My 2012/2013 Cribbage Season

Back on August 1st I had no idea this season would turn out the way it did. I entered the Jefferson State Long Match, run by Rick Shea, and went to Blue Lake and Winnemucca in August and September respectively. My long match run ended just after Reno in November, and by then I'd run into 660 MRPs. I felt like I had to go for it. We're now in the beginning of March, with still 5 months left. I have no idea how some of these guys do it year after year! (They don't work for one!)

Tournaments Played

In the first 31 weeks of the season (thru March 3rd) I have played 23 tournaments. I've played 3 mid-week tournaments and 20 tournaments on the weekend. Of the 31 weekends, I've played on 16 of them and not played on 15 of them, so I'm roughly playing every other weekend.

Total Master Points

To this point in the season I've earned 1,497 MRPs. I've earned 445 in Main Qualifying, 931 in Main Playoffs, 57 in Consolation Qualifying and 64 in Consolation Playoffs. Overall, I've earned 1,376 points in the main and 121 points in the Consolation. 92% of my points have been earned in Main events. 8% in Consolation events.

Overall Record

My overall record across every game, qualifying and playoffs, is 412-280 (59.5%). I've played 692 games in 23 tournaments, an average of 30.1 games per tournament.

Main Qualifying

I've qualified in 14 of 23 main events (60.9%). I definitely prefer the 2-day, 22-game events. I've played in 13 22-game events and qualified 9 times (69.2%). I've played in 6 14-game tournaments and qualified 3 times (50%). I've played in 4 12-game tournaments and qualified 2 times (50%).

My record in main qualifying is 255-161 (61.3%). Of the 14 times I have qualified, I have earned qualifying points 10 times (71.4%) of the time I qualify. I have earned a total of 445 points in main qualifying, an average of 44.5 points per event I qualify high. Interestingly, all 10 times I have earned qualifying points I qualified in the top 5.

Main Playoffs

I've made the main playoffs 14 times. My overall record in the playoffs is 92-65 (58.6%). My results in the main playoffs are as follows:

Lost in 1st Rd	2 times
Lost in 2nd Rd	2 times
Lost in 3rd Rd	5 times
Lost in 4th Rd	1 time
Won	4 times

Consolation Qualifying

As you can tell from only having 8% of my total points in consolations, they aren't my thing this season. I've played in 12 consolations so far, and qualified in 4 of them (33.3%). My record in consolation qualifying is 60-44 (57.7%).

Of the 4 times I've qualified, I was #1 qualifier twice and #2 qualifier by spread points the other time, earning qualifying points 3 of 4 times. (75% of the time I qualify). I earned 57 total qualifying points, an average of 19 points per time I qualify.

Consolation Playoffs

I have no idea how to play the consolation playoffs. ;-) My record is 5-10 (33.3%). My results are as follows:

Lost in 1st Rd	1 time
Lost in 2nd Rd	1 time
Lost in 3rd Rd	2 times

Top Cribbage Seasons Ever:

