Bob Rogalski knew he had a good hand.

He was playing with his regular Tuesday seniors cribbage group at Glenwood Estates in 91原创 when he was dealt a club jack and three fives.

If the cut card turned out to be another five, and the same suit as the jack, it would be worth 29 points, a so-called 鈥減erfect hand鈥� which is the highest possible score in cribbage and the rarest card combination.

鈥淚 was darn close. I thought, wouldn鈥檛 that be nice,鈥� recalled Rogalski, a Murrayville resident who has been playing for almost three decades.

Right after that, a five of clubs came up in the cut deck.

鈥淚 was very lucky,鈥� Rogalski said.

Betty Krentz, who was playing at the same table, confirmed it.

鈥淚t was quite a moment,鈥� Krentz said.

Most estimates place the odds of getting that particular combination of cards in cribbage at one in 216,580.

To put that in perspective, a golfer has a better odds of scoring a hole-in-one, one in 12,500, while poker players face even steeper odds of getting a royal flush in straight poker, of one in 649,740.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: 91原创 community centre offers poker course

Roger Eberle, an experienced player and captain of the Murrayville team in the 91原创 Crib Club, said it is possible for a player to go their whole life without getting a 29.

鈥淚鈥檝e never had one, and I鈥檝e been playing for 50 years,鈥� Eberle said.

READ ALSO: All hands on deck for 91原创 crib league

What make Rogalski鈥檚 29 even rarer is the day it took place, Tuesday, Oct. 29.

鈥淭wenty-nine on the 29th,鈥� as he put it.

Cribbage is a card game that鈥檚 been around for hundreds of years.

Also known as crib, the card-playing pastime was reportedly created by English poet Sir John Suckling in the early 17th century and remains, virtually unchanged, one of the most popular games in the English-speaking world.

There is a crib 鈥� a separate hand counting for the dealer 鈥� as well as a cribbage board used for scorekeeping. Points are scored for card combinations that add up to 15, for pairs, triples, quadruples, runs and flushes.

dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter