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The Zone is proud to introduce Dan Barlow, noted Cribbage expert and player on the Zone. Dan writes Pegging Pointer, a series of articles devoted to Cribbage play and strategy. He also has a series of excellent books on Cribbage, which can be obtained from his Web site.
Purchase Books From Dan Barlow Publications
By Dan Barlow
Here's a situation that comes up near the end of a game every once in a while, and if you aren't ready for it, carelessness could cost you a game that was yours to win.
Suppose you need eight holes to win, and your opponent, Bev, also needs eight. You deal and save A-4-5-K. The cut is a 6, so you have enough to win, but only if you get to count it. The play proceeds as follows:
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Bev
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You
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9
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K(19)
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8(27)
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4(31-2)
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6
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?
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- Do you play the Ace or the Five on Bev's Six?
- Which would you play if she needed twelve holes to win?
- Which would you play if she needed nineteen holes to win?
This is not a situation in which you need to guess what the opponent is holding. This is a situation in which there are two possibilities: a) it doesn't matter what you play; or b) it matters, and the wrong card will cost you the game.
Solutions
- If Bev can peg on your Ace, she has either an Ace or an Eight. An Ace would give her ten points, and an Eight would give her eight. Thus, if she can peg on your Ace, she has already won the game. But if she can peg on your Five, her last card may be a Five or a Four. If it's either, she has only six points, and needs to peg two more. Playing the Five could give her the game! Play the Ace.
- Now the situation is different. If Bev can peg on your Five, she may have a Seven, in which case she has enough points to win, or she may have a Four or a Five, in which case she has only six points, and the holes she pegs won't get her to the game hole. However, if she can peg on your Ace, her last card may be an Ace, in which case she has ten points, and needs to peg two more. Don't let her! Play the Four!
- Now you aren't worried that Bev can peg on your Ace. If she can, she has an Ace or an Eight, and neither gives her enough points to win. But if you play the Five, and Bev's last card is a Seven, she has 16 points, and you've just let her peg the other three she needs. Play the Ace!
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