To avid, or even casual, cribbage players, the 29 hand is something of a holy grail.
It’s the highest possible score for a cribbage hand, and is made up of three fives and a Jack, with the cut card being of the same suit as the Jack.
Wikipedia says the odds of getting a perfect 29 hand starting with a six-card hand are 1 in 216,580, while the odds after discarding from a five-card hand are 1 in 649,740.
Del and Bernice Rossette of Battleford have been playing a lot of crib to pass the time during the days of the pandemic, and for them the 1 in 216,580 happened.
Bernice found herself with a hand with three fives and a Jack of clubs. That got the couple excited to see what would happen with the cut card, which is the starter card turned up from cutting the deck. Bernice directed Del to cut low in the deck, which is where she imaged the dream card might be. And there it was – a five of clubs.
For people who know crib, it’s a rare and exciting thing to experience, says Bernice, so she had to let the News-Optimist know as many would find it interesting to know someone local had actually had a 29 hand. She wondered if anyone else has had the experience.
