How to Play Cribbage

Guide Note Cribbage is typically a two player card game but can be played with up to four players. Learning the rules is easy; it is developing your own strategy that can be tricky.

Table of Contents

Cribbage Tips

  1. Cribbage is typically a two player card game, but can be played with three or four players.
  2. The hardest part of cribbage is learning to score.
  3. A cribbage board is not required, but makes it easier to keep score.
  4. Learning what cards to discard is important.
  5. Your discard strategy will be different depending on if it is your crib or your opponent's.

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Introduction

  • Cribbage is a popular card game, played by two to four players. This guide will focus on the two-player, six-card game. Cribbage is unique because, although players use an ordinary deck of cards to create card combinations, the combinations are scored using a cribbage board. Fun for players of all ages, cribbage is easy to learn and simple to play.

Cribbage Basics

  • Cribbage can seem confusing until you understand the basics. To play the game, you need a deck of playing cards and either a cribbage board or a method of keeping score.

Game Basics

  1. (Creative Commons photo by Brendan Wood)
    (Creative Commons photo by Brendan Wood)
    Both players are dealt six cards. Each player keeps four cards and discards two cards into the "crib."
  2. One at a time, each player sets down a card until the value of the played cards totals 31, or neither player can set down a card without the value exceeding 31.
    • Repeat until all eight cards are played.
  3. Players earn points depending on what cards they kept in their hands and how they played the cards in each sequence. The dealer also gets points for the cards in the crib.
  4. The goal of cribbage is to get 121 points before your opponent.

Card Basics

  • Each card in cribbage has a value. For number cards (2-10), it is the same as their face. Face cards (king, queen, jack) are worth 10. The ace is worth one. This is very similar to how cards are calculated in blackjack, except aces are only worth one. Here are some terms you need to know:
  1. Pair: Two cards that are the same value.
  2. 3 of a kind: Three cards that have the same value. This is also called a Royal pair.
  3. 4 of a kind: Four cards that have the same value. This is also called a a double pair royal.
  4. Flush: Four cards that have the same suit (diamond, heart, club or spade).
  5. Straight: Three or more cards that are consecutive (2, 3, 4). In cribbage, this called a run.1
  6. Crib: The four cards (two from each player) set aside before each hand is played. These are scored by the dealer after he scores his own hand.2
  7. Go: The word "go" is called out by a player who cannot play a card without exceeding 31 of the count of the cards in play.2
  8. Pone: The opponent of the dealer.2 (Think opponent).
  9. Starter card: The card that is cut (by the pone) after cards are dealt and each player has discarded two cards into the crib. It is placed on the remainder of the back and used when the hands are scored.2
  10. Meld: A specific card combination played for a score. For example, a pair would be a meld.
  • Now that you have a good idea of what the game of cribbage involves, it will be easier to understand the details of the game explained here.

How a Hand is Played

  1. Dealer passes out six cards.
  2. Each player discards two cards to the crib.
  3. The pone (nondealer) cuts the remaining deck for the start card (this is not used until hands are scored).
  4. Cards are then laid down in a series of one to three sequences.

First Sequence

  1. Pone plays a card from his hand by placing it face up in front of him and calling out its value.
  2. Dealer plays a card (laying it face up) and calls out the value of the two cards played.
  3. Pone plays another card from his/her hand calling out the value of all three cards.
  4. Steps 2 and 3 are repeated until one player cannot play a card from his hand because doing so would make the value of the cards in play greater than 31.
    1. The first person who cannot play a card then calls out "go."
    2. The other player then has to play any cards they can without exceeding 31. If they cannot play any cards, they call out "go."

Second Sequence/Third Sequence

  • The second and third sequences play much like the first sequence.
  1. The first player who called "go" in the last round plays the first card in this round.
  2. The other player then plays a card.
  3. This round repeats exactly like the last round.

