Club #498 Central Texas Cribbage

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You can e-mail us at: centraltexascribbage@gmail.com or find us on Facebook.

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Membership

Guests are welcome to play up to 4 times at Club #498 (weekly entry fee required). Subsequent play requires membership in the club for $8/year and membership in the American Cribbage Congress (ACC) for $20/year (see ACC Membership page for Youth, Joint, and Life membership options).

Visitors, i.e., members in good standing of other Grass Roots clubs, are always welcome.

All players are expected to be able to complete a game of cribbage in approximately 15 minutes. A night's play consists of playing 6 games. Leaving early, without a valid emergency reason, is unacceptable. Grass Roots cribbage is a competition played under ACC Tournament Rules; it is not an introductory program.

All players must adhere to the ACC Code of Ethics. Additionally, Club #498 treats players who are new to ACC competitive cribbage according to the Code of Congeniality below:

Club #498 Code of Congeniality

During a new player's trial period (four weeks or until they earn points — whichever is shorter) . . .

We pledge to welcome new players warmly and make them feel wanted.
We pledge to not penalize new players for violating tournament rules. (We will, instead, gently tell them what the rule is and what the penalty would be.)
We pledge to not let new players underpeg points or undercount hands. (We will, instead, explain errors and then allow new players to take all points they are entitled to.)
We pledge to not make new players feel inferior if/when they miss points or make a bad play. (We will, instead, let them know that all cribbage players do this and that it is part of the learning process.)

After the trial period is up . . .

We pledge to continue to make all players — new and existing — feel welcome and comfortable at our club.

Club History

Date	Milestone	People
2025-09-22	28 Hand	David Roady
2025-09-15	First Night of Club Play	Kevin Mansfield, Diane Sykes, David Hayes, David Roday, John Pederson, Keith Miller
2025-08-26	Club Founded	Kevin Mansfield

Procedure and Rule Reminders

Some of the differences between casual play and Grass Roots play are described below. This list is not comprehensive; refer to the ACC Tournament Rules for additional information.

The dealer for the first hand of the game is determined by a cut of the cards (low card deals).
Dealer shuffles and then places the deck on the board or table so that the pone can cut the deck before the deal. Neither player shall look at the bottom card of the top pack.
When cutting for the starter card, Pone must not expose the bottom card of the top pack.
If a player picks up their front peg, it becomes the back peg.
Renege – Failure to play a card that could have been played before calling “go.” – A judge must be called (penalty points apply).
If a player overpegs and opponent catches it, player must go back to the correct spot and opponent is allowed to take the number of pegs that were overpegged. If the player who overpegged catches the error prior to the opponent, a correction can be made (move back to the correct spot) without penalty.
If a player underpegs, it cannot be corrected after the player’s fingers are removed from the peg.
While counting hands and cribs, cards must be displayed and plainly visible to the opponent.
Do not mix the starter card with a hand or crib -- always keep it clearly separate.
No aid from individuals or use of any material is allowed when determining scoring while pegging or counting hands.
If there are any questions or discrepancies, call a judge.
Peg out to win the game.
False claim of game – if a player pegs out when they did not have enough points to go out, a judge must be called to resolve (penalty points apply).
Muggins not in effect for this club.
The pegs of the player who lost the game should be left in position until each player has marked the spread (margin of win/loss) on their own scorecard.
Mark your scorecard with game points and spread (add a 'leading zero' when this spread is less than 10 points).
Exchange scorecards; check that the opponent has filled-out their scorecard correctly; add your initials and seat number to endorse the other card. If there is an error, bring both scorecards to a judge.
Be nice and Have Fun.

Try out this scorecard tutorial if you are unfamiliar with filling-out a Grass Roots scorecard.

Weekly Fees and Payouts

Members: people who are members of both the ACC and Club #498 in good standing.

Visitors: people who are members of the ACC and a different Grass Roots Club in good standing.

Guests: people who are neither Members nor Visitors playing to decide if they want to become Members (per ACC rules a person may only play as a Guest four times).