Rank	Player	MRPs	Season	Rank that Season
1	Duane W. Toll	3,121	2011/2012	1
2	Duane W. Toll	2,771	2010/2011	1
3	Duane W. Toll	2,744	2009/2010	1
4	Duane W. Toll	2,662	2008/2009	1
5	Roland A. Hall	2,542	2010/2011	2
6	Erik Royland Locke	2,485	2009/2010	2
7	Duane W. Toll	2,477	2005/2006	1
8	Duane W. Toll	2,473	2003/2004	1
9	Erik Royland Locke	2,458	2007/2008	1
10	James Langley	2,245	2000/2001	1
11	Roland A. Hall	2,222	2011/2012	2
12	Scott Kooistra	2,182	1989/1990	1
13	Roland A. Hall	2,173	2003/2004	2
14	Butch Reynolds	2,140	1987/1988	1
15	Chris McComas	2,118	2006/2007	1
16	Duane W. Toll	2,096	2004/2005	1
17	James Langley	2,086	2002/2003	1
18	DeLynn Colvert	2,039	2003/2004	3
19	Butch Reynolds	2,037	1989/1990	2
20	Wayne Steinmetz	2,003	2009/2010	3
21	Duane W. Toll	1,971	1986/1987	1
22	DeLynn Colvert	1,953	2010/2011	3
23	Roland A. Hall	1,948	2008/2009	2
24	Bob Julian	1,930	2001/2002	1
25	Jim Crawford	1,865	2004/2005	2
26	Ira T. Deutsch	1,858	2010/2011	4
27	James Langley	1,856	2008/2009	3
28	Bob Julian	1,852	1993/1994	1
29	Sharlene Medeiros	1,818	2004/2005	3
30	Erik Royland Locke	1,786	2010/2011	5
31	Ronald L. Morgan	1,777	2005/2006	2
32	Roland A. Hall	1,766	2009/2010	4
33	Rit Alkas	1,756	1994/1995	1
34	Frank Ornie	1,743	2011/2012	3
35	Duane W. Toll	1,742	2007/2008	2
36	Sharlene Medeiros	1,740	2003/2004	4
37	Roland A. Hall	1,737	2002/2003	2
38	DeLynn Colvert	1,731	1996/1997	1
39	Ronald L. Morgan	1,690	2004/2005	4
40	DeLynn Colvert	1,689	1990/1991	1
41	DeLynn Colvert	1,672	2002/2003	3
42	Gary Motley	1,666	1989/1990	3
43	Harry Palmer	1,655	2002/2003	4
44	Robert Medeiros	1,650	1994/1995	2
45	DeLynn Colvert	1,650	2009/2010	5
46	Ronald L. Morgan	1,649	2003/2004	5
47	Bob Julian	1,638	1995/1996	1
48	Jeff Monroe	1,628	1995/1996	2
49	Willie Evans	1,619	2010/2011	6
50	Jack Moritzky	1,618	2004/2005	5
51	Wayne Steinmetz	1,617	2000/2001	2
52	Jesse Jarrell	1,615	1999/2000	1
53	Jesse Jarrell	1,609	1992/1993	1
54	Phyllis Schmidt	1,576	2004/2005	6
55	Paul Gregson	1,521	2012/2013	1
56	Bill Medeiros	1,569	2004/2005	7
57	James Langley	1,567	2005/2006	3
58	Jesse Jarrell	1,561	1987/1988	2
59	Tom Langford	1,551	2011/2012	4
60	Erik Royland Locke	1,550	2008/2009	4
61	Mel Ashley	1,548	2007/2008	3
62	Herschel Mack	1,547	2006/2007	2
63	Jesse Jarrell	1,547	1989/1990	4
64	Duane W. Toll	1,546	2002/2003	5
65	Brian Heroux	1,545	1995/1996	3
66	DeLynn Colvert	1,542	2001/2002	2
67	Harry Palmer	1,536	2001/2002	3
68	Robert Michaelis	1,526	1994/1995	3
69	James Langley	1,522	2006/2007	3
70	Bob Bartosh	1,516	2009/2010	6
71	Donald Flesch	1,512	2011/2012	5
72	DeLynn Colvert	1,507	1995/1996	4
73	DeLynn Colvert	1,498	1989/1990	5
74	Bob Bartosh	1,497	2010/2011	7
75	Elmer G. Rasmussen	1,497	2004/2005	8
76	Doug Page	1,490	2009/2010	7
77	Bob Gombatz	1,489	1994/1995	4
78	Darren Black	1,484	1995/1996	5
79	Robert Medeiros	1,482	2002/2003	6
80	Herschel Mack	1,471	2010/2011	8
81	Bob Julian	1,468	2002/2003	7
82	Tom Cookman	1,464	2012/2013	2
83	Robert Michaelis	1,461	1983/1984	1
84	Butch Reynolds	1,461	1990/1991	2
85	Chris McComas	1,461	2004/2005	9
86	Jason Shumate	1,457	2004/2005	10
87	De Lynn Colvert	1,453	2011/2012	6
88	Jim Crawford	1,451	2011/2012	7
89	Roland A. Hall	1,448	2007/2008	4
90	Stephen Reynolds	1,446	1994/1995	5
91	Helen Railsback	1,446	1989/1990	6
92	Erik Royland Locke	1,445	2006/2007	4
93	Phyllis Schmidt	1,442	1991/1992	1
94	Joe Bernard	1,438	1993/1994	2
95	Mike McDaniel	1,438	2002/2003	8
96	Mills Brubaker	1,437	2010/2011	9
97	Dan Marsh	1,435	2005/2006	4
98	Bob Bartosh	1,432	2008/2009	5
99	Herschel Mack	1,431	2004/2005	11
100	Sharon Hejtmanek	1,430	2002/2003	9

