How to play Cribbage

A standard 52-card deck and a cribbage board with pegs (or pen and paper). Best for two players; three or four can play.

Be the first to peg 121 points—twice around a standard board. Short games to 61 are also common.

1. 1Cut for deal; the lower card deals first.
2. 2In a two-player game, deal six cards each. Each player discards two cards face down to form the crib, which belongs to the dealer.
3. 3The non-dealer cuts the deck and the dealer turns up the top card of the lower half: this is the starter. If it is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 (“his heels”).

1. 1The non-dealer plays a card face up and calls its value; players alternate, announcing the running total. Face cards count 10, aces 1.
2. 2Peg 2 for bringing the total to exactly 15, and 2 for exactly 31.
3. 3Peg 2 for a pair (matching the previous card’s rank), 6 for three of a kind, and 12 for four of a kind.
4. 4Peg for runs: three or more consecutive ranks among the last cards played, in any order, score one point per card.
5. 5If you cannot play without passing 31, say “Go.” Your opponent plays any cards they can and pegs 1 for the last card (2 if it hits 31 exactly). The count then starts again from zero.
6. 6When all cards are played, the show begins: the non-dealer counts their hand first, then the dealer counts their hand, then the dealer counts the crib. Each hand uses the starter as a fifth card.

• In the show, score 2 for each combination adding to 15, 2 for each pair, 1 per card in each run, 4 for a four-card flush in hand (5 if the starter matches), and 1 for holding the jack of the starter’s suit (“his nobs”). A crib flush counts only if all five cards match.
• The game ends the moment someone reaches the target—even in the middle of the play—so the order of counting matters.

• Three players: five cards each, everyone discards one to the crib, and one card from the deck completes it.
• Four players usually play as two partnerships, five cards each, one discard each.
• Five-card cribbage, the older form, is played to 61 with a smaller hand.

• When it is your crib, keep cards that score well together and throw good cards to it; when it is your opponent’s crib, throw cards that are hard to combine—widely spaced ranks, no fives.
• Avoid leading a five: any ten-card makes 15 for your opponent.
• Leading a four is popular because it cannot be answered with 15.