Cribbage is one of my favorite card games to play, ever since my grandfather taught it to me as a kid.
But it’s also a game a lot of people feel overwhelmed by.
The counting system, in particular, is tough to get a handle on right away.
I understand, but I also know everyone who’s learned to play Cribbage has enjoyed it for years and years.
The Rules of Cribbage aren’t too tough, but I didn’t find any detailed how-to-play Cribbage guide’s written from a real enthusiast’s perspective.
That’s where this guide comes into play.
Look ahead for a complete description of how to play Cribbage and enjoy this game for ages to come!
Table of Contents
Quick Cribbage Breakdown
Number of Players: 2. Three players and teams are also possible.
Time: 20-30 minutes.
Ages: 6 years or older.
Goal: The first players to reach the end (121 points) wins!
Rank of Cards: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K. Jack, Queen, and King are valued at ten.
Materials: Standard deck of 52 playing cards. Cribbage board recommended. Pegs of different colors for tracking points.
Who Goes First: After shuffling the deck, each player cuts a card. The lower card is the person who deals first.
Flow of the Game:
- The Dealer deals 6 cards to each player.
- Each player chooses 2 cards to discard into the Dealer’s crib (bonus hand at the end of the round).
- Pone (non-dealer) cuts the deck. Dealer flips the top card. This card may be used for counting points later on. This is called the cut card or starter card.
- The pegging phase starts. Each player takes turns playing one card at a time to make combinations for points* while counting the value up to 31. At 31 or when no cards can be played, start over at 0. Continue until all cards from hands (not the crib) are played. This is called The Play.
- Counting of points* starts, called The Show. The Pone counts first and looks for 15s, pairs, runs, flushes, and Nobs (matching Jack to the starter card). The Dealer counts next, and then they count their crib.
- The Pone becomes the Dealer, shuffles the deck, and starts over. Play repeats until the first player reaches the 121 mark. This player wins instantly; it doesn’t matter where they are in the flow of the game.
*Points are always played on the board the instant they’re earned by moving the pegs on the board the matching number of holes.
Point-counting in this game is the trickiest part, and we’ll go over this in great detail in our Cribbage Scoring section later on.
Point Rundown: A more exhaustive explanation is in the section below.
- 15s – 2 points for making two or more cards add up to 15.
- Pairs – 2 points for matching rank (example: four and four, King and King)
- Runs – Three or more consecutive cards. You get a point for each member of the run. (Ace does NOT connect to King.)
- Flush – 4 points for all cards in your hand being the same suit. 5 points if the starter card is included.
- Nobs – 1 point. Jack in your hand, matching the suit of the starter card.
- His heels – 2 points for the Dealer if the starter card or cut card is a Jack.
- Go! – If a player can’t play during pegging without going over 31, the other player gets 1 point.
- 31 – If a player makes 31 exactly during the pegging phase, they get 2 points.
- Last Card – The player who plays the last card during pegging gets 1 point.
Cribbage Round By Phase
The quick overview above is intended as a reference for those who know the basic rules but forget some of the general ideas of the game.
In this section, we’ll take each phase of the game in more detail.
The Deal
The Dealer is chosen by both players cutting the deck before the game starts.
The player with the lowest value card (King high, Ace low) becomes the first Dealer, and the other player is now the Pone or non-dealer.
This responsibility alternates after each round.
The Dealer hands out 6 cards to each player, one at a time, starting with the Pone.
Cribbage Discard
Each player needs to discard two cards to go into the Dealer’s bonus hand, called a crib.
This is arguably the most important aspect of the game.
For hardcore cribbage players, there are literal books written completely around this part of the game.
Discard strategy separates the expert players from the pros.
When you look at your 6 cards, which do you want to get rid of?
Keep the highest combination of points when choosing your discards, keeping in mind any points you throw for the crib.
If it’s the opponent’s crib, avoid throwing points to them unless keeping the other cards gives you extra points to make up for the loss.
