Giving Cribbage a Spin or Two!

 

Hi Again first of all Happy Christmas to all my readers, hope you had a swell time partying and opening Christmas presents. I for one got a spanking new Backgammon set which I really enjoyed receiving and which allowed me to dust my backgammon gaming skills after years of abandon due mainly to lack of gaming partners. If you haven’t had an opportunity to play this fascinating game then believe me you have been missing on something good. I would also seriously suggest you get down to using a doubling cube and at least develop a working knowledge of what a 7-point game entails and how to go about playing one.

Yet people this is not about Backgammon but about a fascinating British born game which I have grown to enjoy though it still frustrates me at times. I’m here referring to the game called Cribbage. Cribbage was born as a pub game and employs a very peculiar scoring board which takes many forms, shapes and sizes but which is normally composed  of 2 tracks of 60 or 120 +1 holes and four small wooden pegs which are used to keep individual scores on said board.

The game employs some jargon that goes with playing it but personally I do not think it should be considered a hurdle towards learning this card game. So how would a game of Cribbage play out?

 

Goal

For starters the goal is  to peg (or score) 121 points, whoever gets there first wins the game.

 

Dealing and Choosing the Dealer

For the purpose of the following descriptions we will be assuming a 2-player game. So in order to determine who will be the first Dealer, one player (or both) will take turns  the shuffle the deck and turn over one card each. The player turning over the highest ranking card wins. If both players turn over a card of equal rank for instance both turn over a King, then suits come into play with Spades ranking highest followed by Heart, Diamonds and Clubs lowest.

The designated dealer then shuffles  the deck a second time and deals 6 cards to each player face-down.

 

Building the Crib

In Cribbage the Dealer gets  to also play a secondary hand called a Crib. This Crib is made up of two cards contributed by each of the two players and is scored later in the game. Obviously The Dealer will want to place the best possible card combinations into the Crib whereas his opponent called the “Pone” would want to give the Dealer the worst card combinations possible. Determining what cards to throw into the Crib is perhaps the most important skill to master in Cribbage.

When both players, that is the Dealer and the Pone have both placed their two chosen cards into the Crib, a situation develops whereby both players now end up with four cards in their hand with a separate four-card Crib which as indicated earlier will be scored by the Dealer later on in the game.

 

The Up turned card

Once the Crib has been built the Dealer once again shuffles the deck of cards, cuts the shuffled deck and deals one card face up to the table. This card will be uses to score both players hands as well as the Crib but is not used during Play. If this card happens to be a Jack, then the Dealer immediately scores 2 points calling this score “for his heels” or something of the sort but essentially he gets two cool points before even bothering with hitting off the Play.

 

Play

This is where the game becomes interesting. Basically both players starting with the Pone take turns to turn over one card at a time from the four dealt them but making sure they do not exceed 31 points. If no one can play a card without going beyond 31 then the last player to play a valid card to the table gets 1 point “for last”. If on the other hand a player can play a card to score exactly 31 points then he gets 2 points.

It is important to note that at no point during Play are either players cards piled on top of each other or mixed in any way. Each player lays the cards in front of him NOT on the other player’s cards. As soon as 31 is reached or no valid card can be played without going over 31, each player places his cards aside and a fresh round of play commences till all players play ALL their cards.

 

Scoring

We have already seen that a Dealer earns 2 free points if he draws a Jack as the Up-card. We have also seen that a player who plays the last valid card in Play gets 1 point (if he does not make a 31) or 2 points if he achieves 31 points exactly. There are however more scoring options and whenever a player does score he moves his “peg” along the Cribbage board for an amount of holes equal to the points scored. So for example if he scores 4 points, he moves his peg 4 points forward on the board.

“15” – fifteen is a very important number in Cribbage, during Play or scoring when a player successfully scores 15 points he also scores 2 points on the Cribbage board.

