Cribbage

Objective

Be first to 121 points, scored in two places: pegged during the play, then counted from your hand at the show. The dealer also scores a bonus hand — the crib.

The deal

1. Deal six cards to each player, one at a time. Full 52-card deck, no jokers.
2. Each player looks at their six and discards two face down to form the crib — a fifth hand of four cards that will be scored by the dealer at the end.
3. The non-dealer cuts the remaining deck; the dealer turns up the top card of the bottom portion. This is the starter.
4. Both players now have four cards, and the starter counts as a fifth card for both hands and the crib.

The deal alternates every hand. Being dealer is an advantage — you get the crib — so a game is normally played over an even number of deals or simply to 121, whichever comes first.

Card values

Two different orderings, and mixing them up is the classic beginner error.

The play (pegging)

Alternate cards, keep a running total, never go past 31.

1. The non-dealer lays a card face up in front of them and says the total.
2. The dealer lays one and says the new total. Alternate.
3. The total may never exceed 31. If you cannot play without going over, say "Go".
4. After a Go, your opponent keeps laying cards while they can, then scores for the last card. The count resets to zero and play continues with whatever cards remain.

Cards stay in front of the player who laid them — you are not pooling them. You will need yours back for the show.

The show

Now count the same cards again, in a fixed order.

Everyone takes their four cards back and scores them together with the starter as a five-card hand. The order matters, because the game can end mid-count:

1. Non-dealer's hand — which is why being behind as non-dealer is not hopeless.
2. Dealer's hand.
3. The crib, which the dealer also scores.

Every combination counts separately and cards are reused freely. Four 5s and a Jack scores 29 — the highest possible hand — because there are eight different ways to make fifteen, plus double pair royal, plus his nobs.

Winning

First to 121 points wins, and the game stops the instant someone gets there — mid-count, mid-peg, mid-anything. There is no finishing the hand.

On a board, 121 is twice up the two rows of thirty holes plus the final hole. Pen and paper works identically; the board just makes it hard to lose your place.

Card library

Everything counts at face value except the court cards, which are all worth ten. The 5 is the most valuable card in the deck.

Short drills on the rules people get wrong. Nothing is saved anywhere but this browser.

House rules & variations

Every table plays a little differently. These are the common variants — agree on them before you deal.

Strategy hints

1. Keep 5s. There are sixteen cards worth ten in the deck, so any 5 you hold has sixteen partners waiting to make fifteen.

2. What you throw to the crib matters as much as what you keep. If it is your crib, throw cards that work together; if it is theirs, throw the junk — a King and an Ace, never two cards five apart.

3. Never lead a 5. Your opponent almost certainly has a ten-value card and will peg 2 immediately.

4. Leading a 4 or a low card is safer than leading a 6, 7, 8 or 9, because those let the opponent reach fifteen in one card.

5. Count your hand before you discard. A hand that looks like 8 points often has a run or a fourth fifteen you have not spotted.

6. Late in the game, position beats points. If you can reach 121 during the play, you never have to show your hand at all.

Frequently asked