The summer heat is fading (for some of us) as autumn in the Northern Hemisphere approaches - perfect cribbage weather. The Autumn 2025 Season of Cribbage Pro Competitive Matchmaking begins now!
Summer 2025 was our first season with the improved ranking system and our most active summer ever in terms of both players and games played. Our first full Competitive Cribbage season concluded in August 2020, so this autumn marks five years of competitive play in Cribbage Pro. Overall the season was a success, and we did see a few outliers we want to mitigate. Below you’ll find a quick results recap for Summer 2025, followed by the changes being implemented.
Summer 2025
As the Cribbage Pro competitive matchmaking continues to evolve and grow as the largest cribbage tournament anywhere in the world, I'm always so very grateful for all of you and your continued support, suggestions and participation. Truly, thank you!
The final official Summer 2025 results, have "Casper238" securing 1st place, with an impressive run of wins in various "spurts" throughout the season which resulted in a high final win rate (although a lower number of total matches - more on that below). 2nd place went to "ThreeG" (a past 1st place finisher in what was then just called "Season 3"), with "AJackOLit" (past 18th place finisher) rounding out the top three. Several others in the Top 50 will definitely look familiar, while once again several are new. Congratulations to all on their performance this season!
Special awards for the Top 50 players include in-game board pegs: the top player receives the "crown" peg, while others in the Top 50 get the "star" peg. These pegs are prominently displayed in online multiplayer games, serving as permanent badges of distinction earned through competitive play.
Reminder: Complete 10 matches per week! See the FAQ for details on the timing each week
Here was the final Top 50 for Summer 2025:
| 1 | Casper238** | 26 | mrmodesty | |
| 2 | ThreeG | 27 | Kragner | |
| 3 | AJackOLit | 28 | glitch123 | |
| 4 | Dhrun | 29 | RatKing | |
| 5 | Mrpadre | 30 | WhyADuck | |
| 6 | chmartin9 | 31 | wrader | |
| 7 | cribfan44 | 32 | Paludeja | |
| 8 | TC2 | 33 | TedyKGB | |
| 9 | nob4one | 34 | Lats44 | |
| 10 | iPeg | 35 | gmric5 | |
| 11 | Meow80 | 36 | tbrasa | |
| 12 | mntwinsbb | 37 | dph | |
| 13 | TrumpetJ | 38 | warrior14 | |
| 14 | niltes | 39 | MC2b | |
| 15 | MPD123 | 40 | pscohen | |
| 16 | mm1515 | 41 | PeggyBree | |
| 17 | 808HWK | 42 | flashmatt | |
| 18 | Grandude | 43 | caconle | |
| 19 | SaraJWS90 | 44 | hawkeyewn | |
| 20 | DAiello | 45 | scottniq | |
| 21 | phoggy10 | 46 | Domerzag | |
| 22 | drg151 | 47 | Lyle912 | |
| 23 | catpat | 48 | kpcrib123 | |
| 24 | Drumman | 49 | tsiege05 | |
| 25 | noskunkie | 50 | logana89 |
Updates & Changes in Autumn 2025
First, a quick note: over the past few months I've focused on backend/system work and other behind-the-scenes items, so some new features aren't quite ready. Most of that less visible work is behind us now (though always ongoing), so I'm shifting back to feature development and expect to bring some exciting additions to Cribbage Pro by the end of the year or early 2026. I’m also planning a Beta so some of you can jump in early.
As mentioned earlier, Summer 2025 produced a few outlier results during the season and in the final standings. A handful of players appeared on the Leaderboard with relatively low total match counts, and usually very high win rates attributable to a mix of variance/luck and skill. However, lower volume makes rankings less reliable than we'd like. In fact, the season's 1st-place finisher had an unusually low number of total matches.
We don't change rules mid-season, so we let Summer play out. Still, when this happens, the system isn't optimally limiting variance/luck and highlighting skill. It needs more matches to do that effectively. To improve this, we're adding a cumulative minimum matches rule for Leaderboard eligibility, in addition to the existing "10 matches per week you play" participation rule:
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New rule: To appear on the Leaderboard, you must have played at least 10 × (full weeks completed since the season start) total matches (UTC).
