August 6, 2020

*** This hand was suggested by zeke76
98-100*  ?
85%
10%
2%
1%
Total votes: 191
JQT
4136 votes

Joined: October 2008

 
 
 
Thursday 3:00 AM
The POSITION is rather bleak, since we are Pone at Hole 98, while our Opponent is Dealer at Hole 100.

Our cards give us some hope, however: even after the risky Toss (7 8) discard, we may be able to "steal" this game, since Sixteen Cuts (5, TTTT, JJJJ, QQQQ, KKK) will give us Twenty or more Points, and place us within Three Holes of going out.

The FLUSH is a Wild Red Herring, so we won't even go near that today: in fact, the only idea worse than the FLUSH here would be to Toss (5 5) and NOT retain a FLUSH! But we could also consider Keep (5 5 5 7) and Toss (8 K). The problem(s) with this approach in my opinion are at least twofold:

If we Keep (5 5 5 7), now only Five Cuts (5, 6666) give us Seventeen or more Points; and yet maybe even more brutal is that, with Dealer at Hole 100, the otherwise 'safe' Toss (8 K) discard really does little or nothing to mitigate our actual predicament here.

So, let's Keep (5 5 5 K) and Toss (7 8), and try to get one of those Sixteen Cuts, as 16 DIV 46 equals 0.348 and therefore we have about a 35% chance with the Cut of just needing to peg Three Holes in order to win!

That pegging won't be easy to come by, and Dealer is likely to go out with the Crib if we don't claim VICTORY with First Hand Show, and so this probably chops those 35% odds into less than half. But 15% beats NO percent.
thelawnet
262 votes

Joined: January 2020

 
 
 
Thursday 3:14 AM
There are only two choices, 555k or 5557.

555k scores 20+ with any 5tJqk.

This puts us at 118 needing to peg 3 in two hands

5557 doesn't help us nearly so much and it's a really horrible pegging hand (as is 555k) so we should concede points here despite the economical toss. Therefore hoping to keep our foe below 21 points in two deals is not a good chance.

So we go aggressive knowing that we likely need to peg out because there's little chance with first take next deal that he doesn't reach 121.

Of course even having tossed 78 that could still happen , maybe dealer tosses JJ or something and scores only 4

So 78 just isn't as bad as the averages suggest here because those 24 point cribs that it can concede simply don't count 24 here, because dealer is nearly home. So let's not be misled by means that are impossible 21 points from home .

78 is a bad toss, to be sure, but it's BETTER here than it would be at 0-0 because it can't ever cost us the full 24 point whack.

Very clear to me today!
james500
3895 votes

Joined: June 2013

 
 
 
Thursday 3:32 AM
As has been said, either hold K555 and hope that the cut allows us to win/come very close during this deal, or discard K8 and keep away in an attempt to reduce our opponent's scoring over their upcoming hand-crib-hand sequence to twenty or less.

I'll try the defensive approach.
Rosemarie44
2051 votes

Joined: March 2016

 
 
 
Thursday 3:45 AM
Go for it! As John mentions 16 cuts increases the value of the hand to 20 or more points.
Andy (muesli64)
2221 votes

Joined: August 2009

 
 
 
Thursday 4:04 AM
No choice. Best bet by far?
dec
6327 votes

Joined: April 2008

 
 
 
Thursday 4:08 AM
What a difference their position is 94 or even 95 I might be reckon to do something like K-8 but here with a shot at winning or getting damn close shoot for the moon would regret it if that particular cut happens. Play thy position. King lead ... now what? dec
zeke76 says: This was basically what I was wondering in submitting this. How close do we need to be to be aggressive vs. how far away to play defense.
dec says: I would feel better if they were at 94 or less here I play agressive. Good points below on a five lead if they have X-4-5-6 we probably are going to lose this game especially after the cut here. dec
mrob2199
1407 votes

Joined: February 2009

 
 
