Cribbage

Players and equipment

Two players is the classic game; three play each for themselves, and four play as two partnerships, partners sitting across from each other. A standard 52-card deck and a board: the back peg says where you were before this deal, the front peg where you are now. SquareScores draws the board, so the pegs are the only part you do not need. Cut for the first deal, lowest card deals, and the deal passes to the left after every hand.

The deal

Six cards each in the two-hand game, five each for three or four players. Everyone discards face down to the crib until it holds four cards. With three players one card is dealt straight to the crib from the pack, so that three discards fill it. With four, the dealer's partnership owns the crib and the deal rotates clockwise. The crib is the dealer's and is counted last. The player on the dealer's right cuts the pack and the dealer turns the top card face up as the starter, which is never played but counts in every hand as a fifth card.

Play

Starting to the dealer's left, cards are played face up in front of each player while the running total is called aloud. Court cards count ten, an ace counts one, and every other card counts its face value — the same values in the play and in the count afterwards. The total may never pass 31. Pegged as you go:

His heels

2

The starter turns up a jack — to the dealer, at once

Fifteen

2

Bringing the total to exactly 15

Pair

2

Matching the last card played

Three of a kind

6

The third of a rank in a row

Four of a kind

12

The fourth

Run

Its length

Your card completes a run of three or more, in any order

Go

1

Nobody else can play under 31 — last player pegs

Thirty-one

2

Hitting 31 exactly

Hitting 31 scores the two instead of the one for the go, not as well as it.

A run in the play need not come down in order: a 7, then a 5, then a 6 is a run of three for whoever played the 6.

When somebody cannot play without passing 31 they say go, and the other side keeps playing while it can, then pegs one for the go. The count restarts at zero with whatever is left in hand. The very last card of the play pegs one, or two if it makes 31.

Scoring

After the play, hands are counted in order: non-dealer, dealer, then the dealer's crib. Each hand counts with the starter as a fifth card. Partners peg individually, and the partnership's scores are added together. Every different combination counts, so one card can be in a fifteen, a pair and a run at once.

Fifteens

2 each

Every distinct combination adding to fifteen

Pairs

2 each

Every pair — three of a kind is 6, four is 12

Runs

Its length

Every run of three or more

Flush

4

All four hand cards one suit

Flush of five

5

The starter matches too

His nobs

1

The jack of the starter's suit, in hand

The crib is stricter: it only scores a flush if all five cards, starter included, share a suit. The best hand possible counts 29: three fives and the jack of the fourth suit, with the fourth five turned as the starter.

A worked deal

Alice deals to Ben. After the discards Ben holds 4♣ 5♦ 5♠ 6♥, Alice holds 7♣ 8♦ J♥ K♠, and the crib is 2♣ 3♦ Q♣ K♦. Alice turns the 5♣ as the starter: not a jack, so nothing for his heels.

Ben leads the 4♣, calling four. Alice plays the 7♣ for eleven, Ben the 5♦ for sixteen, Alice the 8♦ for twenty-four. Ben plays the 6♥ for thirty, and the five cards on the table are 4 to 8 out of order: a run of five, and Ben pegs 5. Alice's jack and king would both pass 31, so she says go, and Ben, whose last card is a five, pegs 1 for it. Alice leads the J♥ for ten, Ben plays the 5♠ for fifteen and pegs 2, and Alice plays the K♠ last for 1. Ben has pegged 8, Alice 1.

Ben counts first, and with the starter his hand is 4♣ 5♦ 5♠ 6♥ 5♣:

Fifteens

6

4, 5 and 6 add to fifteen — once for each of the three fives

Fifteen

2

The three fives together

Pairs

6

Three fives are three different pairs

Runs

9

4, 5, 6 — once with each five

Flush and his nobs

0

Three suits in hand and no jack

Ben's hand

23

Fifteen eight, pairs fourteen, and three runs of three

Alice's hand is 7♣ 8♦ J♥ K♠ with the 5♣: the 7 and 8 make fifteen for 2, the jack and the five fifteen for 2, the king and the five fifteen for 2, and that is 6 — no pairs, no run, and her jack is a heart while the starter is a club, so nothing for his nobs. Her crib is 2♣ 3♦ Q♣ K♦ with the 5♣: the king with the 2 and 3 is fifteen for 2, the queen with them fifteen for 2, the queen with the five fifteen for 2, the king with the five fifteen for 2, and that is 8.

