Cribbage Rules, Scoring, Hand Counter and Board
Cribbage is easy to deal and slow to count until the scoring sinks in. This page has the rules in plain English and three tools for the table: a hand counter that lists every fifteen, pair and run so you can check a count, a pegging helper that keeps the running total, and a board keeper for when the pegboard is in a drawer somewhere.
Cribbage in 30 seconds
- Two players get 6 cards each and throw 2 face down into the crib, an extra hand that belongs to the dealer. Three players get 5 each and throw 1.
- The non-dealer cuts and the dealer turns up the starter card. It counts as a fifth card for every hand and the crib.
- The play: take turns laying cards face up and calling the running total, never past 31. Score for hitting 15 or 31, pairs, runs and the last card.
- The show: count your 4 cards plus the starter for fifteens (2 each), pairs (2 each), runs (1 per card), flushes and nobs. Non-dealer first, then dealer, then the dealer's crib.
- The deal passes each hand. First to 121 points wins, at the moment they reach it.
Cribbage hand counter
Total: 0
Pegging helper
Count: 0
Cribbage board keeper
Pegging history
The deal, the crib and the cut
Cribbage uses one 52-card deck. Aces are low. For adding up to 15 and 31, Jacks, Queens and Kings are worth 10, Aces 1, and every other card its number.
Cut the pack to choose the first dealer; the lower card deals. After that the deal passes to the left every hand. The non-dealer is often called the pone.
Two players
The dealer gives each player 6 cards, one at a time, starting with the pone. Both players look at their cards and lay 2 face down to the side. Those 4 cards are the crib. The crib belongs to the dealer and is counted after the dealer's hand, so you get a bonus hand every other deal.
Three players
Each player gets 5 cards, and the dealer deals 1 more card face down straight into the crib. Each player throws 1 card to the crib, which makes it 4 cards. The player on the dealer's left plays first and counts first. A three-player board has three tracks; ours does too.
Four players in two teams
Partners sit across from each other. Each player gets 5 cards and throws 1 to the crib. Partners peg on one shared score, and the deal moves one seat to the left each hand, so it alternates between the teams.
The cut and his heels
Once everyone has thrown to the crib, the pone cuts the rest of the pack and the dealer turns the top card of the bottom part face up. This is the starter (also called the cut card). If it is a Jack, the dealer pegs 2 points right away for his heels. That alone can win the game for a dealer sitting at 119.
Pegging: the play of the cards
- The pone lays one card face up and says its value. The dealer plays next and says the new total, and so on, back and forth. Each player keeps their own played cards in front of them.
- The count can never go past 31. If you cannot play without passing 31, say "go". The other player keeps playing as long as they can stay at 31 or under.
- When nobody can play, the last player to lay a card pegs 1 for the go (or 2 if they hit 31 exactly). The count goes back to 0, and the player after them leads the next round.
- Keep going until all hands are played. Whoever plays the very last card pegs 1, unless it made 31, which already scored 2.
Points during the play come from what you just laid down in relation to the cards right before it:
| During the play | Points |
|---|---|
| Your card brings the count to 15 | 2 |
| Your card brings the count to exactly 31 | 2 |
| Pair: same rank as the card just played | 2 |
| Pair royal: third card of that rank in a row | 6 |
| Double pair royal: fourth in a row | 12 |
| Run: your card and the cards just before it make 3 or more ranks in a row, in any order | 1 per card |
| Go, or the last card of the hand (short of 31) | 1 |
Example: the pone leads a 4 ("four"). The dealer plays a 6 ("ten"). The pone plays a 5 ("fifteen") and pegs 2 for the fifteen plus 3 for the run of 4-5-6, since order does not matter. Pairs and runs stop at a go or a 31: a new count starts clean.
Cribbage scoring: counting the hands
After the play, everyone picks their cards back up and counts them together with the starter. The pone counts first, then the dealer counts their hand, then the dealer turns over the crib and counts it. With three players the count goes around from the dealer's left and ends with the dealer and the crib.
| In the hand or crib (with the starter) | Points |
|---|---|
| Each different group of cards adding to 15 | 2 |
| Each pair (three of a kind is 3 pairs, four of a kind is 6) | 2 each (6, 12) |
| Run of 3, 4 or 5 cards in a row (any suits) | 1 per card |
| Flush in the hand: all 4 hand cards one suit | 4 |
| Flush with the starter too (hand or crib) | 5 |
| Nobs: a Jack in your hand of the starter's suit | 1 |
| His heels: starter is a Jack (dealer, scored at the cut) | 2 |
Two things cause most counting mistakes. First, every different combination counts: with a 7, an 8 and another 8, there are two different fifteens (7 + each 8). Second, a duplicate card doubles a run. 7-8-8-9 is two runs of three (6) plus the pair (2), so 8 before you look for fifteens. Players learn the common shapes by sight: a double run of three is 8, a double run of four is 10, a triple run is 15, and a double double run (like 6-6-7-7-8) is 16.