How this works for Autumn 2025:
The season starts at midnight Wednesday, August 20 (UTC). Those first four days (Wed–Sat) form a short week with no weekly 10-match requirement (as usual) and no cumulative minimum.
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First full week: Sun Aug 24 – Sat Aug 30 → 1 full week → minimum 10 total matches starting 23:59:59 Sat (UTC).
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Each week after: adds +10 to the total minimum (week 2 = 20, week 3 = 30, etc.).
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Season length: 12 full weeks → final cumulative minimum 120 matches.
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Last days (Sun–Tue) are a closing short week with no minimum, useful for catch-up.
Since it came up a few times this season, here’s a bit more color on the Summer winner, "Casper238". They didn't wait until the end for a lucky sprint. They started near the beginning in May, played several top players, took breaks, returned, and repeated. They did incur the weekly-minimum penalty a few times, but recovered by winning (often 2–0) against strong opponents; their losses were roughly split between 0–2 and 1–2. How much of that was luck vs. skill? We can't say definitively, and it would be unfair to call it all "just luck." Casper238, I hope you, and everyone, return for Autumn to see how this new minimum plays out.
Finally, several asked what would have changed if a rule like this had already been in place. Numerically, not much beyond a few positions: the 1st-place finisher would have been ineligible, "ThreeG" would move to 1st, and a couple of others below the Top 50 would miss out for not meeting the minimum. That shift would bump some players up in ways we recognize as "meaningful" (e.g., "Meow80" into the Top 10, "AJackOLit" to 2nd and "Dhrun" into 3rd) and open a Top 50 spot, which will be our honorable mention for "scotiagir". Most players were already well above the new minimum, so movement would have been modest overall.
As always, thank you all so much for participating and for your suggestions that keep improving the game for everyone!
Good morning! I would to like to take a moment and thank cribbage pro for the best cribbage platform I have used online. What separates this site from others is the constant evolving and changing to make the sight better. I am very happy with the new 100 game minimum rule. I would like to suggest a new rule for upcoming seasons if possible I would love to see winning percentages be factored into your final scores.
ReplyDelete. I don't know if that is possible or not but I see some people with a 63 % winning percentage in the top 25 leader board getting beat out by people with 55%..as a diehard cribbage player and a member of the the American cribbage congress... I am very aware of how important winning percentage is and because we can't pick our opponents it should count for something. Because of my work schedule and availability to play I play games early in the morning when there isn't many people online and the match system doesn't have many people close to my rating to pick from. If I win 3 out of 4 matches I am lucky to break even as far as my rating goes Thanks for looking into this and again I appreciate the proactiveness of cribbage pro
Thanks for the kind words about the game!
DeleteWin percentage isn't used today because with a skill ranking system like this it considers your opponent and their skill rating as a primary factor. So you could have a higher win percentage because you simply faced lower skill players, as an example.
Butchermn makes a good point I also agree with your emphasis. Those people with a schedule that allows them to play at “peak” times do seem to have an advantage. I have a small number of matches I am basing my approach on (1 season only of matches). And, the data was definitely qualitative in nature.
DeleteIn my experience this past season I have noticed that, if I let the match finder go for longer, the gap in CR increased substantially. More than 50 seconds (later in the season) seemed to give me opponents between 600 and 1500 CR differences compared to my CR at a high rate. If you lose it takes several wins to make up for that one loss. The gap in CR happened in greater frequency in off peak times. Before, I could exit matchmaking and re-enter. No longer under the new system.
This is why I began to try to play at “peak” times (if possible). If I could play when 300 or more players were online I was more likely to get a player within a more equitable CR. Even so, often, I could see others within about 200 CR as me logged in at the same time, but we seemed to miss one another.