Ben pegs 8 + 23 = 31 for the deal; Alice pegs 1 + 6 + 8 = 15. Each player enters their own three numbers — play, hand and crib — and the board does the adding.

Ending

First to 121 wins, and the game stops the instant a peg reaches it — you do not finish the deal, so a game can end in the play before anybody counts a hand. A loser who has not reached 91 has been skunked; one who has not reached 61 has been double skunked. In the shorter game to 61, once round the board, the lines fall to 32 and 16.

Choosing your discard

Keep fives: a five with any ten-count card is fifteen for two, and there are sixteen ten-count cards in the pack. Throw to your own crib generously — a pair, a five and a ten, two cards that touch — because it is yours to count. Throw to your opponent's crib grudgingly: cards far apart, nothing that pairs, nothing that adds to fifteen. A good hand with a dangerous throw is often worse than a fair hand with a safe one.

Leading

Lead a four: no single card can make it fifteen, and if your opponent pairs it you can often answer with a run of three. Never lead a five, since sixteen cards in the pack make fifteen on it. Keep your small cards for the end of the play, where they get you under 31 and take the go.

Pegging

Avoid leaving the count at 21, because any ten-count card then makes 31 for two. Playing to fifteen is nearly always right, and so is pairing, unless a third of a kind is possible and you cannot afford to give away six. A player a few points from home wants to peg everything, and a player who is safe should play to stop them.

Counting

Count in the same order every time and say it aloud: fifteen two, fifteen four, and a pair is six. Two-card fifteens are any ten-count card with a five, a 7 with an 8 and a 6 with a 9. Look for a run with a paired card in it, and check the starter against your jack before you put the hand down.

The position

The non-dealer counts first, so a player who can reach 121 in the count wins even if the dealer's hand would have got there too. Near the end, work out whether you will count first or second. Counting first, you need only enough to get home; counting second, you may have to stop your opponent pegging, because your hand and crib are worth nothing if they have already gone out.

Five-card cribbage

The older game, still played in parts of England. Five cards each, two thrown to the crib, three kept in hand, and the game played to 61. The non-dealer pegs three points at the start to make up for the dealer's crib.

The short game

The six-card game played to 61 rather than 121, once round the board instead of twice. Everything else is the same, and the skunk lines fall to 32 and 16.

Three-handed

Five cards each and one dealt straight to the crib from the pack; each player throws one. Everybody plays for themselves, the player to the dealer's left leads and counts first, and the deal moves round to the left.

Four-handed

Two partnerships, partners sitting across from each other. Five cards each and one card each to the crib, which belongs to the dealer's side. Partners peg on one track and may not discuss what to throw.

Skunk at 31

In the short game to 61 the app puts the skunk line at 32 and the double skunk at 16, which is the 121 game's lines halved. Tradition tends to draw the single line at 31 instead, so a loser stuck on 31 is skunked at some tables and not at others. Say which before the first deal.

Muggins

A player who misses points in their own count can have them claimed by an opponent, who says muggins and pegs the missed points themselves. Best agreed before the first deal.

What does nineteen mean in cribbage?

A hand that scores nothing. No combination of five cards can count exactly 19, so calling nineteen is the old joke for a hand worth zero.

What is the best hand in cribbage?

Twenty-nine points: three fives and a jack in hand, with the fourth five turned as the starter and the jack matching the starter's suit. That is eight fifteens for sixteen, four fives for twelve, and one for his nobs.

What is a skunk in cribbage?

A loss by a wide margin. If the winner reaches 121 while the loser has not reached 91, the loser has been skunked, which by tradition counts as two games lost; short of 61 is a double skunk.

What are his nobs and his heels?

Two ways a jack scores on its own. His heels is the two points the dealer pegs at once when the starter turned over is a jack. His nobs is the one point for holding, in hand or crib, the jack of the same suit as the starter, counted with the rest of the hand.

Who counts first in cribbage?

The non-dealer, then the dealer's hand, then the dealer's crib. The order matters at the end: a player who reaches 121 in the count wins the moment they peg it, and anything the dealer would have counted afterwards is never scored.

Can you play cribbage with three or four players?

Yes. Three play each for themselves with five cards each and one dealt straight to the crib. Four play as two partnerships, five cards each and one thrown to the crib apiece.