If it’s your own crib, keep the maximum amount of points for both your hand and crib.
This rule works 95% of the time, but it isn’t perfect.
When multiple combinations of cards are equally good (or bad) for you, keep the option with the most runs or the best run potential (three cards next to each other in rank).
After both players have discarded two cards into the Dealer’s crib, play moves on.
Before The Play: Cutting The Deck
This is a simple little step in Cribbage with a large impact.
The Pone (non-dealer, remember?) cuts the deck. The Dealer flips over the top card.
This is called the starter card and may be used where possible in the Show or counting phase.
If the card flipped up is a Jack, two bonus points are given to the Dealer instantly.
This rule is called nibs or his heels in Cribbage.
Click the link for a full description of this rule, including the history of where it came from.
The Play Or Pegging
The Play is my favorite part of the game, and it’s the place where good players will make the most points on those less experienced.
It’s also quite complex to explain in words, but I’ll do my best!
The goal of this phase is two-fold:
- Play cards one at a time off the other player, adding the value of the cards until you get to 31 or as close as possible.
- Gaining points by getting 15, making pairs, or making runs off of the other player’s cards.
The non-dealer plays their first card and states the value (remember, Aces are 1, and all face cards are 10).
The Dealer plays a card and adds the value of theirs to the previous total. They state the value and count any points they earn.
Remember, you earn points here by getting a total of 15 as you count, make pairs against the other player’s card, or make a run.
The non-dealer adds another card and counts the value and also points if needed.
The value can’t go over 31.
When it gets close, players must either match or play under 31.
If a player adds a card taking the total to 31 during the play, they get two points. The other player starts again with the cards left in their hand.
If a player can’t play a card because the value of their cards would take the total over 31, they say “Go!” and the other player gets to go.
The other player plays as many cards as possible until they match 31 or can’t play under it. Then the player takes a point for Go!
Now, the player who said Go! starts the play over again.
Repeat until both payers use their four cards in their hands. The last card played earns one point for the player that plays it.
Example 1
Dealer has seven, nine, ten, Jack.
Pone has six, eight, nine, nine.
- Pone plays an eight and says “8.”
- Dealer plays a seven and says “15 for 2.” They take two points.
- Pone plays a six and says “21 for 3.” They made a run (eight, seven, six) and got three points.
- Dealer plays a Jack and says “31 for 2.” The Dealer completed the Play perfectly and earned two points.
- Pone plays a nine and says “9.”
- Dealer plays a nine and says “18 for 2.” The Dealer got two points for a pair.
- Pone plays another nine and says, “27 for 6.” They got three pairs (nine, nine, nine) which are worth 6 points.
- The Dealer only has a ten and can’t play it, or the total would be 37. So they say, “Go!”
- Pone moves one point for Go.
- The Dealer plays their ten and says “10.” They take one point for playing the Last Card.
Example 2
Dealer has an Ace, Ace, two, five.
Pone has three, three, four, Queen.
- Pone plays a four and says “4.”
- Dealer plays a two and says “6.”
- Pone plays a three and says “9 for 3.” They made a run (four, three, two). Runs don’t have to be in perfect order for the Play.
- Dealer plays a five and says “14 for 4.” They made a run of four (five, four, three, two).
- Pone plays a Queen and says, “24.”
- Dealer plays an ace and says, “25.”
- Pone plays a three and says, “28.”
- Dealer plays another ace and says, “29.” The Dealer takes one point for Last Card.
Example 3
Dealer has four, King, King, King.
Pone has five, nine, ten, Jack.
- Pone plays a nine and says, “9.”
- Dealer plays a King and says, “19.”
- Pone plays a Jack and says, “29.”
- Dealer says, “Go!” as they don’t have a two or lower to avoid going over 31.
- The Pone has to play if possible, but the Pone doesn’t have the cards. They take one point for the Go.
- Dealer plays another King and says, “10.”