 
Thursday 4:16 AM
Gotta go for the cut for 20 here-can’t even think about getting lucky enough to cut the case 5 for the victory-dealer is 21 out which could bring the 5557 hold-K8 discard into the realm of possibilities,but that hand pegs horribly as pone-you basically have to sacrifice giving up 4 points so as not to get totally demolished in pegging-so that kinda throws a monkey wrench into our defensive strategy
SallyAnn3 says: Leading the K?
mrob2199 says: With 3 fives and a picture it’s always better to lead one of the fives to lighten the damage-if you lead the picture and dealer plays a 3,4,6 or 7 you are in immediate trouble
SallyAnn3 says: Thanks :)
warquaker says: mrob2199 you have thrown light on my darkness as I too would have lead the lead.
zeke76 says: The pegging advice is handy. Thanks.
warquaker says: should read "lead the king".
Gougie00
5702 votes

Joined: March 2008

 
 
 
Thursday 5:21 AM
Going for the grandslam. Lead a 5.
Eolus619
1313 votes

Joined: June 2020

 
 
 
Thursday 6:09 AM
My compliments to all the optimists above who have attempted to show the way with their Dunkirk spirit. As for me, i should have played better earlier to perhaps have avoided the board position i am now in.
Mark6
702 votes

Joined: June 2020

Thursday 6:32 AM
K cut and I only need to Peg 1
SallyAnn3
882 votes

Joined: March 2020

 
 
 
Thursday 6:43 AM
Have to go for it.
JRCeagle78
1054 votes

Joined: June 2016

 
 
 
Thursday 7:03 AM
With 15 X cards unaccounted for, the most logical choice is to play for the starter card. This hand can be a pegging nightmare if you don't lead a 5.
warquaker
238 votes

Joined: July 2020

 
 
 
Thursday 8:05 AM
Grunch: I could not see beyond the 555K. I did consider ditching 2 fives and keeping C578K but having just watched Ras's lesson on 78 there really was nothing to do but let pone have 78 and do what he can with it.
Eolus619 says: hello...this link will get you to a discard trainer website...it selects random hands you can then choose for either your crib or opponent ...at times the difference between optimal and 3rd best is just a few tenths of a point ..but the site will allow you to practice discarding and let you see the point totals for your choice and those you did not choose https://cribassistant.github.io/sixcard_practice.html if you want to evaluate a specific hand of your choosing then this site will work https://cliambrown.com/cribbage/
Eolus619 says: other important points...the trainer does NOT consider score/board position ...keep that in mind...the discards will likely be different at 0-0 verse @ 96-96 and pegging potential is NOT considered either all those negatives said ..it is still a good practice site
zeke76 says: Thanks for the trainer link.
zeke76 says: And welcome warquaker ... quite a non-sequitur of a name.
Mark6 says: Thx for 6 card practice - you can play a lot of Hands per minute
warquaker says: Eulos619: thanks for the two links. When it comes to pegging potential just how is that to be evaluated and is it a rough and ready measure at best?
JQT says: Seeing how many discards you can make correctly per minute is also very good as a training tool, similar to Puzzle Rush in Chess. Forcing yourself to perform discarding speed drills WILL make you a stronger player, not because of the speed per se, but because being able to recognize patterns and make the proper discards quickly frees up your brain to think about positional considerations and pegging nuances. I have used Craig Hessel's Discard Tool to do this for Dealer Discards for several decades now, and doing these quickly really does improve your playing strength, in my opinion.
Eolus619 says: pegging....i recommend watching the Ras video classes on pegging 2) there are some very good pegging tips on this site...often mrob, JQT, the lawnet , Hal and Ras comment in detail about pegging sequence and potential 3) there used to on cribbage forum a monthly feature called “ask the expert “ ...it worked somewhat similar to this site but the comments were limited to usually just five or six nationally well known players ...some very successful players participated including DeLynn and our own Ras....their answers as to why they dis carded as they did and how they analyzed / evaluated pegging sequence are extremely valuable ...i am working my way through the months ...but there are a lot of years in the archives ...suggest you read and think about each month when you can..the archive by month is at the bottom of the page the link opens http://www.cribbageforum.com/AskTheExperts.htm
Ras2829 says: Cribbageforum.com was the brainchild of Michael Schell, who maintained the site for several years. Schell played with one of our Puget-Sound based Grass Roots clubs (Sno-King Peggers I recall) and directed the same for a few years. Then Mike took another direction in life and hasn't maintained the site for several years (10-15 years it seems). In any case, the archives are a veritable treasure trove of cribbage information and strategy. Didn't know I would live this long as retired in 1995 and it seems that Mike Schell initiated Cribbageform.com within a year or two of my retirement.
Eolus619 says: Ras...you are living history!
warquaker says: JQT and Eulos619 thanks for the guidance. I have started watching the Ras videos...astonishing that Ras -so eminent- is so accessible.
warquaker
238 votes

Joined: July 2020

 
 
 
Thursday 10:38 AM
re zeke72: my nom de plume. Putting two opposites together to get a name is common enough. Perhaps, most famously the rock band Led Zeppelin. A Zeppelin made of Lead would not fly!
Mark6 says: R Plant + J Page a Pair that beats a Full House
HfxKen says: On yeah!
Ras2829
5125 votes

Joined: November 2008

 
 
 
Thursday 10:56 AM
With 16 cards available to score 20, 22, or 28 points and dealer at hole 100, it's off., off., and once seeing the deuce starter card a downshift to defense. Lead the 5C and drop another five next play. Dealer will sometimes pair the second card played if knowing of three.
Not much hope for a win here with 14 points in hand and limited pegging potential unless dealer pairs the second five dropped. Have to hope that dealer has no more than ten points (pegs, hand, and crib scores). What are chances of that? That's 1 of 7.5 (about 15%). Slim odds though not beyond the realm of possibility. No time for despair. Play for the win.
Ras2829 says: Why lead the 5C when your plan is to drop another five as second card played? In the event dealer response is 3, 4, 6, or 7, will escape by faking the flush with the KC.
dgergens
938 votes

Joined: January 2018

 
 
 
Thursday 4:04 PM
It's a bleak situation. There are 15 more X cards out there, let's hope. After the 2 cut, time for another drink.
Coeurdelion
5574 votes

Joined: October 2007

 
 
 
Thursday 4:58 PM
5-5-5-K (7-8) will be hard to beat I think the only possible alternative is playing Defense keeping 5-5-5-7 and throwing 8-K:

5-5-5-K: 14pts - 7½pts (Schell: 7.63) = +6½pts

5-5-5-7: 8pts - 4¼pts (Schell: 4.20) = +3¾pts

Potential:

5-5-5-K: Improves with 5 + 15xXs = 20 cuts = 20/46 = 47.5% up to 20/22/28pts with all cuts.

5-5-5-7: Improves with 3333, 5, 6666, 777, 888 + 15xXs = 30 cuts = 30/46 = 65.2% up to 14/17/20pts with 3333, 5, 6666.

Position:

We need 23pts to go out so I'll play Offense. If we don't go out this time we may well peg out next deal.

Pegging:

Both hands will peg well.


Summary:

5-5-5-K has a starting value 2¾pts more than 5-5-5-7 and although it has fewer cuts for improvement it has 20 for 20-28pts. So I'll throw the 7-8.
HalscribCLX
5297 votes

Joined: February 2008

 
 
 
Thursday 5:01 PM
At 98-100* playing an Offense strategy for the pegging the dynamic expected averages and Win/Loss %s are:

_______________Our
Offense__Hand__Pegs__Crib___Total____W1 %_____W2 %
5-5-5-K___16.28+0.91+(-7.16)=10.03____12.4_____26.8
5-5-5-7___11.78+1.15+(-3.56)= 9.37_____1.3_____26.9

Offense______L1 %_____L2 %
5-5-5-K_______24.6_____64.4
5-5-5-7________8.4_____63.7

5-5-5-K is 0.66pt better for expected averages and very much better for Win %s. Although 5-5-5-7 is very much lower for Loss %s because of the much safer 8-K as we're playing Offense I'll select 7-8 to discard.

After the 2 cut I'll lead a 5 and play Offense:

Lead________Our Pegging Pts.
5________________0.97
K________________0.93