I am unsure if this is possible, but if the matchmaking finder could tighten the CR gap players could just let it spin indefinitely until a match was found. In my humble opinion that gap should be larger at the beginning of the season and then tighten as the season progresses. Thus, on off peak times it would spin longer, but the fewer top players would eventually match up at a higher rate. This would make it more equitable for players in different time zones and schedules compared to peak times.
More of the top players (as valued by the ranking) seem to be playing online playing during peak times. However, there are some really strong players who play at my “best” time period that I never saw during “peak” time periods. In my opinion these players are underrated. They rarely make it in the top 50 at the end of the season, but when I draw them I instantly perk up like they are a top 50 opponent.
Overall, I do think the system works really well. It was a fun season. Thank you.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteNew here. You mention rules. I am just seeing if I want to play the season. I clicked on the link above (facts). Is there something to read just about this portion/season thing? Don't want to commit to something without knowing what it is. Looks different than the other single game thing. Thanks
The FAQ link above should have all the basic information, just follow through those links there for the details. If you have any questions, email us any time at support@FullerSystems.com
DeleteClick on the FAQ link right below the season end top 50 list above.
ReplyDeleteIf a player wins a match 2-0 against a strong, higher CR rated opponent, will they earn more CR points than if they won the match 2-1? Conversely, against a weaker opponent, will the player lose more CR points losing 2-0 versus 2-1? Or are the points determined by winner of the match, regardless of whether it was a 2 or 3 games? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt is all only about who wins the series. No added bonus or deduction for winning or losing the series by any amount.
DeleteDid I get dumber? Since this game begin, I have not been a superstar but have usually finished in the 3800-3900 range and sometimes flirted with 4000 level. The last series and this I have struggled to even make it to 3000 level. I know that a part of this is increased participation, but that could not explain all of it. It seems increased participation would be by people of all levels and not just so many people better than me. I don't always follow this log and the rules changes, but has something significantly changed that makes me worse then I have played in the past? I just don't think I have forgotten how to play in 3 months.
ReplyDeleteHi, the changes to the newer ranking system could moderate the changes to your CR some, but it is basically the same system underneath. Otherwise, nothing significant has changed with the system itself.
DeleteGotcha
DeleteHi…I mentioned previously about adding a resign button. Any updates on if it will be implemented. If not is there a way to penalize the folks that quit vs having the player having to wait for the circle of death to end.
ReplyDeleteOnce again thank u in advance for timely replies.
Terry
Still something I want to do, just no ETA right now as I have several other items I'm working on right now.
DeleteSounds good
DeleteEnjoy your weekend
In a live game with board and deck of cards, my opponent got a flush AND nobs in his crib. Very unusual, first time I’ve ever seen it. It made me wonder, what are the odds of that? I did an internet search and easily found 0.17%, 1 in every 588 hands for a crib flush, but nothing about also scoring 1pt. for nobs in a crib flush. From your massive archive of game results, can you tell us how often that happens and what the odds are? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it could be done, but we don't have a "massive archive of game results", but raw log files only. It doesn't have data like this in a format that can be directly queried to answer the "how often that happens" part of your question. For the "odds", you can just multiply. For independent events, multiply their individual probabilities.
DeleteI currently have a Leaderboard Rank of 0 and a Percentile rank of 0% while also being at the Platinum level having played 57 matches as of today. Is this because I am possibly behind on where I need to be on total matches played at this point?
ReplyDeleteYes. Count the full weeks since the start of the season (blog post date if you need it). Multiply by 10. That's the number you need to be eligible for the Leaderboard.
DeleteI thought the whole time exceeded issue had been resolved. Just played a match where my opponent burned through all warnings. After the final warning expired I get the message he disconnected and it just stays like that for 30 seconds until he's somehow allowed back into the game. A hand or two later in the same game the timer counts down and the Time Exceeded message pops up, he disconnects again, and is then allowed back into the game. First, allowing 4 time exceeded warnings per game is excessive but what's the point when they can just keep playing after they go past this?
