Readers' stories of the 29 cribbage hands they've received.

James Gilly

There is a fine tradition of cribbage playing in the US Navy and especially the submarine service. James Gilly writes:

In 1991, whilst under way on USS Simon Lake (AS 33), I was playing in the R-10 division office with one of the nucs; as I recall, I dealt, and after making my discard said something along the lines of "Go ahead - cut me a five. I dare you." And he did...

My camera was locked in my rack at the time, so we noted the score and the hands and then finished the game. I went and got the camera, and we set up the board and cards for pictures - except that I miscounted when placing my rear peg so the photos look like I cheated and pegged 30.

My second 29 came in 2000 or 2001. I was under way again, this time on USS Providence (SSN 719), and was playing on the mess decks with one of the sonar techs. I honestly can't remember which of us dealt that hand. This time, though, I happened to have my camera in my pocket, so we were able to take pictures immediately and then finish the game.

Dale and Helen Moeller

Dale Moeller and his wife Helen were returning from their 50th wedding anniversary vacation when they decided to play a game of cribbage in their hotel. Helen writes:

My husband calmly said, "Helen, I think I have a perfect hand!" What made it even more exciting was the fact that during our initial card-playing, we were surrounded by a group of friendly Shriners from Kansas, there for a golf tournament, and many of them had stopped at our table to introduce themselves and comment on the game of cribbage. One gentleman in particular, a dentist from Wichita, said that he played on-line 3 times a day and was director of the Shriners' cribbage tournaments. He had never even seen a perfect hand before. My husband's great fortune and luck could have happened at our kitchen table in Wisner, NE, but being amid people who really appreciated and understood the odds of a perfect cribbage hand made it even more awesome!

As an added note, Dale won that game by only one peg -- even with THE hand!! We are very competitive and enjoy cribbage very much. It was my idea to get the board & deck of cards from the car (while he enjoyed his beer) -- he said I didn't have to bother, but I did anyway!! Sometimes this wife of 50 years has a good idea!

Barry McCormack

Barry McCormack of London, Ontario, recently received a cribbage 29 hand in a friendly game with his son. As his daughter Tiffany wrote to me, it was "the first 29 hand he had ever had or seen in over 40 years of playing the game".

What's your story?

Have you ever scored a perfect hand in cribbage? We'd love to hear your perfect hand stories. Why not contact us and share the story?

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