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Book Report-All About Cribbage by G. Douglas Anderson #2
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Book Report-All About Cribbage by G. Douglas Anderson #2 Posted by 221bBakerSt (VIP) Jan 23 2022 6:58PM I found the section on strategy par to below par. (Again, this was Anderson's opinion and is a good foundation for a new player) An expert player plays to a board position, something Anderson never talks about. I found his section on penalties rubbish. ImDerc will be happy to note that Anderson does state that "clearly marked skunk-line" should be found on the boards. I kind of like the term lurch or lurch-line. I'll start using that when I play my in-person tournaments. Overall, I give this book a C+ to a B-. If you never played in tournaments, then I can see where anyone might think this is the authoritative source on cribbage. Like the ACC said, the book was the authoritative reference AT THAT TIME. Just like pegs are also called spilikins, nobody calls them that anymore. (But I'm going to start) Anderson was a military man and clearly loved his rules and penalties. Some were adopted and then revised by the ACC. Most were discarded as irrelevant, vindictive, or lacking logic. (see how I just made a statement without citing a source or specific facts? Anderson did that the entire book) I know that ImDerc believes that this book is the bible and he discounts the ACC, but that is where the game is kept alive and shared with thousands. Anderson had a part in that. (He was a Canadian) I never met him, but I suspect even Anderson would have said that Hoyle was the bible. Or perhaps Cotgrave or Cotton in the 17th Century. I agree with ImDerc that cribbage was invented and WAS largely played in the UK. It has evolved (or devolved as some would say) into a largely North American game-at least as an organized (or organised ImDerc) sport. It is still played in pubs and kitchens in different parts of the world, but playing in local pubs and kitchens does not 'grow' anything. If you want to teach people and grow, then you have to have clubs and events. Without that, the game of cribbage will go away like Whist, Bridge, Euchre, Encarte, and even Blind Hookey! If you want cribbage to live on, then you have to have the tools necessary to allow that to happen. The ACC does just that, so comparing ACC rules to Anderson's rules is really apples to oranges. Just as Anderson's to Hoyle's are relatively the same fruit, they taste quite different. Lastly, this original debate and discussion began with the argument that skunks were optional. I guess anything can be optional if you want them to be and clearly, Anderson wanted them to be (but somehow the skunk-line was not optional to Anderson). But Anderson is the ONLY person to ever say that. Hoyle said lurches are good, and I have yet to get my hands on Cotton or Cotgrave, but when I do, I'll report back. Years ago, I asked about making skunks optional at GC, but it did not go anywhere. I never advocated for them in the 2/3 format, just commented that they were a part of cribbage and had been for hundreds of years. Hoyle confirmed that. (Hoyle was British ImDerc) My advice to anyone wishing to quote a source is to look further back in time to see where that source got their information. If they got it from somewhere and did not cite it, that's plagiarism. If they just made it up on their own, that's kitchen cribbage unless they can cite what experience, knowledge, or ability makes them an authority on the subject. Anderson cited neither, which disqualifies his work as a 'bible' in my opinion. "According to Hoyle" is a statement used for hundreds of years that means the strict adherence of rules, fairly and honestly. It has been used in courtrooms and business offices for centuries. There is the source for your cribbage rules. If you want a modern version look to the ACC rules. If you want to become an expert at cribbage, then Delynn Colvert's "How to Play Winning Cribbage" or Dan Barlow's "Cribbage for Experts" is where you should turn. They have the experience and credibility to write books about cribbage being national and international champions and all. Good assessment Posted by iPeg (VIP) Jan 25 2022 8:54AM Great write ups, BakerSt, although I somehow do not think ImDerc will be so complimentary. The earliest published reference to skunking or lurching Iâve found is in the book "The Compleat Gamester" by Charles Cotton, printed in London in 1725. In Section IX, The Game of Cribbidge, he notes that if you get to the Game before your adversary is forty five (forty four will not do it) you must then say, I have lurched you, and that is a double Game, for whatever you played with, six Shillings, or a greater sum. This seems to indicate that reaching 45 does not result in a skunk. Today, in a game to 121, the player must reach 91 points to avoid a skunk, it seems that it should be 90 to be consistent with Cottons description using the 61 point game, but I could be mis-interpreting . The ACC does not award a double game for a skunk in tournament qualifiers, only 3 game points vs 2, so one and one half games I suppose. Bottom line, players may decide their own rules regarding skunks before they play or if setting up their own tournaments or league. I think the ACC has adopted a reasonable way to address this part of the game that has definitely been in the rules in some form or other for centuries. Thanks Posted by 221bBakerSt (VIP) Jan 25 2022 3:10PM Thanks IPeg. I appreciate your comments. I agree that Cotton (mentioned in my post) and 2 others in the 1600's (but perhaps not published until the 1700s) defined the game and perhaps Hoyle used their writings to further encapsulate the rules. Eventually, I would like to read all three authors, Cotgrave, Willughny and Cotton. Would even like a good explanation of Noddy, the precursor to Cribbage. Apparently Charles Dickens immortalized the game of cribbage in one of his books and I need to read that. For those that may have forgotten, Charles Emerson Winchester, MD, was forced to go to 4077th MASH unit as a result of his cribbage skills. Shall none of us ever be that lucky! |
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