Cribbage for Beginners: Counting a Hand Without a Headache

Cribbage has a reputation for being complicated, mostly because watching two experienced players is baffling. Cards slap down, someone mutters "fifteen two, fifteen four, a pair is six," pegs leap along a wooden board, and the hand is over before you have worked out what happened. Sit down with someone patient for twenty minutes, though, and it turns out the whole game rests on a handful of patterns you can count on your fingers.

The game is generally credited to the English poet Sir John Suckling in the early seventeenth century, and it has been a fixture of pubs, kitchen tables and long sea voyages ever since. This guide covers the classic two-player game, the same version our Cribbage plays, and focuses on the part that scares most beginners: counting.

The shape of a hand

Each hand of two-player cribbage has four stages, and the deal alternates between players.

The deal and the discard. Each player gets six cards and chooses two to throw face down into the crib, a spare hand that belongs to the dealer.
The starter. The non-dealer cuts the deck and the dealer turns up the top card. If it is a Jack, the dealer pegs 2 immediately, called his heels.
The play. Players take turns laying cards face up, keeping a running total that may not go past 31, and score points along the way. This is called pegging.
The show. Each hand is counted together with the starter card: the non-dealer first, then the dealer, then the dealer’s crib.

Card values

For adding up, an Ace is worth 1, number cards are worth their number, and the Jack, Queen and King are each worth 10. For runs, though, cards keep their natural order: Ace, 2, 3 and so on up to Jack, Queen, King. The Ace is always low, so Queen, King, Ace is not a run.

Pegging: scoring during the play

The non-dealer leads any card and says its value aloud. The dealer plays a card and announces the new total, and so on. You score points the instant you create one of these:

Making the count exactly 15: 2 points.
Making the count exactly 31: 2 points.
Playing a card of the same rank as the one just played, a pair: 2 points. A third in a row is a pair royal for 6, and a fourth is 12.
Completing a run of three or more cards among the most recent cards played, in any order: 1 point per card. So 4, then 6, then 5 scores 3.
If you cannot play without passing 31, you say "go". Your opponent keeps playing any cards they can, and whoever lays the last card before the count restarts pegs 1, or 2 if they hit 31 exactly. The last card of the whole play also earns 1.

A short pegging example

You lead a 4 and say "four". Your opponent plays a Jack: "fourteen". You lay an Ace: "fifteen for two", and you peg 2. They answer with another Ace: "sixteen, and a pair for two". You play a 9 for 25, they play a 6 for 31 and peg 2. The count resets and play continues with the cards still in hand.

Notice the traps. Leading a 5 is risky, because so many cards are worth 10 and your opponent can make 15 at once. Leaving the count at 21 invites a ten-card for 31. Many players like to lead a 4 or lower, because no single card can then reach 15.

Counting the show: one order, every time

Here is the part that causes headaches, and the cure is simple: count in the same order every single time. Most players use fifteens, then pairs, then runs, then flushes, then nobs. Always include the starter card with your four.

Fifteens. Every different combination of cards that adds to exactly 15 scores 2. Count them aloud: "fifteen two, fifteen four, fifteen six."
Pairs. Each pair of cards of the same rank scores 2. Three of a kind contains three different pairs, so it scores 6; four of a kind scores 12.
Runs. Three or more cards in sequence score 1 per card. If a card in the run is duplicated, you have two runs, and you count both.
Flush. Four cards of the same suit in your hand score 4, or 5 if the starter matches too. In the crib, only a five-card flush counts.
Nobs. A Jack in your hand of the same suit as the starter scores 1.

Worked example one: a modest hand

You hold 2, 3, 4 and 9, and the starter is a Jack. Fifteens first: 2, 3 and the Jack make 15, and 2, 4 and 9 make 15. That is "fifteen two, fifteen four". No pairs. The 2, 3 and 4 make a run of three for 3 more. No flush, and the Jack is the starter rather than in your hand, so no nobs. Total: 7.

Worked example two: duplicated runs

You hold 7, 8, 8 and 9, with a King as the starter. Fifteens: 7 with each 8 makes two fifteens, for 4. Pairs: the two 8s are a pair for 2. Runs: 7, 8, 9 is a run, and because there are two 8s, you can make it twice, for 3 plus 3. Total: 4 plus 2 plus 6 makes 12.

Experienced players do not count a double run piece by piece. They learn that a double run of three, a run with one card paired, is always worth 8 before fifteens. Learning a few of these shortcuts is what makes counting fast.

Double run of three, such as 7-8-8-9: 8 points, plus any fifteens.
Double run of four, such as 5-6-7-7-8: 10 points, plus any fifteens.
Triple run, such as 6-7-7-7-8: 15 points, plus any fifteens.
Double double run, such as 4-5-5-6-6: 16 points, plus any fifteens.

Worked example three: the hand everyone wants

You hold 4, 5, 6 and 6, and a 5 is turned up. Fifteens: 4, 5 and 6 add to 15, and with two 5s and two 6s there are four different ways to make it, for 8. Pairs: two 5s and two 6s give two pairs, for 4. Runs: 4-5-6 can be made four different ways, for 12. Total: 24, a hand players remember.

The famous maximum is 29: three 5s and a Jack in hand, with the fourth 5 turned as the starter in the same suit as your Jack. You will probably never see it, which is part of the legend. And if you hear someone announce a score of "nineteen", they are joking: no cribbage hand can score exactly 19, so it has become slang for a hand worth nothing.

What to throw in the crib

Your discard is the most important decision of each hand. When the crib is yours, throw cards that can help each other: a pair, two cards that add to 15, two touching cards such as 7 and 8, or a 5. When the crib belongs to your opponent, do the opposite. Throw cards far apart in rank that do not combine, such as a King and a 2, and never give away a 5 if you can help it.

When choosing which four to keep, think about the starter. A hand such as 6, 7, 8 and 9 is already worth points, and many possible starters will improve it further.

The board, and house rules

The game is usually played to 121 points, traditionally pegged on a board with two tracks of holes, each player moving two pegs leapfrog fashion so a miscount can be spotted. The game ends the moment someone reaches 121, even in the middle of counting, which is why counting order matters near the finish. Our version ends the instant either player reaches 121, and the non-dealer counts first.

Many tables add house rules. Some play "muggins", where an opponent may claim points you forgot to count. Many count a skunk, a win by a big margin, as a double game, commonly when the loser has not reached 91. Agree these before you start, and for a first game, skip them entirely.

If you would like to practise without anyone watching, our Cribbage spells out every score for you, fifteens and runs and all, so you learn the patterns simply by watching the count. After a few dozen hands you may find yourself saying "fifteen two, fifteen four" before the computer does.