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How to Play Cribbage
The basics of cribbage are as follows:
Number of Players
Cribbage is typically played by two people but can also accommodate three or four players.
The Cribbage Board and Pegs
The score of a cribbage game is kept using a cribbage board in concert with pegs that are moved around the board.
The Cribbage Board
A typical cribbage board has 124 holes, usually arranged in two sets of 60 holes with an
additional two holes at the end of each set of 60.
Each player uses 62 of the holes—the individual holes at the end of the board are the starting and ending point for the pegs, and you move your pegs along the remaining 60 holes to keep score. Because scoring involves moving pegs, scoring in cribbage is called pegging. When a player wins the game, it’s called pegging out—a winning score in cribbage is 121, which means that to win, your pegs must make two circuits of his 60 holes. Though the cribbage board shown here is typical, boards come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and are made from many different materials.
Pegging
In a two-player game of cribbage, each player uses two pegs to keep score. One peg shows your current score, while the other shows your previous score.
- On your first score, you move the first peg the number of holes that corresponds to the number of points scored.
- On your second score, you move the second peg (called the rear peg) in front of the other peg by the number of holes that corresponds to the number of points scored.
- You alternate moving the two pegs in this manner throughout play until either peg reaches the winning total of 121.
Playing Without a Cribbage Board
The board and pegs are not absolutely necessary to play cribbage—you can use a pen and paper to tally the score. However, because the need to keep score is ongoing throughout play, the board and pegs are useful tools that make keeping score much easier. They are also part of the game’s tradition.
Cards
Cribbage is played with a standard deck of 52 cards, with kings high and aces low.
Play
A hand of cribbage includes three stages:
- Preliminaries
- The play of the cards
- The show
Preliminaries
The preliminaries include the deal, the formation of the crib, and the start card.
The Deal
Players draw cards to see who deals first—the player who draws the lowest card becomes the dealer. Once the dealer is determined:
- The dealer shuffles.
- The nondealer cuts the deck.
- The dealer deals six cards to each player, face down, one card at a time.
- The dealer sets aside the remainder of the deck.
The players alternate as dealer from hand to hand.
Formation of the Crib
Before play begins, each player discards two cards and places them face down in a single pile. These cards create a pile of four cards called the crib (sometimes called the box). The crib is not used during play but is used by the dealer later, to score during the second stage of scoring, called the show.
The dealer gets the advantage of extra points from the crib, which is why it’s important that the deal shift between players from round to round.
The Start Card
Once the crib has been established, the nondealer (sometimes called the pone) cuts the deck, and the dealer draws the top card from the bottom stack. The nondealer replaces the top stack of the deck, and the dealer places the card that he drew face up on top of the deck. This card is called the start card. If the start card is a jack, the dealer immediately pegs 2 points for himself, traditionally referred to as two for his heels. The start card, like the crib, is not used during play—it comes into play later, during the show.
The Play of the Cards
The play of the cards proceeds in a number of rounds. In each round, players take turns laying cards face up on the table. You must place your cards down in front of you (as opposed to creating a single center pile), but the value of the played cards is tallied cumulatively according to the following rules:
-
Numbered cards: Equal to the number on their face. For example, a
is worth 5. - Ace: 1
- Face cards (jack, queen, king): 10
As you lay down a card, you must announce the current cumulative value of the cards played in the round. The total value of the played cards may not exceed 31. Play in the first round begins with the nondealer.
For instance, if the nondealer starts off the first round by playing a 3, he declares “3.” If the dealer then plays a 7, she declares “10.” If the nondealer then plays a king, he declares “20.” If a player’s turn comes and he is unable to play a card that will keep the point total under 31, he must pass by declaring “go.” The other player may then play any cards left in her hand that keep the point total at or less than 31.
Starting a New Round
If you and your opponent both still have cards left in your hands but neither of you is able to keep the total less than 31, then the played cards are turned over and a new round begins, starting again at zero. The player who leads in this round is the player who did not play the last card of the previous round.
Play continues until both of you have played your entire hands, even if a third round is required. If one of you runs out of cards, the other player continues to play until his hand has been exhausted as well.
Scoring During Play
During the playing of the cards, you can score points in a variety of ways. Much of the strategy of cribbage involves playing cards that will maximize your points during the playing of the cards, while minimizing your opponent’s points scored. The following table summarizes the ways to score:
Play |
Point Value |
|
Playing a card that brings the cumulative point total
exactly to 15 |
2 points |
|
Playing a card that brings the cumulative point total
exactly to 31 |
2 points |
|
Playing the last card of the round if the total is less than 31 |
1 point |
|
Playing a pair—playing a card that matches the rank of the most recently played card (face cards must be matched one-to-one; for example, a queen on top of a jack does not constitute a pair) |
2 points |
|
Playing a pair royal—playing a card that matches the rank of the two most recently played cards |
6 points |
|
Playing a double pair royal—playing a card that matches the rank of the three most recently played cards |
12 points |
|
Playing a run (also called a sequence)—playing three or more consecutively ranking cards, regardless of suit or order played. For example, 3-4-5 is a run, but so is 4-5-3. If you play a 3 to make a run of 4-5-3, your opponent can then play a 6 to make a run of 4-5-3-6. Aces always play as low in runs, meaning that you can create a run of A-2-3 but not a run of Q-K-A. |
The point value of a run depends on the number of cards in the run. A three-card run is worth 3 points, a four-card run is worth 4, and so on. |
Though a run or pair must be played consecutively for it to score points, a player calling “go” and passing does not interrupt the run or pair. For instance, if your opponent plays a 5, you play a 7, and your opponent calls “go,” you can play a 6 and score 3 points for a 5-7-6 run.However, if both of you declare “go” and a new round is started at zero, any existing run or pair is no longer valid.