- Pone plays five and says, “15 for 2.” They made two points by getting the value to 15.
- Dealer plays another King and says, “25.”
- Pone says, “Go!”
- Dealer plays a four and says, “29.”
- The Pone is still in a state of Go, so the Dealer takes a point.
- The Pone plays a ten and says, “10.” They take one point for Last Card.
The Show (Counting Your Hand And Crib)
During the show or counting portion of the round, the Pone (non-dealer) counts their hand first.
They may use the starter card as one of their own as needed.
Traditionally, points are counted aloud and in this order:
- 15s
- Pairs and Variations
- Runs
- Flush
- Nobs
After the Pone has counted, they take their points on the board by moving the pegs the appropriate number of spaces.
If you’re playing cutthroat, muggins is a rule in Cribbage where if a player counts their hand wrong, the other player may then take their points.
Most people, including myself, don’t play this way with new players, but once you’ve gotten some experience, it’s a good way to play.
The Dealer counts their hand (they may also use the starter card) and takes their points.
Then, the Dealer counts the crib (still using the starter card if usable).
Anyone may use the starter card during this phase, and it stays in play until the next round.
It can’t be “used up.”
After all hands are shown (thus, The Show) and points are taken, the deal passes to the next player, and we start all over again.
Cribbage Scoring Breakdown
In this section, we’ll go into a bit more detail on the counting aspects of the game.
We also have a quick cribbage scoring cheat sheet free to download in our article over at the link.
Click to check it out! (We also go into the same detail on scoring the article as well.
15s
The bread and butter of Cribbage scoring is by counting 15s.
Every time you can add pip value of the cards up to 15, you get two points.
This works with any combination of cards, so a Jack-5 works just as well as a 2-6-7.
In the pegging phase of the game, it’s the count that needs to be 15.
If you play a 2, then someone plays a Jack, and you then play a 5, you don’t get points.
The count went from 2 -> 12 -> 17 adding up the value. Not 15.
Remember, face cards are all worth 10, and Aces are worth 1.
Pairs
Any time the card matches another, it’s called a pair and you get two points.
If you have two 4s, you get two points.
Now, not all face cards work as pairs with each other.
Yes, a Jack and a ten are both worth a pip value of 10, but they can’t pair.
Three of a kind is sometimes called a pair royal, pairs royal, or trips. It’s worth 6 points for the three different pairs you can make.
Four of a kind (rarely called Double Pairs Royal) is worth 12 points in total.
There are 6 unique pair combinations.
Read more about this in my article on pair royal in Cribbage.
Pairs are fair game for counting during the play or pegging phase.
Runs
Runs, also called sequence, is when you have three or more cards in a row.
It’s worth exactly as many points as there are cards in the run.
A run with the cards 2-3-4 is worth three points, one for each card.
A run with 9-10-J-Q-K is worth five points, one for each card.
Aces are low and Kings are high. They cannot be connected in runs. They are dead on one end.
Runs are also fair game for counting during the pegging phase of the game.
Flush
Flushes occur when all of your cards are the same suit.
It has to START with the cards in your hand. If all four match, you get four points.
If the cut card also has the same suit, you get five points. BUT, the four in your hand must be the same.
So if you have a 2,3,4 of clubs and 6 of diamonds in your hand. You don’t have a flush. Even if you cut the six of clubs. You can’t simply swap it out.
In the crib, flush rules are different. For a flush to count, ALL four AND the cut card must be the same suit.
Flush doesn’t count during the play or pegging phase.
Nobs
Nobs is a funny rule unique to Cribbage.
When you have a Jack in your hand and it matches the suit of the cut card, you get one bonus point.
This doesn’t count during the play.
Read more nibs and nobs in Cribbage at the link.
Nibs/His Heels
His Heels (also called nibs) happens when the Jack is cut before you start pegging.
When this happens, the dealer gets two points instantly.
“One for his nobs and two for his heels!”
