I realize the posts have been a little dreary lately. So time for fun! One good thing about coming back to where I was born and matriculated is the opportunity to reconnect with old friends. And I have detailed all of those meetings in other posts. But I am going to call out two of them in particular in this amazing alignment of odds that occurred for me last Thursday. I have been playing Cribbage since I was a young lad. Started with my father, then played with a few friends over the year. But I wasn't a fanatic either. I know how to play but would go years without playing. But Tim Story, one of the friends I reconnected with mentioned playing it so I purchased a new board and cards and we have been playing for a few weeks when Tim comes over. Sometimes we play twice a week. So Mark Lowe came over and he clearly kept up playing cribbage through his life. He is an excellent player. The first game he smoked me. The second game is where this story starts.
So we were coming down the last leg and Mark had opened up a sizable lead. He was two or three pegs from home and I was 23 back. I joked when he was dealing to give me a good hand. Well, he delivered!
From the American Cribbage Congress. 1 in 216,580
According to the American Cribbage Congress, the odds of being dealt a perfect hand while playing against a single opponent is 1 in 216,580.
Well, that is what Mark dealt me. I didn't even realize it when I got it. I just said to Mark I will need your help counting this. When I flipped them over (and I must interject here, Mark is a man of a few words. He doesn't get too high or too low in my experience) He just said "You have the perfect hand"
I had to frame it for all time!