Declaring Points
When you score during a round, you’re expected immediately to declare the cumulative value of the cards played in the round followed by the number of points you’ve just been awarded. For instance, if your opponent starts the round by playing a 6 (and saying “six”), followed by you also playing a 6, you must say “twelve for two,” since the cumulative total of the round is 12 and you just pegged 2 points for playing a pair. You should also immediately mark the score by moving your pegs on the board.
If you score 2 points for bringing the cumulative tally of the round to 15, you should drop the “for” from your declaration and just say “fifteen two.”
A Sample Round of Cribbage Play
In the following sample round of cribbage, the two players have the following hands (also note the crib cards and start card, which play no role in the round but are important later, during the show, which takes place after the playing of the cards):
With these cards, a round between player A (the nondealer) and player B (the dealer) might proceed as follows:
- Player A begins, playing the jack (“ten”)
- Player B plays 5, pegs 2 points for bringing the total to 15 (“fifteen two”)
- Player A plays 6 (“twenty-one”)
- Player B plays 6, pegs two points for a pair (“twenty-seven for two”)
- Player A plays 3 (“thirty”)
- Player B calls “go” because he can’t play anything that will keep the point total at 31 or below
- Player A also calls “go” but pegs 1 point for having played the last card (“one point for last”)
At this point, player A has 1 point and player B has 4 points marked on the board. Both players also have cards left over in their hands, so a new round begins with the tally at zero. If either player reaches 121 (or above) during play, that player immediately wins, and the game is over. If the two players exhaust the cards in their hands without either reaching 121, the hand moves on the next stage—the show.
The Show
In the show, you and your opponent collect your original cards (the four cards each of you had after forming the crib) back into your hands and use those cards plus the start card to try to form card combinations that will score points.
Sequence of Scoring During the Show
The sequence in which you score during the show is important—unlike other card games, cribbage ends immediately when one player reaches 121 points, whether it happens during the play of the cards or during the show. The sequence is as follows:
- The nondealer scores his hand.
- The dealer scores her hand.
- The dealer scores the crib. Any points from the crib are pegged for the dealer.
Scoring During the Show
You may use the cards in your hand to form more than one scoring combination. You can score for the following:
- Fifteen-two: For every combination of cards that adds up to 15, you score 2 points.
- Pairs: For each pair, you score 2 points. For each pair royal (three cards of the same rank), you score 6 points, because the cards can be combined to create three distinct pairs. For each double pair royal (four cards of the same rank), you score 12 points, because the cards can be combined to create six distinct pairs.
- Runs: You score 1 point for each card in a run of 3 or more, regardless of suit. Thus, a run of 8-9-10 scores 3 points, a run of 7-8-9-10 scores 4 points, and so on. If your hand has a pair within a run—for example, 8-9-9-10—you may score a double run of three (8-9-10 using one 9, and 8-9-10 using the other 9) for a total of 6 points.
- Flush: If all four cards in a hand are the same suit, you score 4 points for a flush. If the start card is of the same suit, you score 5 points. When scoring the crib, the dealer may score a flush, worth 5 points, only if the start card and all the crib cards are the same suit.
- One for his nob: If you hold a jack of the same suit as the start card, you score 1 point.
Scoring the Show for a Sample Hand
Using the same sample cards for the sample round of cribbage shown previously, scoring during the show would proceed as follows:
Player B (the nondealer) scores first and pegs 14 points:
- 2 points for a pair of 5s (
and 
) - 6 points for fifteen (
+ 
, and + 
+ , and + + ) - 6 points for a double run (–– and ––)
Player A (the dealer) then scores her hand and pegs 8 points:
- 4 points for fifteen (
+ , and 
+ 
+ ) - 3 points for a run (–
–) - 1 for his nob ()
Player A then turns over the crib, which holds:
Player A scores the crib as follows:
- 6 points for fifteen (
+ , and 
+ , and 
+ 
+ )
From the combination of her own hand and the crib, player A pegs a total of 14 points during the show. As during card play, if either player reaches 121 points (or more) during the show, that player immediately wins the game. If neither player reaches 121 during the show, the cards are reshuffled, the deal shifts to the player who did not deal during the last hand, and a new hand begins.
Muggins Rule Variation
Some cribbage players use a rule called muggins, in which a player may “call muggins” and score any points that his opponent fails to tally. For instance, if, during the show of the example hand shown previously, player B declared his 6 points for scoring fifteen-two and his 6 points for a double run but failed to declare his points for his pair of 5s, player A could “call muggins” on the pair of 5s and get the 2 points.
Among players who use the muggins rule, some play so that the opponent is permitted to “call muggins” only during the show. Others allow this rule through all stages of play.
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