Grand National results
This past weekend was the Grand National cribbage tournament here in Atlanta. I played a *lot* of cribbage - tournaments Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday day, Saturday night, consolation Sunday and last chance Sunday afternoon. You think I'd be cribbage'd out, but I'm not.
Still, I had my butt handed to me. I don't think I played poorly, but it's clear to me that I'm not as good as I think I am. I have a heck of a lot to learn still. The only tournament where I placed was Saturday night. I was completely exhausted and couldn't even see the cards clearly - coincidence or something to learn from? (perhaps I was more relaxed?)
First of all, HUGE congratulations to Dwight Christiansen, who won the consolation tournament on Sunday! He qualified with the top card, and went on to beat Jim Lunder to win it all. For those of you who don't know, Dwight is very dear to me. He never lost his cool, and played some really excellent cribbage. At various times I thought he was on the cusp of losing, but every time he played extreme defense (his specialty), and climbed back into the game. He is an amazing player, and an inspiration. As good as he is a player, he's an even better person. So hats off to you, Dwight.
You watch these tournaments, and they are proof that skill is a huge factor. The big names were all there at the end. Jim Crawford won the main; DeLynn Colvert made it to the final four of consolation (beaten by Dwight). Average players such as yours truly can rise every now and then, but if your name is consistently in the list of qualifiers, there is a reason for it.
Grass Roots Season opens
Last night was the first night of the new Grass Roots season. GR is the networks of clubs that meet weekly for mini tournaments. I like to think of it as practice. It's a chance to take on new challenges or test out ideas on strong opponents.
I didn't do well last night - 6/9, 12, +42(?). I started out great, with two wins (by 28 points each. argh!). But the cards changed, and I couldn't pull it out. The highlight was one player - a very good player - asking me why I led a 5. My hand was 10-j-q-5, his crib. In the past I wouldn't have had the cribbage confidence to explain why; I would have assumed I'd made a mistake. This time I felt confident. I led it to avoid getting stung for several points. Lead a 5, and even if he takes the 15, 75% of the time I'll be able to take back the 2 points. That's what happened here - he led a 10 and I paired it safely.
What could have happened if I had led a face card? He takes the 15. If I pair the 5, I have opened myself up. I'll have to call go no matter what he plays (assuming he doesn't put down an ace for 21, which would be foolish of him to do). If he has 3 5s total in his hand, watch out. He gets 15 (2), triples it for 6, and finally finishes the pack for 12. He has pegged 20 points on me and my slight advantage has turned into a pit. Say he's holding 2-3-4-5. From 20, he puts down the 3. I call go, he plays the 4 for 3, and then the 2 for 5 (run of 4 plus go). 8 unanswered points. Also a bad tradeoff. Sure I get 4 points (3 and 1 for go) when I play. But I've let him outpeg me by 4 precious points! In my scenario, I give away 2 points only 25% of the time, and most likely match his points.
Tricky hand - 335669
Playing online this afternoon, my opponent and friend aussiekekka had this hand:
3-3-5-6-6-9
She was dealing. I didn't catch the score, but she was ahead on 2nd street.
She played it by tossing 3-3 to her crib. That leaves 6 points in the hand and 2 in the crib. I would have played it 3-5 to crib for 8 points in hand and none in the crib (but a beautiful 5 with outside straight possibility).
Looking it up in the various books, 3-5 is the right toss. But I can't help but wonder...add a 2 to the 3-3, and you have a huge hand. There are still no 2's out.
Thoughts?