ReplyDeleteThe point of the system is to find a compromise that allows those that are unfortunate enough to have a connection problem to still be able to get back in and play. I would need to look at the exact details of the situation you mentioned, but my guess is that they were disconnecting and reconnecting multiple times during that wait period, so it pushed out the limit a little longer while it waited.
DeleteIf you're going to join an online competitive game league then you should have a reliable network connection, otherwise just play social. I've been in matches where the other player uses every delay possible in each game and lets the time count down to 1-2 seconds before playing, cutting, etc. 12 warnings for one match is excessive and as I experienced the other day, it didn't even boot the player when they did exceed all warnings.
DeleteCan someone explain the rationale behind a 1200 point difference in CR as a "competitive" match-up? What's the point of that? There have been times when a match couldn't be found while I wait for a match but 1200 points between opponents is acceptable? I'm assuming the only criteria in play is to find the first player who's available when waiting to join a match.
ReplyDeleteThe system compares factors beyond CR. The CR is the result of several factors, and so the matchmaking system uses a formula to try and find the best match possible. It is much more than just pairing up whoever is available. As someone who has played quite a bit, I think you know this but are just frustrated with lower CR matches, which I do understand.
DeleteUberpooch’s points are valid, you need to fix the algorithm. You keep referring to “several factors” and “using a formula.” But everything is opaque, it’s never really explained. I’m currently in 2nd place with a 4523 CR and was just matched with a 3102 CR after a 30 second wait. That’s a CR difference of over 2400. How is that matchup possible under any formula of “competitive?” It should not have happened, your formula should have said “unable to find match” before a mtch like that happened. The changes you made 2 seasons ago aren’t working. It’s taking longer to find a match, the matches are often not competitive and when you lose to a much lower CR player, the point losses are too harsh for a game in which luck often triumphs over skill. I appreciate all the hard work you’ve done on a very enjoyable app. But for me, and I believe other top players, the competitive matches aren’t as much fun anymore. Matches seem random, not a test of skill. Tightening up the formula, explaining it and ensuring matches are indeed competitive would inspire more confidence. Thank you.
DeleteFor competitive reasons, I don't plan to release the full details of how the formula works. However, the system is very much like that used in Glicko 2 and just simply customized and tweaked based on data collected during testing and past seasons. I certainly agree it is not perfect, and I get how it can be frustrating to see a larger CR difference that impacts you harder when you lose. As was mentioned, luck factors in cribbage make using any ranking or matchmaking system quite difficult. If the consensus among players is that you would rather have no match found at all, we can move the formula more in that direction, but it can make it harder to reach the minimum per week requirement as the season progresses. Of course the best solution then becomes making sure we have more players playing more often. I'll run some more tests and review the data for matchmaking and see if we can make some tweaks for next season.
DeleteThank you. With luck being such a huge factor and wild card in cribbage, I can see the challenges it presents for you & a Glicko 2 system that might more accurately determine skill in chess or online games where luck is not as big factor over longer periods. For me, I would rather know a timeline, # of seconds up to 60 seconds or so to get a good match and have a degree of confidence that I’m not going to get ambushed by a huge CR difference and possible big point loss. If it means getting “unable to find a competitive match” a couple dozen times before finding a decent match, that’s OK. Hope other will give their thoughts here.
DeleteAs a quick follow up. I did identify a bug that caused that match to be allowed, and you are correct that it should not have allowed it. I'll be patching a fix in for it very soon.
DeleteWhile searching for a match I just received the message "We were unable to find a competitive match..." and that was only after about 10 seconds. Again, just trying to understand what triggers that response when I'm assuming there were players available vs. getting matched up against someone with a 1200+ difference in CR.
DeleteI'll look for that in the logs, but can you please email me at support@FullerSystems.com with the details (confirm username and time this happened)? There's a few reasons it could happen, but I want to double check it.
DeleteYep, email sent, thanks
DeleteSorry, 1400 difference in CR level, not 2400 difference for my match vs 3102 CR, still too wide for a match to have ever occurred
ReplyDelete