Spectators: people watching play to decide if Grass Roots cribbage might be of interest to them.

All players must pay a minimum of $1 which is used to cover club expenses.
All players are expected to play all 6 games and to play in a timely manner (goal: 15 minutes per game). Players leaving early without a valid emergency reason for doing so will face sanction by the club and possibly by the ACC.
All players are permitted (optional for all) to enter the specialty side pools described below (all of the side pools or none of the side pools) for $4 additional.
Graduated Prize Pool (scores accumulated over the entirety of the 6 games) for $10 additional (mandatory for Members and Visitors, optional for Guests).

High Seven Pool (available to all players)

The best card with game points wins this pool. If none of the players entered in this side pool has an -game-point card, the pool carries-over to the next week. This pool is funded by $1 from each of the players who has entered the specialty side pools.

Rare Occurences, Part I (available to all players)

The following four rare events are each funded by $0.25 (each) from the players who have entered the side pools. Those funds accumulate, separately, until someone wins that pot.

Grand Slam Card (6 wins)
28-hand (hand or crib regardless of whether the points are pegged)
29-hand (hand or crib regardless of whether the points are pegged)
Royal Flush (9 through King of the same suit in hand or crib regardless of whether the points are pegged)

Note: in the case of large carry-over pools, the winner may not receive his prize in the same week in which it was won.

Rare Occurences, Part II (available to all players)

Two additional specialty hands are each funded by $0.50 (each) from the players who have entered the side pools. Those funds accumulate, separately, until someone wins that pot (these pools are capped at $500). The qualifying hands are chosen by the person or people who last won the pot (and when the pot carries over from week to week so does the type of hand required to win the pot). The director has the right to veto the specification of the qualifying hand for being too absurd or too restrictive.

Note: in the case of large carry-over pools, the winner may not receive his prize in the same week in which it was won.

24-hand (or better) Pool (available to all players)

The player with the last High Scoring Hand (24+) of the night wins the pot. The High Scoring Hand can be in the player's hand or crib. If a hand of 28 or 29 points occurs, it can only be bested by a hand of equal or greater point-value (e.g., a 24-hand that occurs after a 28-hand does not supersede the 28-hand). Players receive credit for High Scoring Hands whether or not they have the opportunity to peg the points (i.e., if the game ends before the player has the chance to count the hand, it still counts for this pool). This pool is funded by $1 from each of the players who has entered the specialty side pools.

The pools above that are funded from the optional $4 side-pool entry fee can, of course, only be won by players who have chosen to include that optional amount in their entry fee.

The High Seven and Rare Occurences (I & II) Pools do not continue during unofficial (summer) play nor during the GRRT or GRNT.

Information regarding the carry-over balances for the side pools will be available each week.

Side-betting (for nominal amounts) between players is optional and at their sole discretion.

2020 Market Scratch Kitchen is kind enough to host us. Everyone is encouraged to spend money and tip generously in appreciation.

American Cribbage Congress Info and Links

In Grass Roots, players earn 3 Game Points when they win a game by more than 30 points (a skunk); 2 Game Points when they win a game by less than 31 points; or zero Game Points when they lose a game. After play is complete (6 games at Club #498), the player's scorecard is totalled (see scorecard tutorial) to determine the player's total Game Points, number of Games Won, and Net Spread (accumulated margins of victory minus accumulated margins of defeat). The scorecards are then ranked by: Game Points, Games Won, and Net Spread to determine the finishing order for that week's tournament and the prize payouts.

All scorecards with 12 or more Game Points also earn the player Grass Roots Points (GRPs) which are accumulated throughout the season to determine the Club Champion and accumulated throughout the player's entire ACC career. A scorecard with 12 Game Points earns 12 GRPs; a scorecard with 15 Game Points earns 15 GRPs i.e., a one-to-one conversion once the 12 Game Point minimum has been achieved. Lifetime GRP totals are acknowledged by the ACC with awards when players reach certain levels (Bronze at 1000 total GRPS; Silver at 2500 total GRPs; Gold at 4000 total GRPs...).