. Woods, a golfer pays his playing partners the agreed bet whenever he hits a tree. However, the bet is off if the ball bounces back to the fairway.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

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The doubling cube in backgammon is one of the most interesting parts of the game. A backgammon wager begins with a value of one point, but players may double the stakes during the game by rotating the doubling cube: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64. The player challenged by the double may refuse, but in doing so concedes the game and pays the stake at the current value of the doubling cube. While the cube stops at 64, there’s actually no limit to the stakes.

Golf Backgammon is played in either a match or skins format.

The match format begins with a single wager, which a player may double at the beginning of any hole. The opponent may then accept, accept and offer a double of his own, or pay out at the current value.

In the skins format, each hole is worth a set amount, with the low score taking the prize. As with the board game, whenever a player thinks he has the advantage, he can double the current bet. The opponent then may either accept the new bet, accept and double, or concede at the hole’s current value.

Either of these is dangerous, so it is probably best for the players to figure out beforehand just how far they’re willing to go. Small initial stakes are probably best.

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