Scoring

  • The object of cribbage is to earn 121 points before your opponent.2 Points can be earned both during and after each hand. To keep score, players use a cribbage board. A standard cribbage board has four rows of 30 holes, two rows for each player.3 Each player uses two pegs.
    1. On the first score, a player moves the first peg the number of holes equal to the number of points scored. This is known as pegging.2
    2. On the second score, the player moves the second (rear) peg in front of the first peg the correct number of holes.

Scoring During a Hand

  1. If the start card is a jack, dealer pegs two points. This is called his heels or his nibs.2
  2. If the cards in play equal 15, the person who laid the last card pegs two points.
    • Example: Pone (nondealer or opponent) plays a 10 and the dealer plays a 5. Dealer scores two points.
  3. If a card is played that matches the rank of a card in play (pair), player pegs two points.
    • Example: The pone plays a 10 and dealer plays a 10. The dealer scores two points and says, "Two for a pair."
  4. If a card is played that matches the rank of two cards in play (3 of a kind), player pegs six points.
    • Example: Pone plays a 2, dealer plays a 2 and pone plays a 2. The pone scores six points and says, "Six for three of a kind."
  5. If a card is played that matches the rank of three cards in play (4 of a kind), player pegs twelve points.
    • Example: Pone plays a 2, dealer plays a 2, pone plays a 2 and dealer plays a 2. Dealer scores twelve points and says, "Twelve for four of a kind."
  6. If a straight of three or more cards is made (does not have to be in sequence), player scores one point for each card.
    • Example: Pone plays a 2, dealer plays a 4 and pone plays 3. Pone scores three points and says, "Run of three for three."
    1. Runs can continue for more than one turn. Using the above example, if the dealer then plays a 5, the dealer would score four points. The dealer would then say "Run of four for 4" and move his/her peg.
    2. Aces count low so queen, king, ace is not a run, but ace, 2, 3 is.
  7. Melds can be made in combination.
    • Example: If a player lays a 4 on top of a 5 and a 6, he/she would peg three points for a straight and two points because the cards equaled 15.
    • Example: If a player lays a 5 on top of a 5 and a 5, he/she would peg six points for a 3 of a kind and two points because the cards equaled 15.
  8. At the end of a sequence, one of three things will happen:
    1. The cards will equal 31 and the player who laid the last card will score 2 points.
    2. The cards will not equal 31, the first player who is unable to play a card from his or her hand will call out "go" and the other player will score 1 point.
    3. The cards will not equal 31 but all the cards have been played. The person who played the last card will score 1 point.

Scoring During The Show

  • After all cards have been played, the players then gather up their four cards and count the cards in their hand. This is known as "the show."4 The dealer also earns points for the crib (the four cards discarded by the players at the beginning of the hand). Using your four-card hand, the crib if your the dealer and the turned up card, look for the following:
  1. Add 2 points for any combination of 15 you can make with your cards and the turned up card.
    • For example, imagine you had a 5, 5, king, an ace and the turned up card was a 4. You could then make the following sets of 15: 5+king, 5+king (2nd 5); king+ace+4. This would give you 6 points.
  2. Add 2 points for any pairs you have.
  3. Add 6 points for a three of a kind (also known as a pair royal).4
    • For example, if you have three kings, you would add 6 points. You would not count the kings separately as pairs.
  4. Add 12 points for a four of a kind (also known as a double pair royal).4
  5. Add 1 point for each card in in a straight (known as a run).1
    1. Count the straight twice if you you had two cards of the same amount. For example, if you had a king, queen, jack, jack; you would count it as two runs of 3 points each. This is known as a double run.5 (You would also get 2 points for the pair.)
    2. Count the straight three times if you have a straight that includes a three of a kind. For example, if you had a king, queen, jack, jack and the turned up card was a jack. This is known as a triple run.5
    3. Count the straight four times if it contains two pairs. For example, if you held a king, queen, queen, jack and the turned up card was a jack. This is known as a double-double run.5
  6. Add 4 points if your hand is a flush (all the same suit).
    • If they are the same suit as the turned up card, add another point (5 points total).
  7. Add 1 point if you have a jack the same suit as the turned up card (called a nob or his nobs).2

