Grab Your Cards and Play Some Cribbage

By Tracy Yott

If you walk into the Centerville Round Table Pizza in Fremont on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, you will see a group of people in the corner having a great time.

The game they are playing is cribbage, a two-person card game dating back to England during the early 1630s. It came across the pond with the Pilgrims and has flourished ever since, especially during the years of the Great Depression.

In 1979, the American Cribbage Congress (ACC) was formed to standardize the rules and promote the game on a national basis. Soon after, the ACC Grass Roots program was formed to promote cribbage through organized play at the home town level.

One of 184 active clubs in the U.S. and Canada, the members of Grass Roots Club No. 43 can be found every Tuesday and Wednesday evening “salting the crib” and avoiding the dreaded “string of pearls.”

During the summer, Grass Roots Club 43 Director Tracy Yott initiated a beginners' club on Tuesday evenings to welcome those players that haven’t played in a long time or would like to learn how to play cribbage. No entry fee or membership is required.

Players are introduced to tournament-style cribbage, improving their play by learning new strategies and, most importantly, making new friends.

By August, the new program was a success and it was decided to continue the beginners’ sessions through the remainder of 2011. Once players feel comfortable, they can try their luck on Wednesday nights with the “Big Boys.”

With members of all ages and from all walks of life, Grass Roots 43 has thrived since it was chartered in 1987.

Playing in various establishments in Newark and Fremont over the years, the club currently has 26 members from as far away as South San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.

With an average of 19 players each week on Wednesday nights during the 2010-11 season, the club holds a nine-game tournament where each player faces nine random opponents.

Of the $11 entry fee, $10 goes to create a prize pool, which is awarded to the top scores (25 percent of the total number of players) for the evening. The Grass Roots points system allows for rating players locally, regionally and nationally.

Yott was introduced to cribbage while stationed at Treasure Island in 1983. It wasn’t until 2004 that he learned of the ACC and GR 43. He tells newcomers that he has learned more about playing the game strategically in the last seven years than in the previous 21 years of playing “kitchen table” games.

The ACC sanctions tournaments almost every weekend of the year at various locations in North America. The largest, the ACC Open, held every February in Reno, NV, attracts an average of 1,000 players, all vying for the $10,000 first prize. The annual Tournament of Champions, an invitation-only tournament, is held the same weekend, typically attended by approximately 500 players.

ACC Grass Roots Club No. 43 welcomes all players of any skill level to join members on a free trial basis on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

For more information, go to www.cribbage.org, email cribbagegr43@yahoo.com or call Tracy Yott at 510-793-6472. Or simply show up any Tuesday or Wednesday between 6 and 6:15 p.m. at Round Table Pizza, 37480 Fremont Blvd., Fremont.