My Cribbage Training

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.

posted by Seachica @ 8:00 AM