ACC Grass Roots Cribbage Club Tournament #25 Results

There were 10 players this week, decreasing the players per tournament average to 11.92. Prior to the start of play, Rich Hammock got a text from Loren Lookabill telling him to kick some butt (rated PG). That he did! Winning his first five games, one by a skunk, his bid for a Grand Slam was stopped by Tracy Yott in game six. Rich rebounded by winning his next two games, another one by skunk for a final 16/7 scorecard to secure first place.

Jim Perry played Tracy Yott in game nine, both players sitting on a 10/5 card, each player needing a win for GRPs (Grass Roots Points). It was a close game all the way around the board. Tracy dealt the final hand of the game from 12 pegs out, holding a 3-2-A-A with a 9 cut. 19 pegs out, Jim led a four. Knowing he had to play defensively, Tracy replied with his deuce making the count six, forcing Jim to have one of the 3 remaining threes to make a run and peg three points. Jim came back with a five, making the count eleven. Tracy realizes that if he plays his Ace for a count of twelve, Jim could play a three for a fifteen for two and a run of five for a total of 7 pegs with no way for Tracy to get back into it. Instead, he decides to play his three to make the count 14 for a run of 4 and pegs four (now 8 out). Jim comes back with a six to make the count 20 for a run of 5 and pegs five (now 14 out). Tracy plays one of his remaining aces for a count of 21 and a run of six. This where it gets confusing because if Tracy pegged the 6 for the run, he should have been 2 out, but he lost the game by 5. Jim was holding a 4-5-5-6 with a 9 cut for 14 points, exactly what he needed to win the game and snag second place. Farokh Ziari said he would have played the three on Jim’s four lead to entice Jim into a run. How would you have played it? *In replaying the hand out, when Jim played his Five to make the count eleven, Tracy should have realized that Jim didn't have a three when he had a chance to make the run and instead, Tracy should have played his Ace for a count of 12. Jim was holding a five and six at this point. No matter which card he played, he would not have pegged any points and Tracy would have won the game by 5 pegs. Hindsight truly is 20/20.

Theo Mattingly earned no GRPs for his 11/5 third place finish. This was his fourth 11/5 of the season, leading in that category. Behind Theo were three 10/5 scorecards, all wishing they could have won just one more game. See the remaining tournament results here.

Tracy Yott started the high hand watch with a 21-point hand in game two (he made sure to call it out this week!). He was eclipsed by 24-point hands, held by Judy Ross (game 5) and Theo Mattingly (game 6).

In ACC (American Cribbage Congress) sanctioned tournament play in Napa, CA this weekend, former club director Dr. Craig Rothbach scored a 28-point hand, the second best hand in cribbage. Consisting of all 4 fives and a face card, the odds of getting a 28 hand in a two-player game is about 1 in 15,028.

Interested in competitive cribbage? First, check out the ACC web site cribbage.org. Next, check out the ACC Facebook page at American Cribbage Congress - Community. Finally, if you live in or near the Tri-Cities area (Fremont-Union City-Newark) and can play a game of cribbage in 15-18 minutes (this is not kitchen table cribbage), email accgr43@gmail.com for more information. Stay tuned for weekly club tournament reports.