Ask the experts, July 2007

DEALER  (117*):
Opponent
 
 

?-?-?-K  (?-?)
  crib:   ?-?
Q-K		 cut:  10          
play:
   A  K  ?    
A-6-8-9  (Q-K)
 
   
PONE  (115):
You
 		  
Second of a three-part question: You're pone, trailing 115-117*. You're dealt A-6-8-9-Q-K, toss Q-K, and cut a 10. You lead your A. Dealer replies with a K. What's your play?

hide answers

Dan Barlow:

The 6. He can peg only by pairing, and if he pairs I get 31-2 so he can't peg with his third card.

John Chambers:

I would play the 8 to break up my remaining cards.

DeLynn Colvert:

I play the 9, a rank that dealer is not too likely to have kept.

George Rasmussen:

Drop the 6 for a count of 17. If opponent pairs the 6 for count of 23, you close the count at 31 with the play of the 8. If dealer is holding other ten-cards with the K, you might pick off a 10 by holding the 8-9 intact.

Michael Schell:

It seems the best play is the 6, which is covered by the 8 if paired, a scenario that would then leave you with the "safe" 9 for the second play series ("safe" because dealer is unlikely to have kept both a 6 and a 9 in this situation, as they cover the same opening leads).

Phyllis Schmidt:

Play the 6 for 17. Keep the count low to get opponent to use up his cards.

Peter Setian:

I would continue with the 6 for the simple fact that if the 6 is paired, to make the count 23, I can then play the 8 (for 31 count) to at least stop the dealer from winning with two possible goes.

HALSCRIB:

I play the 9 which loses about 13% of the time. The 6 loses about 22% and the 8 26% of the time. One trouble with the 6 is that you can't prevent having it trapped against 5-7. As for the 8, I just figure that dealer keeps that card a lot more often than a 9 in endgame pegouts.

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Panelists

Dan Barlow won the 1980 National Open Cribbage Tournament, and made the 1985 All American Cribbage Team. His cribbage strategy articles appeared in Cribbage World for many years, and can be seen on the ACC Web site. He also provides strategy tips at MSN Gaming Zone. He has written seven books on cribbage, two of which have been glowingly reviewed in Games Magazine. All, including his latest book Winning Cribbage Tips, are available at The Cribbage Bookstore.

DeLynn Colvert (1931–2019) is the highest rated tournament player in the history of organized cribbage. He was a five-time National Champion, author of Play Winning Cribbage, longtime editor of the monthly magazine Cribbage World, and the ACC's only Life Master - Seven Stars. He also directed two annual tournaments in Missoula, MT, served as the ACC's President, and was one of the game's most affable emissaries. It's scarcely an exaggeration to say that Colvert's career defines modern cribbage.

George "Ras" Rasmussen is a Life Master - Two Stars, a four-time All-American, the national Grass Roots Division 1 champion in 2009, a former state champion in Virginia, Montana and Washington, and holds a Gold Award and a President's Award. He also directs the Washington State Championship, held each year in Centralia, WA. His articles on cribbage are available on the ACC Web site.

Michael Schell is a pioneer of modern cribbage theory, which synthesizes traditional concepts of expert play with new computer-informed insights and analysis. He has published Cribbage Forum since 2000. Schell holds a Bronze Award, is a Washington State Champion (2001), and was one of the principal architects of ACC Internet Cribbage.

Phyllis Schmidt is a charter member of the ACC, and has been playing cribbage for about 40 years. She is a Life Master - One Star, a Senior Judge, a National Champion (1992) and winner of the ACC Tournament of Champions (2005). She attends about 30 tournaments a year.

Peter Setian has played cribbage for over 20 years, and has been a member of the ACC for about 14 years. During that time, he has won seven major tournaments and earned his Life Master rating. He plays in about eight tournaments per year, including the ACC Tournament of Champions and the annual Grand National. He enjoys participation in Grass Roots Club #72.

HALSCRIB is widely regarded as the world's strongest computer cribbage player. Its opinion was solicited using a special analysis version of the program. Since HALSCRIB only speaks binary, its thoughts have been translated into English by Michael Schell and its creator, Hal Mueller, a retired mathematics professor and eight-time ACC tournament winner. For more information, see the HALSCRIB home page.


 
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