Cribbage
Cribbage Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
Be the first player to score 121 points (twice around a standard 60-hole board plus one, or once around a 121-hole track), pegging your points on the cribbage board as you earn them.
Equipment
- A standard 52-card deck (no jokers).
- A cribbage board with two rows of holes per player for pegging score, and two pegs per player (you leapfrog the pegs to show each new score and the score before it).
- 2 players (variants for 3 and 4 below).
Card Values
- Face cards (King, Queen, Jack) each count as 10.
- Aces count as 1.
- All other cards count at their pip value (2–10).
For making runs and pairs, the ordinary rank order applies (Ace low, then 2–10, Jack, Queen, King).
Setup and the Deal
- Each player cuts the deck; the player cutting the lower card deals first. (The non-dealer has a scoring advantage, so the first deal is worth cutting for.)
- The dealer shuffles, the non-dealer cuts, and the dealer deals 6 cards to each player, one at a time.
- Each player looks at their hand and chooses 2 cards to discard facedown into the crib—a separate four-card hand that belongs to the dealer and is scored by the dealer at the end of the round. Each player keeps the other 4 cards.
The Starter (Cut)
After the crib is set, the non-dealer cuts the remaining deck and the dealer turns up the top card of the lower portion. This card is the starter.
- If the starter is a Jack, the dealer immediately pegs 2 points ("two for his heels").
The starter is used by both players' hands and the crib during the show, but it is not part of the play.
The Play ("Pegging")
Starting with the non-dealer, players take turns laying one card faceup in front of themselves, announcing the running total of the cards played. The count may never exceed 31.
Score points during the play as follows:
- Fifteen: if your card makes the running total exactly 15, peg 2.
- Pair: playing a card of the same rank as the one just played pegs 2; a third of a kind (pair royal) pegs 6; a fourth pegs 12.
- Run: completing a sequence of three or more cards (in any order, no gaps) pegs 1 per card in the run (e.g. a run of three pegs 3).
- Thirty-one: if your card brings the total to exactly 31, peg 2.
- Go: if you cannot play without exceeding 31, you say "Go." The other player then plays any cards they can. Whoever plays the last card before a Go (or reaches exactly 31) pegs 1 for the go (or 2 for the 31).
When neither player can add a card without passing 31, the count resets to zero and play continues with the remaining cards, again from the player after the one who took the last point. The player who plays the very last card of the round pegs 1 ("last card"/go), unless it made 31 (which already scored 2).
The Show (Scoring the Hands)
After the play, players count the value of their hands. The non-dealer counts first, then the dealer's hand, then the dealer's crib. This order matters near the end of the game—the non-dealer may peg out first. Each player combines their 4 cards with the starter to form the best scoring combinations. The crib is scored the same way (4 crib cards plus the starter).
Score these combinations:
- Fifteens: each distinct combination of cards totaling 15 pegs 2.
- Pairs: each pair pegs 2 (three of a kind = three pairs = 6; four of a kind = six pairs = 12).
- Runs: each run of three or more consecutive ranks pegs 1 per card (a double run—one rank paired within a run—counts each version separately).
- Flush: 4 points if all four cards in hand are the same suit; 5 if the starter matches too. (In the crib, a flush scores only if all four crib cards and the starter are the same suit—5 points; a four-card crib flush alone does not score.)
- His Nobs: 1 point if your hand (or the crib) contains the Jack of the same suit as the starter.
Winning
Play continues, dealer alternating each round, until a player pegs 121 points. The moment a player reaches 121, they win—even mid-count during a show. The game does not require reaching the total exactly.
Traditional distinctions: winning while the opponent has not passed 90 or 91 is a skunk (often counted as a double win); a very low opponent score is a double skunk.
Three- and Four-Player Cribbage
- Three players: each is dealt 5 cards and discards 1 to the crib; a card is dealt directly to the crib to complete it. Each plays for themselves; the deal rotates.
- Four players: play in two partnerships. Each player is dealt 5 cards and discards 1 to the dealer's crib. Partners combine their scores and share one peg track. Play and the show proceed clockwise.