“Pairs” – pairs score 2 points in Cribbage, interestingly three-of-a-kind are also scored for as many pair combinations as it is possible to extract from them…so three-of-a-kind which offers 6 possible pair combinations scores 6-points and four-of-a-kind scores 12 points for the same reason.

“Runs” – A run is a sequence of three or more cards. A Run of three cards (e.g. 4-5-6) earns the player 3-points a Run of 4 cards (e.g. 10-J-Q-K) earns the player 4-points so on and so forth. Interestingly unlike when forming pairs or three or four-of-a-kind a Run need not be played in perfect sequence to count.

“His nobs” – This is basically holding a Jack in hand in the same suit as the original up-turned card. However here the lucky player gets 1 point not 2. Additionally this score can hypothetically be scored by either the Dealer or Pone.

“Flush” – As in poker four cards of the same suit earn the player an additional 2 points however this score is NOT scored during the Play phase of a hand of Cribbage but later when scoring the individual hands.

 

Scoring Hands

Once the Play segment of a hand of Cribbage is over, players now proceed with scoring their individual hands. As happens during the Play stage, it’s not the Dealer that scores first but his opponent or the “Pone”. Also the Up-turned card exposed at the start of the hand by the Dealer is now considered as being part of the hands being scored for example:-

Player A has  5-8-10-J and Player B has 3-3-9-K and the up-turned card is a 9. Suits as you might have surmised by now are irrelevant towards scoring. The sole exception being when scoring for his nobs since the Jack must be of the same suit as the up-turned card.

So for a hand composed of 5-8-10-J-9, Player A scores:-

4 points for 15 X 2 (5-10 and 5-J) and an additional 4 points for a Run of four 8-9-10-J. Player A scores 8 points for his hand.

With a hand composed of 3-3-9-K-9, Player B scores:-

4 points for 15X2 (3-3-9 and 3-3-9) 2 points for 3-3 and 2 points for 9-9. Player B also scores 8 point for his hand.

However Scoring is not over until the Dealer also scores the Crib he is entitled to. Again any scores accrued are added to the total scored so far and pegged on the Cribbage board accordingly.

…and that’s all there is to know about playing a hand of Cribbage…or almost.

Obviously then as indicated earlier players play a number of hands with Dealership moving from player to player until such time that one player attains or exceeds the 121 score. It must also be worth noting that it is possible for a player to reach the target score mid-hand. when this happens the hand is considered concluded as would be the game. From this we can arrive to understand why the Pone is given the right to play and score first, since otherwise he would be at a terrible disadvantage with respect to the Dealer who scores for both his hand and the Crib.

Muggins, Skunks and Stink Holes

When I first read about these particular terms associated with Cribbage I could not help but laugh. The first term Muggins, well it reminded me of Harry Potter where humans were called Muggles. In Cribbage however scoring Muggins means scoring for points an opponent failed to count in the first place. I personally think it is a very cheeky rule and I would personally advise against using it during play especially if either player is new to Cribbage and still learning his ropes so to speak. To win by a Skunk or  a double Skunk means to win with a difference of 31 and 61 points respectively. Finally  the Stink Hole is the nickname given to the 120th hole, just one off winning a game (121). It feels obvious to me that these colourful terms stem directly from the pub culture that spawned this game.

Playing 3 and 4 Handed

It is also possible to play 3-handed (3 players) or 4-handed (4 players). Obviously you would need a board that can tackle four players or alternatively 2 boards that can tackle 2 player each. Additionally  in the case of a 3-handed game the player deals one card from the deck to the Crib and the remaining three cards are contributed by each of the three players who are initially dealt five and not six cards. Turns follow a clockwise direction.

In a four-handed game each player is dealt five cards  and each then contributes one card to the the Crib to bring the Crib total to four. All other rules remain the same for both three-handed and four-handed play.

Conclusion

Cribbage is a great game and can offer hours of fun. As with all pub games, Cribbage can also be played for small stakes but it is still a lot of fun even if it is played competitively for points. It also teases the mind forcing each player to constantly think on what cards might score the most points when placed in the Crib. From my very limited experience I can assure you that the most improbable card combinations end up scoring you the most points on the board. Regardless as with most card games this is a game that you will learn by playing mostly.

Post Scriptum

The promised video review of some of the decks in my collection is still in the pipe-works but I hope to be able to put it up by the first week of January latest. Until then, Happy holidays and a Happy New Year 2012 to all!

Read More

Merry Christmas from Cardoholics Anon.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is once again upon us with all the hectic frenzy that goes into getting the right present for the right family member, wrapping up gifts and preparing our homes for some merry times together. During this season let us not forget those who perhaps do not have people around for some reason or another, maybe you could grab yourself a deck of cards and liven up a couple of hours for these souls. 

Cards and card games in general are perhaps one of the oldest forms of recreation and socialisation known to modern man. We have to thank the Chinese (in all likelihood) for their invention and the Arabian merchants for introducing them into Europe in the 14th century. 

Regardless, finding that one game that you can play competitively with friends and family can be in itself a bonding tool that beats most other rowdy forms of entertainment. Sure you have got to concentrate to play your A-game but I'm sure you will still find the time to spare for a few exchanges of idle chit-chat in between shuffling a deck and grabbing some drinks and snacks for all those sitting at the table.

Perhaps this could be the right time to dust your 40-card Italian deck for a game of Scopa or Scopone Scientifico, maybe you would like instead to play Gin-Rummy or Cribbage or Poker. Whatever you choose to play take the time to explain the game play to beginners to these venerable yet refreshing games...and no matter how intense the game might get...remember it's only a game, luck goes round in circles and if you wait long enough and play your cards right....you will win you fair share of hands.

So revive the charm and beauty of sharing a good card game with some great friends or perhaps someone you have not seen in a while this holiday season. Use the cards as an excuse to rekindle perhaps flagging friendships and remember that the greatest gift you can offer someone is your own time, attention and well-meant company.

So from Cardoholics Anonymous I would like to take this opportunity to thank you first of all for visiting this blog and then to wish you all a truly Joyous Christmas 2011.

Read More

A few thoughts on gambling

 

What thoughts cross your mind when you hear the word “gamble”? Even though I am not a mind reader I am almost 100% certain that the word will conjure images of casinos, betting houses, horse and dog racing,  not to mention poker and dice games.  Your visions I am sure will be somewhat formed by what religious views you hold which may or may not preclude a person from viewing the gamble as an artifice of the prince of darkness himself! No I’m not referring to Ozzy here.

Before I proceed with this exposition, I would like to state upfront that I am neither pro or against gambling per se. The gamble makes part of our daily lives, we live with the consequences of several gambles we take during the course of our existence. We gamble on what path to take in our careers, what restaurant to choose over another, what partners and friends we choose to share part or all of our lives with. The list never ends. We learn, without calling it “a gamble” that most things in life are about 50/50 decisions. Any form of competition can be considered a gamble, even a marathon runner is gambling that his body can take the strain and that he can endure above all others…yet things can go wrong. The runner may hit a nasty snag on the ground come crushing down on his face and break a limb! Believe me such a scenario is not as far-fetched as it may sound. A football team may gamble millions on a top class footballer basing their purchasing decision on potential future goals and league trophies that could be won. Yet even here that top class player may suffer an injury and for months on end if not for the entire duration of a contract, that team will suffer the ill-fated outcome of their initial investment gamble.

So what’s wrong with gambling per se? Nothing, nothing at all, we thrive on gambling even when we opt to choose one brand of product over another at our local supermarket. Yet there is an aspect of gambling that is wrong, that twists the spirit of the gamble turning it into an uncontrollable addiction that can snap a spirit turning even the brightest of men into mindless automata.

