Anaconda Cribbage Championship to benefit fireworks show

Move over Texas hold ’em, there’s a new card game in town. Well, not new per se, but the Deer Lodge Crib Club is on board for a day of fun.

The Anaconda Cribbage Championship fundraiser will be hosting their seventh annual event on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the VFW Hall at 500 E. 4th St. to benefit the Anaconda fireworks show.

Club member Bob Byrd has been an active member for over a decade. “There are two types of play, tournament and grassroots. Grassroots clubs play 36 tournaments a year, once a week for 36 weeks, from September to May. In Montana we had one of the very first grassroots clubs out of Missoula,” Byrd said. 

There are a handful of clubs in Montana – Missoula, Helena, Deer Lodge, Butte, Laurel, and Bozeman. Club 391 is sponsoring this event by providing the cards, know-how, and pegs. And don’t worry if you aren’t a seasoned cribbage player, this event is still for you. And one major bonus is that participants will be guaranteed to play nine games.

The Deer Lodge Crib Club is under the umbrella of the American Cribbage Congress grassroots. They’re a nonprofit organization with over 200 active local clubs in North America. They meet weekly, bi-weekly, or on a monthly basis and hold nine round-robin games.

“There’s kitchen crib and the ACC developed a set of rules called tournament crib. A lot of people don’t like playing tournament crib because that’s not how they learned. And with tournament crib they play for money so they want to play along a stricter set of rules. This tournament has become a meeting place between the two, to make everyone happy and raise money for a good cause,” Byrd said.

The good cause, as previously mentioned, is the annual Anaconda Celebrations United Veterans Fireworks Show on July 4. The show has been gaining traction over the years, and some would say rivals Butte’s Fourth of July production. A fireworks display of that magnitude costs money, however, and this is a great opportunity to contribute while having fun. In 2020, the Deer Lodge Crib Club raised over $1,400 for the fireworks show.

Byrd himself didn’t take up cribbage until he was an adult, playing when he first got into the service. In 2009, he entered a crib tournament in Deer Lodge and three years later he helped to get the Deer Lodge Club up and running. And the rest, as they say, is history.

“This spring, everybody’s really excited because Billings is holding their very first tournament in Deadwood, so everyone from here will head to Billings then Deadwood … that’s for the master players,” Byrd, a master player himself, said. “There’s a Tournament of Champions tournament in Reno every year and you have to be a champion to be invited. Whether you win your club through the 36 weeks, or win another tourney or a consolation at one of those tournaments, you get invited. The Tournament of Champions is really important.”

The American Cribbage Congress circulates their own publication titled Cribbage World Magazine where they track the leading players from major tournaments and list the top 50 players in the country. Out of the 50 players listed this month, over 5,000 players combined, seven are from the Big Sky state.

While the name of the game is cribbage, the fun doesn’t stop there. They will also be selling raffle tickets for wine and liquor baskets, gun boards, and other fun and valuable items, and a 50/50 raffle. Lunch includes a pulled pork sandwich, chips, and a side of coleslaw. There is a $40 buy-in and the entry fee will be split 50/50 between the winners and the benefit. The minimum payout is for the top three cards over nine games, and there will be two grand winners, one local and one visitor. The Anaconda champion will be awarded with an Anaconda Champion Cribbage Board, and the best overall card will be recognized with a Tournament Cribbage Board – both handmade by Byrd himself.

Simply show up at the VFW Hall at 500 E. 4th St. on Saturday, Feb. 18 between 9-10 a.m. to register, or call Bob at (406) 560-3836 for more information.