Took 3rd at Grand National - Earned My Masters!

Grand National 30 in Reno, NV was held on October 1st and 2nd. There were 526 players in the main tournament. I had a very consistent qualifying round, scoring a 31/14 + ~200 for 39th highest qualifying score out of the 132 qualifiers. I got a bye in the first round and started the second round of playoffs with 127 other people on Sunday morning at 7 am. In my first match I knocked out Peggy Cunningham of AZ 3-0. I should have been knocked out in the third round. I was playing Ken Conclin of WA and it was 2-2. He was only 6 holes out and I was 23 out, and he had first count. He got unlucky, only had a 2 hand and pegged 2 and I hit a 6 cut for a 24 hand and out to win the match. In the 4th round I took out Ron Logan of AZ 3-1 to get my Master's after 12 years of playing in the ACC! In the 5th round I knocked out Bryant Gilkeson of NV 3-1. That got me to the quarterfinals, and the lunch break. At 2 pm we resumed and in the 6th round I knocked out Hal Mueller of Ontario, Canada, inventor of Hal's Crib, 3-1. In the semi-finals (7th round) I was taken out by Ray Gonzales of Incline Village, NV, 3-2. He took the first two games. I fought back to get the next two, but he got a few key cuts to beat me by ~10 in the final game. It was more than double my most points (25 for qualifying and 196 for making the semis, 221 total) ever in a tournament. My previous best was 105 for taking second on a few separate occasions. (I've still never won a main!)

Wrapped up my best Grass Roots season!

I finished the year with 336 Grass Roots points. That brings my lifetime total to 2,152. I am 348 points away from my Silver. I didn't win either the Grass Roots National Championship or the Region Championship, as I can see by logging into the website that at least 3 people finished ahead of me on the season. I should come in the top 10 though...stay tuned for final results.

Still lead my Grass Roots region

I have 281 GRPs this season, with 7 weeks to go...

I've already clinched the club championship, as second place is 166 GRPs..

I need to score 2 f the final 7 weeks to break the elusive 300 mark, and top my personal best of 297.

Game Colony and eCribbage are TERRIBLE

If anyone stumbles upon this article, I'd love to know if anyone has found a realistic website to play cribbage on. I've been playing on both Game Colony and eCribbage, and both are miserably unrealistic. At both, the cut card is a complete joke. Every single hand the cut card gives the combination of players a maximum possible score. You can go months (I went ~18 tournaments in a row) without winning a match, because they give you bad marks for telling the truth that their site is garbage. It's an embarrassment that the ACC, who is supposed to be a leader in cribbage, is partnered with either of these two sites.

I've started working on my own site, but it needs more time. You can play against yourself at this point, and see it 100 times more realistic than either Game Colony or eCribbage at this point. Check it out at: http://realcribbage.blogspot.com

When winning 10/18 is better than 9/14 or 5/8

This past weekend our club hosted their February ACC tournament on Saturday and had the annual GRNT tournament on Sunday.

