Pick 4 hand cards + 1 cut
Your hand
Cut card
Pick 4 more hand cards and the cut card to score.
Card order does not matter — try (J♠ 5♣ 5♥ 5♦, cut 5♠) to check it scores 29.
What the cribbage calculator counts
A cribbage hand scores in five ways, and a big hand is usually several of them stacked. The calculator walks the full checklist every time, which is exactly what most players forget at the table:
| Combination | Points |
|---|---|
| Fifteens — any group of cards summing to 15 (faces count 10, ace 1) | 2 per combination |
| Pairs — two of a kind (three of a kind is 3 pairs, four is 6) | 2 per pair |
| Runs — consecutive ranks, counted once per duplicated card | 1 per card in the run |
| Flush — four cards of one suit | Hand: 4, or 5 with matching cut; crib: 5 only with matching cut |
| Nobs — jack in hand matching the cut suit | 1 |
| Heels — the cut is a jack | 2 to the dealer |
Cribbage calculator FAQ
How does this cribbage calculator score fifteens?
Every combination of cards that adds up to 15 scores 2 points, and every separate combination counts on its own. Hold three 5s with a 10 cut and you have four fifteens — each 5 pairs with the 10, and the three 5s make 15 together — for 8 points before anything else counts. The calculator finds them all so you do not have to hunt.
Does the calculator handle the crib differently?
Yes. Tick “Count this as the crib” and a flush scores 5 only when all four crib cards and the cut share a suit. Four matching crib cards without a matching cut score no flush points. Nobs still counts.
What are nobs and heels?
Nobs is a jack in your hand that matches the suit of the cut card: +1. Heels (also called “his heels”) is the cut itself being a jack: the dealer pegs 2 right away. The calculator reports heels separately because it belongs to the dealer, not to any hand.
How are runs with duplicate cards scored?
A run scores 1 point per card, and repeated cards multiply it. 5-6-7 with a second 6 in the same hand is two runs of three: 6 points. The calculator does the multiplication for you.
What is the highest-scoring cribbage hand?
Twenty-nine: J-5-5-5 in hand with the 5 of the jack’s suit cut. It makes eight fifteens (16), twelve points for the four fives, and one for nobs. The calculator’s “29 hand” example button fills it in so you can see every point.