Score Chart

  • Once you understand the rules, you can use this chart as a quick reference.
Points Earned
CardsDuring PlayHand/ Crib
Turned card a jack:2-
Jack the same suit as turned card:-2
Pair:22
Three of a kind:66
Four of a kind:1212
Straight (point per card):11
Four-card flush (cards in hand):-4
Five-card flush:-5
Card combination equals 15:22
Reaching 31-count exactly:2-
Opponent says "go":1-
Final card played (without reaching 31):1-

Cribbage Strategy

Discarding (Your Crib)

  1. In general, keep middle-range cards (4 through 8) for your own crib.6
  2. Discard pairs or a 5 whenever it leaves you a good hand.7

Discarding (Opponent's Crib)

  1. In general, discard high and low cards (2s and kings) to your opponent's crib.6
  2. Don't discard 5s, pairs or sequential cards.7
  3. Aces and kings are good cards to discard.7

During Play

  1. If your opponent leads with a card and you have the option of either making a pair or 15, making 15 is the safer bet.7
  2. Avoid laying cards that will add up to 21 because your opponent will likely have a 10-card and can make 31.7
  3. Making 11 is a good move because cards that equal ten (10, jack, queen, king) are the most numerous in the deck.8
  4. Play your higher cards first.8
  5. Keep an eye out for runs. Avoid playing cards that have a value 1 or 2 from an opponent's card.8

How to Lead

  1. Never lead with a five.7
  2. If you have a pair, lead with it. Your opponent might make a pair, but you can use it to make a pair royal (3 of a kind).7
  3. The safest lead is a 4, especially if you have an ace that you can use to make 15.7
  4. Lead with a card less than 5, so your opponent can't make an immediate 15.3

Three Hand Cribbage

  • For the most part, the rules for three hand cribbage remain the same, but there are a few changes.
  1. Game requires a special cribbage board or some other method of scoring other than the standard cribbage board.4
  2. Players draw for deal. Deal then rotates to the left.7
  3. Each player is dealt five cards. The dealer also deals one card to the crib.
  4. Each player discards one card to the crib.
  5. The player to the left cuts for the starter card.
  6. When a player calls go, the next opponent must play if he/she can. If he/she cannot, the third opponent must play if he/she can. The point for go is earned by the person who plays the last card.7
  7. Game is usually played to 61 points instead of 121 points.7

Four Hand Cribbage

  • Four hand cribbage is very similar to two hand cribbage, except players are partnered up.
  1. (Creative Commons photo by Scot Campbell)
    (Creative Commons photo by Scot Campbell)
    Players draw for partners. The players with the two highest cards partner as do the players with the two lowest cards. The person who draws the highest card deals.7
  2. Partners sit opposite each other.4
  3. One member of each pair is elected to peg for the team.
  4. Each player is dealt five cards. They then discard one to the crib.
  5. Partners may help each other, but cannot indicate what cards they hold.
  6. The last person who can play a card earns the point for go.4

Conclusion

  • Cribbage can be a fun card game to play whenever you have a few free moments. The challenge is to develop your own strategy that will allow you to beat your opponent.

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References for How to Play Cribbage

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stowe Craft Design: Instructions for Cribbage  WARNING: PDF File
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 American Cribbage Congress: Rules of Cribbage
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 HowStuffWorks: How to Play Cribbage: Tips and Guidelines
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Card Games Website: Six Card Cribbage
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 American Cribbage Congress: Rule 1. The Mechanics of Playing Cribbage
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 HowStuffWorks: How to Play Cribbage: Tips and Guidelines
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 USPC: Cribbage and Counting Games
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Cribbage Corner: Cribbage Strategy


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