Saturday Main - won 9/14 (64.2%) but finished with an 18/9 (no skunks) and was the second highest non-qualifier
Saturday Consolation - won 5/8 (62.%) but finished with a 10/5 (no skunks) and was the highest non-qualifier
Sunday GRNT - won 10/18 (55.6%) and finished with a 24/10 (4 skunks) and squeaked into earning national points

The lesson: Skunks, which are largely out of your control, can make all the difference, for the good and for the bad.

Passed Joe Wergin

With my finishes at Reno I picked up 76 master points, bringing my lifetime total to 1,759, passing ACC founder Joe Wergin. (This gets your name in the Crib World, randomly enough!)

Tripled up in Reno

At this year's biggest cribbage tournament I placed in each of the events...

Friday TOC
I had a 24/11 in the qualifying round, placing 37th out of 520 players. I lost in the 3rd rd of the playoffs, finishing 33-64.

Saturday Main
I had a 32/14 in the qualifying round, placing 57th out of 892 players. I lost in the 1st rd of the playoffs, finishing 129-256.

Sunday Consolation
I had a 16/8 in the qualifying round, placing 17th out of 670 players. I lost in the 3rd rd of the playoffs, finishing 33-64.

Highest 9-game card ever!

It took ~10.5 years in the ACC for me to top 2,000 Grass Roots points, and I did it with a bang! On Monday, January 31st, I had a 22-card, my highest ever, to go from 1,995 points to 2,017 points....483 to go for my Silver award.

With the grand slam, I topped 200 points (201 to be exact!) on the season.

Here's the card:

On a roll with my Padres hat

I started wearing one of Tammy's old Padre hats to club a few weeks ago, and I've reached 12 points every time I've worn it (including a visit to the Alamo club when Tammy & the boys were out of town.

Do you ever wear the same thing because it's lucky? I do.

We're at the halfway point in the season (including the GRRT, which should officially post soon) and the club standings look at follows:

1. Paul Gregson 167
2. Mary Gladish 138
3. Heidi Glashan 114
4. Tad Pilecki 88
5. Basil Rudnick 81
6. Evelyn Gillmore 79
7. Doung Fincke 58
8. Art Watkins 57
9. Anne Sheeran 53
10. Arne Lillimagi 51

Good start to the 2010/2011 Grass Roots season

We're 5 weeks into the new Grass Roots season, and so far so good. I've scored 3 times, including my 4th ever Grand Slam (20 points), for a total of 47 GRPs. Heidi Glashan has been on fire however, scoring all 4 times she's played, and she has the club lead with 56 points.

Club standing through 5 weeks...

1. Heidi Glashan 56
2. Paul Gregson 47
3. Basil Rudnick 32
4. Doug Fincke 30
5. Mary Gladish 27
6. Tad Pilecki 15
7. Evelyn Gillmore 12
7. Jim Passaglia 12
7. Dennis Johnston 12

Congrats to Club #54 Champ Dennis Johnston

Dennis "Slick" Johnston is the 2009/2010 Club #54 champ. We have one week left tonight, but Dennis' 236 points so far is well clear of my 190 points in second place. Doug Finke is third with 179 points, and can still catch me for second.

So ends my 2-yr run as club champ. There will be no defense of the GRTOC title this September. Have to see if I can win the club this coming year to play in the GRTOC in Sacramento when the GN comes to town.

My bet with Dave Aiken

3 years ago, Dave Aiken and I bet one another an entry into the Grand National on which of the two of us would reach our Grass Roots (GR) silver award first. It's a pretty random bet, as we can't control the competition the other plays, but remarkably, for the past several years we've finished the GR season with the same totals. Check it out:

Season Paul Dave
2004/05 809 809
2005/06 918 917
2006/07 1,094 1,135
2007/08 1,329 1,321
2008/09 1,626 1,597
2009/10 1,816 1,803

I have one week left in this GR season and David's finished. We're still 3-4 years from finishing the bet, but it's been a fun way for a Midwest cribbage player and a West cribbage player to stay in touch.

13 points this week after a brutal week last week

Hit for a 13/6 tonight, after a gut-wrenching 11/5 last week. I'd won 5 of the first 6 and lost the last 3 games after having big leads on 4th street in 2 of them.

