Game 18 - Jan. 31, 2009

DECATUR — Yet another change in the league lead – the fourth in a row! Nick won his seventh game of the season and climbed to 36 points; Scott finished second for the tenth time and also climbed to 36. Had Greg not been skunked, he also would have held at 36 points and would have kept the league lead over Nick on pegging difference; but he fell three pegs short of safety and dropped two points to 34 in the table. This put Greg in the ironic position of being last in the table despite being first in pegging.

After 18 games, there have been nine skunks this season – more than the entirety of Season 1, when there were eight skunks in 38 games.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 038 Scott 023 Nick 038
06 hands - Greg 055 Scott 059 Nick 073
09 hands - Greg 077 Scott 102 Nick 101
10 hands - Greg 088 Scott 111 Nick 121 Final

League Table
Nick.... 07 04 04 03 36 1929
Scott... 04 10 02 02 36 1921
Greg.... 07 04 03 04 34 1943

Game 17 - Jan. 31, 2009

DECATUR — The league lead changed hands for the third consecutive game as Greg's win put him back on top after one of the more competitive games of recent weeks. Game 17 itself was arguably a microcosm of the season, with multiple lead changes and no player ever falling very far behind. The collective total of 332 pegs was the highest-pegging game since Game 10 on November 29 (352 pegs), and the sixth-highest of the season to date.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 046 Scott 033 Nick 033
06 hands - Greg 071 Scott 079 Nick 069
09 hands - Greg 114 Scott 105 Nick 104
10 hands - Greg 121 Scott 106 Nick 105 Final

League Table
Greg.... 07 04 03 03 36 1855
Scott... 04 09 02 02 34 1810
Nick.... 06 04 04 03 31 1808

Game 16 - Jan. 31, 2009

DECATUR — Game 16 started as a close contest, but Scott pulled away in the second half of the game to score his fourth victory of the season and pole-vault from last to first in the table. Greg narrowly avoided the skunk in the final hand, counting before dealer Scott pegged out. The result put Greg and Nick exactly equal in the league table, requiring the use of season-to-date pegging totals to break the tie, with Greg leading 1734-1703.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 030 Scott 028 Nick 032
06 hands - Greg 050 Scott 066 Nick 063
09 hands - Greg 082 Scott 114 Nick 096
10 hands - Greg 092 Scott 121 Nick 107 Final

League Table
Scott... 04 08 02 02 32 1704
Greg.... 06 04 03 03 31 1734
Nick.... 06 04 03 03 31 1703

Game 15 - Jan. 17, 2009

DECATUR — After a pair of slow starts, Greg stormed into the lead early in Game 15 and strolled easily to his sixth win of the season, pegging out early in the tenth hand. Scott was unable to reach safety and recorded his first skunk since Game 3, ending his 11-game skunkless spell. The result turned the tight league table upside-down, sending Greg to the top and Scott to the bottom.

This was the first time that the dealer won each game in a full rotation of three games (Games 13-15). It also marked the seventh game in which the second-place finisher was held to fewer than 100 pegs; Greg has won four of those seven games, and Nick has won the other three.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 048 Scott 028 Nick 035
06 hands - Greg 084 Scott 057 Nick 077
09 hands - Greg 120 Scott 089 Nick 097
10 hands - Greg 121 Scott 089 Nick 099 Final

League Table
Greg.... 06 04 02 03 31
Nick.... 06 03 03 03 29
Scott... 03 08 02 02 27

Game 14 - Jan. 17, 2009

DECATUR — Nick began the second trimester of the cribbage season by snapping his four-game winless streak, holding both Scott and Greg to fewer than 100 pegs for the third time this season. Greg rallied from a poor start to finish second, handing Scott his first third-place finish since Game 6 on October 11. Despite having the fewest wins this season, Scott remained top of the league table thanks to his eight second-place finishes and only one skunk — so far.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 018 Scott 033 Nick 046
06 hands - Greg 048 Scott 059 Nick 076
09 hands - Greg 083 Scott 088 Nick 109
10 hands - Greg 098 Scott 095 Nick 121 Final

League Table
Scott... 03 08 02 01 29
Nick.... 06 02 03 03 27
Greg.... 05 04 02 03 26

Game 13 - Jan. 17, 2009

DECATUR — Scott vaulted to the top of the league and took sole possession of the summit for the first time since Game 3, prevailing after a see-saw battle with Nick for much of Game 13. Greg rallied after an alarmingly slow start, but couldn't quite muster enough "kojo" (karma + mojo) to avoid being skunked for the first time since Game 5.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 020 Scott 041 Nick 035
06 hands - Greg 041 Scott 076 Nick 082
09 hands - Greg 083 Scott 111 Nick 108
10 hands - Greg 088 Scott 121 Nick 111 Final

League Table
Scott... 03 08 01 01 29
Greg.... 05 03 02 03 24
Nick.... 05 02 03 03 22

Game 12 - Jan. 10, 2009

DECATUR — The second match of 2009 was eerily similar to the first, except that it took nine hands to finish instead of ten. The final score was practically identical, with Greg winning, and Scott and Nick each improving a lone peg from Game 11 — still not good enough for Nick to avoid a second consecutive skunk, the first such misfortune for any player this season.

The outcome turned the league table upside-down, with Greg leaping into first place and Nick crashing to third, while Scott, recording his eighth second-place match result of the season, appropriately remained second in the table while moving up to second in cumulative pegging for the season (Greg 1335, Scott 1278, Nick 1265).

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 044 Scott 031 Nick 032
06 hands - Greg 077 Scott 070 Nick 061
09 hands - Greg 121 Scott 095 Nick 080 Final

League Table
Greg.... 05 03 02 02 26
Scott... 02 08 01 01 24
Nick.... 05 01 03 03 20

Game 11 - Jan. 10, 2009

DECATUR — After a six-week 'holiday' break, the season resumed with a resounding win for Greg, who skunked Nick and finished 27 pegs ahead of Scott, tying his season-best margin of victory from Game 1. The game practically levelled the league table, with Scott and Nick sharing the points lead.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 031 Scott 023 Nick 030
06 hands - Greg 076 Scott 063 Nick 053
09 hands - Greg 112 Scott 089 Nick 077
10 hands - Greg 121 Scott 094 Nick 079 Final

League Table
Nick.... 05 01 03 02 22
Scott... 02 07 01 01 22
Greg.... 04 03 02 02 21