Worked examples
Each total below comes from our hand counter. Load any of them into the counter above to see the full breakdown.
| Cards (hand + starter) | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 5♣ 5♦ 5♥ J♠ + 5♠ | 29 | The best hand in the game: three 5s and the Jack in hand, and the fourth 5 cut as the starter in the Jack's suit. |
| 2♠ 4♥ 6♦ 8♣ + Q♦ | 0 | Every card is even, so no group can add to 15. No pairs, no run of three, no flush, no Jack. |
| 7♥ 8♣ 8♦ 9♠ + 3♣ | 12 | Two different runs of 7-8-9 (one with each 8), the pair of 8s, and 7 + 8 twice. |
| 4♥ 4♣ 4♦ 5♠ + 6♣ | 21 | Three runs of 4-5-6, three of a kind, and 4 + 5 + 6 three times. |
| 2♥ 4♥ 6♥ 8♥ + Q♣ (crib) | 0 | Four hearts with a club starter. In a hand this is a 4-point flush; in the crib it is worth nothing, because a crib flush needs all five cards. The same cards as a hand: 4. |
A hand with no points is called "nineteen" as a joke, because 19 is one of the totals no hand can reach. The others are 25, 26 and 27.
Winning, skunks and the board
The game is 121 points, and it ends the instant someone reaches it, even halfway through the play or before the other player counts. That is why counting order matters late in a game: the pone counts first and can go out before the dealer's bigger hand and crib are ever shown.
A standard cribbage board gives each player a track of 120 holes (on many boards you go around twice) plus a shared game hole, and each player uses two pegs. To score, you move your back peg ahead of your front peg by the number of points, so the gap between them always shows your last score. If someone miscounts, the back peg shows where they were. Our board keeper shows both pegs the same way.
The ACC defines a skunk as winning by 31 or more, which means the loser is stuck at 90 or below. Its tournament scorecards record a skunk as a bigger win than a normal one. Many home games also play a double skunk when the loser does not reach 61. That one is a house rule; the ACC rulebook does not include it. Our keeper flags both and labels which is which.
Strategy that follows from the scoring
- Throwing to your own crib vs. theirs. The crib you throw to on your deal is yours, so give it 5s, pairs and cards that touch (7 and 8, say). On the other player's deal, keep those out: two cards that add to 15, or a 5 with anything, hand them points.
- Count the tens. Sixteen of the 52 cards are worth 10 (four each of 10, Jack, Queen and King). That is why a 5 is the best card to hold and the worst card to lead: any ten-card on a led 5 makes 15.
- Lead low. A lead of 4 or lower cannot be answered with a fifteen, since no single card is worth 11 or more.
- Watch 5 and 21. Leaving the count at 5 lets the next ten-card make 15 for 2, and leaving it at 21 lets one make 31 for 2.
- Pairs can be bait. If you lead one card of a pair and the other player pairs it for 2, you can lay the third for a pair royal and 6. They know this too, so it works best when they are short on choices.
- Keep a Jack when it is cheap to. A Jack in hand is worth a point whenever the starter turns up in its suit, which happens roughly one time in four.
- Play to the board late in the game. If you are the pone and close to 121, hold cards that count well rather than cards that peg; you count first. If you are far behind, keep the high-scoring hand and take risks in the play.
Optional and house rules
- Muggins (optional ACC rule). If a player undercounts a hand or misses points, the opponent can call "muggins" and take the missed points. The ACC allows it only when announced before play. At home, agree on it first; it turns counting into a contest.
- Double skunk (house rule). Covered above: losing without reaching 61.
- Shorter games (house rule). Some families play to 61 when time is short. Our keeper is set for 121.
- Who leads after a go. Under ACC rules the player who called go leads the next count. With two players that is the same thing as "the player after the one who took the go point".
Cribbage rules questions
What is a skunk in cribbage?
Winning by 31 points or more. Under the American Cribbage Congress rules the loser is skunked when they finish at 90 or below while the winner reaches 121. In tournament scoring a skunk counts as an extra game won. A "double skunk" (the loser does not reach 61) is a common house rule, not an ACC rule.
What is the highest possible cribbage hand?
29. You hold three 5s and a Jack, and the starter is the fourth 5 in the same suit as your Jack: 16 for fifteens, 12 for the four 5s, and 1 for nobs.
Does a four-card flush count in the crib?
No. In your hand, four cards of one suit score 4, and 5 if the starter matches too. In the crib, a flush only counts when all five cards, starter included, are the same suit.
Who counts first in cribbage?
The non-dealer counts their hand first, then the dealer counts their hand, then the dealer counts the crib. Near the end of a game this order decides close races, because the first player to reach 121 wins on the spot.
Why do cribbage players say "nineteen" for a zero hand?
No combination of five cards can score exactly 19 points, so "nineteen" became the joke way of saying a hand scored nothing. 25, 26 and 27 are also impossible.
Do runs have to be played in order during pegging?
No. During the play, the last three or more cards played count as a run if they are consecutive ranks in any order. A 4, then a 6, then a 5 is a run of three for whoever played the 5.