Club standing with 10 weeks to go:

Dennis Johnston 176
Doug Fincke 153
Paul Gregson 152

I've still got a fighting chance...we shall see.

Updated Club #54 Standings

With 12 weeks to go, the standings are as follows:

1. Dennis Johnston 164
2. Paul Gregson 139
3. Doug Fincke 128
4. Mary Gladish 109
5. Heidi Glashan 107
6. Anne Sheeran 93
7. Greg Suelzle 92
8. Tom Russo 77
9. Basil Rudnik 66
10. Arne Lillimagi 54
11. Evelyn Gillmore 49
12. Jim Passaglia 49
13. Art Watkins 49
14. Thomas West 37
15. Tad Pilecki 28
16. Jim Tallman 27
17. Virginia Cheney 25
18. Al Haines 18

Need to get hot for a 3rd straight club championship

After my 31/15 card in the GRNT Saturday I was still 39 points behind Dennis Johnston. I had a 14/6 card tonight and Dennis didn't score. I moved past Doug Fincke and into second place overall with 139 points, trailing Dennis' 164 by just 25 points, with 12 weeks still left to play. I might not get there, but I'll have a run at it.

Have you ever been criticized by your opponent for helping them?

Today I was playing Boyd McDonald in the GRNT. Boyd has 1-6-8-9-10 and counted it "15-2, 15-4 and 5 is 8". Of course it's 7, so I innocently said, "It's 7 Boyd", because it's just Grass Roots, and when I'm as old as Boyd I hope to still be breathing yet alone be as sharp as he is, and certainly would want younger players to cut me some slack.

Unperturbed, I won the game, and the tournament. And in the future, I'll keep helping players, just not Boyd I guess!

Hot run of cards continues - 31/15 in GRNT

Today we had our Grass Roots National tournament. We scheduled it the weekend after Reno, and that worked out nicely, as we has 31 players, including folks like Duane Toll and Bob Bartosh.

I had a sweet 17/8 to start, losing one game to Ricky Mack. The second 9 wasn't much worse, as I had a 14/7, losing only to Tom Russo and Virginia Cheney.

That brings my Grass Roots season total up to 125 points. I'm still considerably behind Dennis Johnston for the club lead - he has 164 points after a 26 card today. I have moved up into a battle for second place with Doug Fincke, Heidi Glashan and Mary Gladish.

Tommorrow is the Valentine's Day tournament. Will the hot cards continue? Stay tuned...

Grand Slam in the Consolation only 2nd best, doh!

After my run in the TOC, the main torunament in Reno was a rocky one. I played poorly, losing a few games I shouldn't have, and finished 1 game from qualifying with a 25/12 card.

The consolation was a new day, and I ran the table for my second grand slam ever (the other was in Grass Roots ~7 years ago), with a nice 19/9 +161 card.

Unlike the TOC, where I didn't expect to be high qualifier, I felt pretty good about my chances to be high qualifier in 2 of the 3 biggest cribbage tournaments of the year.

Alas, it wasn't to be, as I lost to a strange card. Roger Widdowson of Colorado had a 21/8 card. Unlike me, he didn't win them all, but he had 5 (not a typo) skunks in his 8 wins.

I was second highest qualifier, and got a bye. I beat Jill Warren and Lewis Skidmore before getting outcarded in game 3 against Bob Kiley (I was down ~80-30 at one point) to go out in the fourth round, with a 17th-32nd place finish.

I added 64 master points to my total, bringing me to 1,644 points lifetime. I'm closing in on Joe Wergin!

The $650 I pulled from the Q and plyoff pools brought my weekend total to $3,000. Not bad for 3 days of fun!!

In total, I won 49 games and dropped 22. (68%)

TOC Qualifying 13-3
TOC Playoffs 10-6
Main Qualifying 12-10
Cons Qualifying 9-0
Cons Playoffs 5-3

Tonight is Grass Roots. I'm sure I'll win 2 out of 9!