Common Cribbage Saying
Go
A Go! happens when a play can’t play a card during the pegging phase without going over 31.
The other player gets the point, and the pegging starts over with the player who said Go!
31 For 2
If someone makes the total a perfect 31 during pegging, that person gets two points added right away.
Play then passes to the other player, who starts the pegging all over again.
Last Card
The player who plays the last card during pegging or The Play gets one point for “last card.”
The Cribbage Board
While there are many awesome formats and style of the Cribbage Board, they all mostly contain the same elements:
- 121 holes on two or three tracks.
- 5 hole groupings separated by lines for easier counting.
- A single hole in the 121 point spot to signify there can only be one winner.
- Holes elsewhere on the board for tracking games won during a match.
- An “S” or picture of a skunk on the 91 and 61 lines for indicating the Skunk lines in cribbage. (Read more in the Vocabulary section and our link above.)
- Three pegs for each player of different colors. Two are for counting points by jumping over one another, and one is for tracking games won in a match.
- A storage slot on the back covered by a plastic or metal piece for keeping the pegs.
You don’t need a Cribbage board to play, but it certainly makes it easier. (Click the link to check out our article.
There are some great options all over the place, though.
Bicycle makes a three-track cribbage board that’ll do the job, though I don’t like the pegs. They break too easily.
Still, for under $15, it’s quite affordable.
If you want to go for a unique option, MainStreet offers this 29-shaped cribbage board.
29 points are the highest possible hand in Cribbage and happen so rarely many players have never gotten it.
I’ve only ever gotten a 28 before, myself!
Etsy has no shortage of custom Cribbage boards with some amazing (and expensive) designs.
This one is simple but hefty, made with gorgeous Walnut wood and wooden pegs.
Variations Of Cribbage (Solitaire, Three-Player, Four-Player, Teams)
There are a few variations of Cribbage out there to check out.
Click the link to the above article to see the details, but below, we’ll include a quick rundown of those options.
Solitaire
Solitaire Cribbage is quite a bit different than normal Cribbage.
You still use the same counting system and the board, but pegging is eliminated completely.
You deal yourself three cards for your hand, two face-down cards for your crib, and then three cards for your hand again.
Look at the six cards and discard two like normal.
Flip the top card of the deck (no cutting). This is your starter. You still get points for his heels if the Jack comes up.
Count your hand and crib and track the points on the board.
Don’t shuffle the deck or put the cards back in!
Discard your hand and crib. Put the starter card on the bottom of the remaining deck.
Deal from the leftover cards again in the same manner.
Repeat the whole process until you only have four cards left in the deck. It will take 6 rounds.
This is your final hand. Count these as-is.
You “win” the game if you make it past the skunk line at 90 points.
You extra win if you make it all the way to 121.
3-player
In 3-player Cribbage, it plays almost exactly the same.
The only change is in how dealing works.
The Dealer hands out 5 cards to the opponents instead of 6, but they still give themselves 6.
With only 5 cards, the Pones only discard one card while the Dealer still gets two.
The opponent to the left of the Dealer starts the pegging, cuts the deck, and starts the counting.
Then play passes to this player on the next round.
Otherwise, everything is exactly the same.
4-player (Teams of 2)
In 4-player Cribbage, you have to have teams.
You sit across from your partner, and you add points to the same pegs.
Team games usually go much faster.
The Dealer hands out 5 cards to every player, and everyone discards one card to give the crib to the Dealer.
The play to the left of the dealer cuts the deck, starts the Play, and starts the counting.
They get the deal after the round is over too.
Quick Cribbage Strategies
This is by no means an exhaustive list of strategies, but following these will help jump you instantly from the beginner to intermediate level.
If you want a great book for beginner and advanced cribbage strategy, check out Cribbage: How To Play And Win.
Discard
Follow these principles, and you’ll get your discards right 90% of the time:
- Opt for the most points for you. If you have the deal, add in the points you throw in the crib. If you don’t, subtract the points.
