Endorsements

George 'Ras' Rasmussen, ACC Life Master 2-stars:

Testimonial - 2006 and 2009 Results

February 3, 2009:

By the way, I just scored my best ever 9-game card with HAL CLX.  Won eight of nine with two skunks this evening for an 18/9/139.  This is my first at breaking 17 game points.  Am now 222 games ahead on 4,872 games played.  That's a winning percentage of 52.278%.  In our Grass Roots Club which is a very tough group, my batting average for this season is 58.5%.  Weekend results on the tournament trail are 57.2% this season although have not played as frequently as in past.

So HAL is definitely my toughest opponent.  Our crib average is identical after that many games as is average hand size as dealer and non-dealer.  I outpeg HAL by 0.1 as dealer and non-dealer.  Am also much more likely to score a skunk win than HAL.  Believe that is primarily because of my offensive pegging game.

March 1, 2006:

Thanks so much for the special edition of your program.  Am really enjoying it very much.  Have had a very exciting series of games over past few weeks.  Many real cliff hangers (one or two point finishes) have been noted.

In the first 65 games played in this series, HAL won 44 to my 21.  Ouch!  Never have I been thumped so soundly for so long.  Well guess what?  At 130 games RAS has won 66 and HAL has 64.  During the past 65 games HAL has won a meager 20 games to my 45!

Have found very few things to report to you.  Most of the questionable plays can be justified as relative to board position, pegging needs, or retention of cards which reflect potential score in pegging and crib count.  Now that have taken the upper hand on wins, will watch for these closer.

You have come a long way with your program over the past years and should be commended for your concern for a quality program.  Your program is a challenge to players of all levels of ability.

It is the only one which offers a player of superior ability an opportunity to improve their game if compared to those opportunities in live play.  No human that I've met plays at this level of competence.

March 15:

Since you delivered "CRIBBAGE explorer - HALSCRIB" special edition to me in Feb 2006 at Reno, here are the results.  It's amazing to say the least.

Statistics - 454 Games

HAL has won 136 games as dealer and 91 games as non-dealer - 50%.

RAS has won 136 games as dealer and 91 games as non-dealer - 50%.

HAL has scored 4 of 227 wins by skunk - 1.76%. (ONE OF 56.75 WINS)

RAS has scored 7 of 227 wins by skunk - 3.08%. (ONE OF 32.42 WINS)

My earlier complaints of winning too many games by skunk seem to have been remedied.  Had been winning one of 8 or nine by skunks in earlier versions.  Believe present level is very low and will level out some after 1,000 samples recorded.

Average game won by HAL includes 9.207 deals.

Average game won by RAS includes 9.132 deals.

About George: Ras is a highly-respected cribbage statistician and contributing panel member of Michael Schell's Cribbage Forum   Ask the Experts website page.

Be sure to also read George's Playing Tips on the ACC website!

Bob Milk, Internet Commissioner:

Hi Joe,

I have known Hal Mueller for 7 or 8 years.  I believe that Hal was a professor of mathematics at a university in Canada.

"Certainly the strongest and most analytical cribbage program available is HALSCRIB, by US cribbage master Hal Mueller.  HALSCRIB not only plays an excellent game (it remains undefeated in computer vs. computer matches), it also provides detailed statistical analysis and recording for serious cribbage students."

I began using the analytic features of HALSCRIB about 5 or 6 years ago while chasing points to get my ACC Master.  In addition, weekly, Hal runs Club Web, a true 'duplicate cribbage' tournament.  I was the top player the first year.  In addition, there was a "Duplicate Cribbage" tournament at the 2004 ACC Grand National in Atlanta; I finished 2nd in this event.  The past couple of years I did not have time to devote to HALSCRIB or Web Club and my ACC points fell off.  This past summer, I began using HALSCRIB again and playing in Web Club.  I noticed an immediate improvement.  In the 7 ACC tournaments I have played this season (Started 08/01/08), I have been able to:

1. Place 2nd in the Main Event in New Jersey
2. Finsh in the 5-8 Bracket in the Main Event ACC PEER tournament
3. Finished 1st the Main Event in Petersburg, VA
4. Finished 1st the Main Event in Kissimmee, FL
5. Finished 1st in the Consolation in Virginia Beach, VA

There were only 2 tournaments in which I did not qualify in the Main or Consolation; the top 25% of the point earners qualify to advance to the playoffs.

I am presently the leader in ACC Grass Roots points in the Baltimore, MD Cribbage Club.  This is the first time I have been near the top of a club after 3 months of play.

I recommend this Game Improvement Software.

Bob

Original: http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=136207173833483860&postID=7046629653779040873

Frank Zbony:

I live in rural southwest Pennsylvania (outside Claysville), and I'm not an ACC member.

Although my family and I have enjoyed cribbage for four decades, I'm not much of a player.  But your program has given me a much better understanding of the game and a chance to play regularly, even though my family is dispersed.

The first cribbage program we ever played ran on our Atari 400, more than twenty years ago.  In those days, it was amazing to discover that a machine could play a fair game of cribbage; but we also liked the straightforward interface and, to tell the truth, some of us still play the old game on a PC simulator.

Your program plays the game phenomenally and it also has the straightforward interface that we liked in the old Atari, plus the wonderful ability to peek into the computer's hand and learn about its clever strategies.

I spent the last years of my academic life developing on-line writing programs for a local university, so I particularly appreciate the strength and effectiveness of your program's tutorial modes.  Remote tutoring is not easy to effect.  Your program has excellent tools for learning.

One more comment.  I've also spent some time as a developer of Windows programs and customized interfaces.   Although it doesn't need it, if you are tempted to give your program a facelift (as you could pretty easily with the Windows' new .NET framework toolkits) keep the interface as clean and unadorned as it is now.