While gambling is inherently present in most if not all of our daily decision making processes, they (the decisions) are never (or one hopes at least) taken without an adequate hedging of possible outcomes. The hedging can be attained in many ways. You may study, and I mean study, statistics to determine what outcome might be marginally if not significantly more probable. You may delve into accessing information that might give your decision making process an edge over other fellow gamblers. You may have gone through enough iterative gambling cycles to deduce possible outcomes almost instinctively.

I have seen the aforementioned mechanism of study effecting outcomes even in the way poker games have evolved over the past decade. In No Limit (aka NL) Texas Holdem which became incredibly popular thanks mainly to the introduction of televised poker games and tournaments, the game concepts evolved dramatically. In the early days of the poker boom for instance, the recommendations for play favoured tight-aggression. A player was invited to be highly selective in his choice of pocket cards but then to play the right cards very aggressively. The method worked, allowing players to get their noses wet before swimming with the sharks so to speak.

Yet the internet and in particular internet poker rooms threw the proverbial wrench in to the system by speeding up the gameplay and allowing players to experience hundreds if not thousands of hands in a relatively short period of time. This exposure to such intense gameplay resulted in a thorough analysis of the way in which tournament NL Holdem is played and eventually to the methodical exploitation of a weakness inherent in tournament structures.

With all things being equal, most tournament players today now know what positional play is all about. They also know what tells are and what “table image” can do for your game plan. They have learnt these things from publications by Caro, Helmuth, Negreanu, Malmuth, Sklansky not to mention the legendary Doyle Brunson. It’s almost expected as being a given that the moment you sit down at a poker tournament you at least know these facts. Essentially the amateurish play of bygone years is almost never tolerated if not outright ridiculed at the table. The new generation of players have learnt to use the power of their chip stack as a weapon, to play marginal holdings in position to attack old-school tight-aggressive players. These same players have learnt how to mask their “tells” to varying degrees and to manipulate pot-odds to favour their stronger hands as necessity would dictate.

So in these tournaments, where the only investment is the initial buy-in particularly so in freeze-out tournaments, where does the gamble feature and how is it being espoused by all participants? Even with the huge online archive of information available to all contestants at the touch of a button, Holdem still relies squarely on the gamble, the luck of the draw. The truth is that these younger players are testing their mettle in a sanitized situation; I would not be surprised to discover that among those final table tournament players one would be looking at future business men and decision makers. The gamble is teaching these youngsters the importance of studying your opponents, in gathering information, in playing your odds conscientiously and in the virtue of controlling your own emotions while manipulating those of others. It teaches them competition in a scenario that is not that far removed from the cutthroat world of modern markets and trade.

The real risk lies not with those who approach the gamble knowledgably, but with those who bring to the table a plethora of misgivings, superstitions and ignorance. The gamble for these players is a bane. They are not gambling but rather waiving any ownership over thought and control opting instead to burn their wagers at the altar of chance. When a gambler does this, he cannot win in the long term. Surely he might win in the short-term but when this happens his lucky streak will eventually dry up to be replaced by a deep chasm loss, debt building and serious financial and social problems.

Regardless, I feel that the gamble itself, the structured risk taking it fosters, should not be demonized. If tackled appropriately, it can offer significant lessons in matters pertaining to everyday life. Additionally, the live play variants that engender face-to-face contact between participants also offer socialisation, recreation and why not fun! As with all things in life, moderation is the name of the game. Learning to segregate game time from work and other duties guarantees that none of the areas within one’s life will suffer.

The greatest example to all I have said in this brief discussion comes from a televised Poker show called the Million Dollar Challenge. In season one there was Father Andrew Trapp, a Catholic priest who played poker on the show to help his church in Garden City, South Carolina in the United States. I admired the fact that he not only played great poker in my opinion, but that he also found an opportunity to try and make something good out of a favoured pastime. Still the lesson to be learned here was that it’s not so much the gamble that can be bad but the way the gamble is approached.

Read More