- If you have a choice, keep neighbor cards (next to each other in sequence) together. This may help fill out runs with the cut card or during pegging.
- 5s in the crib are almost guaranteed at least two points.
- Keep 5s or cards adding to 5 in your opponent’s crib.
- When you are in the last 10 points, opt for a low card hand (5 and under) for more pegging value.
The Play/Pegging
Pegging is one of the hardest parts of the game, but following these tips will help your game right away:
- 5 leads are bad UNLESS you have a single five with three different dimes or ten cards.
- 10-cards don’t make great leads. If you have to, lead from a pair or go for the King.
- Lead from your strength. If you have a pair, play it. If the opponent pairs it, you can come back with the other one to make trips for 6 points!
- Low cards are safer leads. 4 is best, followed by 3 and then 2. Aces are only OK.
- Runs don’t have to be in order (2-3-4 can also be 3-2-4). Avoid traps and try to trap your opponent.
- Making the count 21 or 26 is scary in case of a 10 or 5 card.
- Watch out for the 4-5-6 combo. It gives a run for three AND 15 for two!
Position Playing
Since Cribbage is a race to 121 points, positioning is important.
The Pone always counts first, so if you’re not careful, you may end up losing a game when by only a couple of points when it looked like you were in the lead.
If you’re the Dealer at the end and you’re close to 121, keep fewer points in your hand and opt for better pegging cards (lower cards).
In general, keeping better pegging cards in your hand as the Dealer is a good idea (as long as it doesn’t cost any or many points). You’ll get some points from the crib, so it’ll offset the loss.
Cribbage Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 15s | Adding up cards to 15 is worth 2 points. Any number of cards may be used. |
| 31 For Two | During pegging, if a player hits 31 exactly, they get two points. |
| Counting | Counting is when you use your card combination to count the number of points you earned. This is then pegged on the board. |
| Crib | The bonus hand the dealer gets to count at the end of the round. |
| Cut | After discarding, the Pone or non-dealer cuts the deck for the dealer. The dealer turns up the top card. |
| Dealer | The person who deals the card that round. They peg and count second. They also get the bonus crib. |
| Discard | When you get rid of two cards from your hand into the dealer’s crib at the end of the round. |
| Double Run | A combination of a run of three with another card paired (9,9,10,J). This counts for 8 points (6 for the two runs and 2 for the pair). |
| Double Skunk | If the loser is behind the 60 line, they’re double skunked. It means they lost three games. |
| Flush | When all cards in your hand are the same suit. The starter card may be added to this if it matches. In order for the crib to earn a flush, the four cards and the starter must be the same suit. This is worth either 4 or 5 points depending on how many cards match. All cards in your hand must match suit. |
| His Heels | If the Pone cuts a Jack, the dealer gets two points instantly for his heels or nibs. |
| Last Card | The player to play the last card in the pegging phase gets a point. |
| Muggins | Also known as cutthroat playing. If a player counts wrong, the other player gets the points they missed. |
| Nibs | See “His Heels” |
| Nobs | If you have a Jack in your hand that matches the suit of the starter card, you get 1 point for nobs. |
| Pegging | The second phase of the game where players take turns adding cards up to 31 and playing point combinations off each other. |
| Pone | The non-dealer. They cut the deck, peg first, and count first. |
| Position | Where you are in relation to the turns, end, and what your job is (dealer or Pone). |
| Royal Pair | Three of a kind. It’s worth 6 points. |
| Skunk | If the loser is behind the 90 line, they’re skunked. It means they lost two games. See also “Double Skunked” |
| Starter | The card turned up after the Pone cuts the deck. This card may be used multiple times by either player during The Show or counting phase. |
| The Play | Another word for pegging. |
| The Show | The counting phase. The Pone counts the points in their hand, the dealer counts their hand, and then the dealer counts their crib. |
| Triple Skunk | If a player loses from behind the 30 line, they lose the entire match instantly. Almost impossible and not official. |
