April 14, 2018

*** This hand was suggested by acis1 on ecribbage.com
32-17*  ?
21%
18%
13%
11%
11%
9%
5%
3%
2%
1%
0%
0%
Total votes: 143
JQT
4135 votes

Joined: October 2008

 
 
 
Saturday 3:00 AM
Our Maximum Hand Value would come after Toss (5 6)! Is anyone "up" for that?! 

After all, nearly two-thirds of those who voted (Yours Truly most notably excepted) did choose to Keep (A A 9 9) as Pone just a few days ago. 

And the computer never did 'chime in' during that day (on Thursday, 12 April 2018) as to whether the significant majority (over 60%) was on the 'right track' or not. 

In fact, if you've really developed an allure for this "Two Pairs Syndrome" (TPS), you might wish to 'go back' a few days and notice that I posted a little missive entitled, "Eating Your Pears" later that evening! 

So let's turn our focus back to today and let's get realistic: Shall we risk chucking a PAIR with Toss (8 8), or should we instead take heed and 'hedge' with something such as Toss (3 6) or Toss (6 8)? 

With a current lead of Half a Street or Fifteen Holes, we can probably afford to take on the risk of Toss (8 8) and retain the best-looking bunch of Keep (3 3 5 6), which only fails to be improved by Six Cuts (2222, 88). And look: hidden within the interstices of this motley card arrangement, we actually do have a three-card "Magic Eleven" in the unusual form of (3 3 5)! 

Yes, the fact that we were dealt half of the cards (those two 8 Cards) that make up one third of those "Loser" Cuts (the Cuts that won't ultimately help us) is probably not an insignificant detail, and knowing this might therefore help to mitigate the danger inherent in giving them away! 

We know two things: Throwing a PAIR of 8 Cards "over the board" is significantly different (and thus more dangerous) than stashing these same two cards in our OWN Crib; however, we also know that sending two 8 Cards a-packing is not quite as lethal as pitching two 7 Cards. 

And so it as: we'll Keep (3 3 5 6) and Toss (8 8) and then lead a Trey of Clubs from our PEAR. Any Questions? 
JQT says: And so it as! Such is the case may be! I almost cannot believe, that when posting Copious Cribbage Comments at 5 a.m. on a website that prohibits whatsoever any later editing, that I may have indeed made it all the way to the ninth or final paragraph of my daunting dissertation before ultimately committing a grammatical "friend or faux pas" type of an error. Hanging's probably too good for me.
Inushtuk1 says: Fifty lashes with a wet noodle!
jethrotulll says: Haha
dec
6327 votes

Joined: April 2008

 
 
 
Saturday 3:11 AM
I think I read somewhere that with these positions 33 would be the par goal. So even thou I know 8/8 might pass safely in the crib I will opt for defense here. Three lead for me. dec
james500
3895 votes

Joined: June 2013

 
 
 
Saturday 3:12 AM
Trusting in the nullifying power of negative delta, it'll be 3-6 from me. Ideally we'll see either a 4 or 7 turned over.
JQT says: Most of us remember that the 1972 song, "Delta Dawn" (incidentally, co-written by Larry Collins and Alex Harvey) was first performed by Tanya Tucker, and then shortly later in 1973, it became a hit when sung by Helen Reddy. But very few people know that its original "working title" was, "The Nullifying Power of Negative Delta" (sorry, james500, I just adored the use of your phrase ; - )
james500 says: Thanks John, hope life's treating you well.
Rosemarie44
2051 votes

Joined: March 2016

 
 
 
Saturday 3:33 AM
I am going with tossing 3-6 today. Hand has the potential for 9 or 14 points but is heavily weighted at around 4 or 5 points.
Gougie00
5701 votes

Joined: March 2008

 
 
 
Saturday 6:19 AM
that didnt work - Lead the 3 and hope to see the opponent play a 7. Ugh..
bbaer1
3663 votes

Joined: February 2011

 
 
 
Saturday 7:32 AM
Can't bring myself to hold two points and give away two points. Only eight cuts don't help this hold, and I've got 7 cut insurance.
horus93
1272 votes

Joined: December 2017

 
 
 
Saturday 8:04 AM
I tossed 6-3. Very surprised to find myself in such a minority today.

Checking my work on C. Liam Brown, this toss has both the best expected average and the lowest crib average.

I'd play defense to the cut and hence lead an 8.
james500 says: Hiya Horus, hope you're having a nice weekend. With only two scoring replies available to a led 3 (3H or 3D), as opposed to five for your led 8 (all four sevens, plus the 8S), might your desire for a defensive lead be better served by leading your 3?
Guest says: Hi james, I want to keep the 3 on reserve as an "out", even if it's less likely to be immediately scored on
Inushtuk1 says: Hi horus93. What an interesting defensive approach. But I agree with James that the 3c (flush fake) is slightly better for those who chose to play this hand defensively. But your 8 lead is an excellent offensive or optimal lead however.
Inushtuk1 says: That 3-5 left in your hand might catch a stray 4.
Hillchem says: I also was considering the 3-6 or the 6-8 before checking C. Liam Brown. Not sure that I ever remember checking a hand where the best net points was 0.0 . At least at this point we have a 15 point lead.
Inushtuk1
1463 votes

Joined: July 2016

 
 
 
Saturday 8:28 AM
Since I chose offense yesterday at essentially the same score, I might as well do the same today. The expected average is not the most important thing on offense. Maximizing average hand and maximum offensive pegging is. And while (5-6) has a higher average hand by 0.08 points it won’t peg anywhere near as well as the 3-3-5 Magic Eleven. So toss (8-8) it is then.

Lead the 3c to force the 5 off the play and bring out the X-card. And if successful show the Dealer the other 3 to keep the 5 in his/her hand and bring forth another X- card for our (31-2).
Coeurdelion
5573 votes

Joined: October 2007

 
 
 
Saturday 3:09 PM
I think its between 33, 88 or 5-6?:

5-6-8-8: 2pts - 6½pts (Schell: 6.68) = -4½pts

3-3-5-6: 2pts - 6¾pts (Schell: 6.82) = -4¾pts

3-3-8-8: 4pts - 7½pts (Schell: 7.47) = -3½pts

Potential:

5-6-8-8: Improves with AAAA, 2222, 4444, 555, 666, 7777, 88, 9999 + 16xXs = 42 cuts = 38/46 = 82.6% up to 6/7/14pts with AAAA, 2222, 4444, 7777, 88 = 18 cuts.

3-3-5-6: Improves with AAAA, 33, 4444, 555, 666, 7777, 88, 9999 + 16xXs = 42 cuts = 42/46 = 91.3% up to 6/8/9/16pts with AAAA, 33, 4444, 666, 9999 = 17 cuts.

3-3-8-8: Improves with AAAA, 33, 4444, 7777, 88, 9999 = 20 cuts = 43.5% up to 8/12pts with AAAA, 4444, 7777, 88 = 14 cuts.

Pegs:

I think 3-3-5-6 will peg the best of the three.

Position:

We have a good lead but need 12pts to reach the next positional hole of 44pts. So I'll play Offense for the pegging.

Summary:

3-3-5-6 has a ¼pt lower starting value than 5-5-6-8 but it has more cuts for improvement and better maximumss. It also should peg better. So I'll throw 8-8.
Ras2829
5125 votes

Joined: November 2008

 
 
 
Saturday 10:58 PM
Inushtuk1 and Coeurdelion say it all for me. So there is a hand of two points form which 8-8 is the correct discard to opponent? My, that is hard to do!