1. How Many Points Do You Need To Win Cribbage
2. How Many Points Are Needed In Cribbage To Win

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Introduction

1. A player can usually win the game with the 2 points from cutting a jack. Some will not allow this, depending on the rules used. = 1 point for jack. This is a hand that gives one point because the jack and the cut are of the same kind. If you play cribbage think of the jack.
2. It's fun to play cribbage lotto, but if you consider an average hand, or an average crib is typically somewhere around five points. Then conservative play strategy should give you more control of the board, leave you open to less damaging situations, and give you a better opportunity to win at the game of cribbage.
3. 2 points are scored for a pair in cribbage, and 6 for a pair royal - that is, three cards of the same rank. This can be considered as 3 different pairs worth 2 points each. Similarly, double pair royal (four of a kind) scores 12 as there are 6 ways of picking two cards from four. You begin to see why mathematicians love this game.

Cribbage is traditionally supposed to have been invented in the early 17th Century; it evolved from the earlier game Noddy. It is basically a game for two players, though adaptations for 4 players in fixed partnerships, and for 3 players also exist.

The cribbage card game’s objective is to score 121 points that are pegged over the board with the points which are in your hands. Your every hand determines how many points you will get. Description of Cribbage Board. You will find three variations of colors in a standard cribbage board, and each color has 121 points pegged on it.

The more modern Six Card Cribbage has now almost entirely replaced the original Five Card Cribbage game described on this page. However the five card version does still survive in parts of Britain. For example, in South Wales it is played in pub leagues in combination with Nine Card Don (see the Don page for details). Matthew Probert reports that Five Card Cribbage is popular around Hampshire and Surrey, although the six card game is also played there.

Players and cards

Two players using a standard 52 card pack. Cards rank K(high) Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A(low).

Object of the Game

To be the first to score 61 points accumulated over several deals. Points are scored mainly for combinations of cards either occuring during the play or occuring in a player's hand or in the cards discarded before the play, which form the 'crib'.

Board and Pegs

The points are recorded by means of a board and pegs. The holes in the board represent scores from 1 to 61.

The above diagram shows the players starting at opposite ends of the board and pegging in opposite directions, which is the way I was taught and is consistent with for example Popular Card Games by Lawrence H Dawson - Wills, Bristol & London (1933). However it is clear that it is now more common for both players to start from the same end, like this:

In any case, each player has two pegs: the forward peg shows the player's score to date, and the rear peg shows the previous score. When a player scores points, the rear peg is moved in front to show the new score. That way the distance between the pegs shows the amount most recently scored, and the opponent can thereby check it has been scored correctly.

Deal

Cut cards to determine who deals first. The player cutting the lower card deals, and the other player immediately pegs 3 points for 'last' as compensation. This is scored on the firstdeal only. Subsequently the turn to deal alternates.

The dealer shuffles, the non-dealer cuts the cards, and dealer deals 5 cards to each player one at a time. The undealt part of the pack is placed face down on the table.

Discard

Each player must choose two cards to discard face down to form the 'crib'. These four cards are set aside until the end of the hand. Any card combinations in the crib will count for the dealer, so non-dealer will try to throw cards that are unlikely to make valuable combinations.

Start Card

The non-dealer cuts the pack of undealt cards, lifting the upper part without showing its bottom card. The dealer takes out the top card of the lower part, turns it face up and, after non-dealerreplaces the upper part, places it face up on top of the pack. This turned up card is called the 'start' card.

If the start card is a jack, the dealer immediately pegs 2 points - this is called 'two for his heels'.

Play of the cards

Starting with the non-dealer, the players take turns to play a single cards face up in front of themselves. In this stage of the game the total pip value of the cards played by both players must not exceed 31. The pip values of the cards are:

Ace = 1; 2 to 10 = face value; jack = 10; queen = 10; king = 10.

As each card is played, the player announces the running total, but this total must not exceed 31. A player who cannot play without exceeding 31 does not play a card but says 'Go'. If your opponent says 'Go' then you may continues playing cards and scoring for any combinations you make (see below). When neither player can play without going over 31 (either because both players have played all their cards or because all cards left in the players' hands have pip values so high that they would take the total over 31 if played), the play ends.

If the play ends with a total lower than 31, whichever player was the last to play a card pegs 1 point for 'last card'. If the play ends at exactly 31, the player who played the last card pegs 2 points instead of 1 point.

Notes.

• Players familiar with Six Card Cribbage will be used to carrying on playing until all the cards have been played, starting again at zero each time 31 is reached or both players say 'Go'. Five Card Cribbage is different: you only play up to 31 once and one or both players may have unplayed cards at the end of the play.
• As in 6-card Cribbage, when neither can play the last person to play scores either 2 for 31 or 1 for last card. It is not possible to make both these scores at once.

Scoring during the play

A player who makes any of the following scores during the play pegs them immediately.

15:

If you play a card which brings the total to 15 you score two points ('Fifteen two')

31:

As mentioned above if you play a card which brings the totalto exactly 31 you score 2 points.

Pair:

If you play a card of the same rank as the previous card (e.g.a king after a king) you score 2 points for a pair. Note that(for example) a 10 and a queen do NOT make a pair even thoughthey are both worth 10 points.

Pair Royal:

If immediately after a pair a third card of the same rankis played, the player of the third card scores 6 for 'pairroyal'.

Double Pair Royal:

Four cards of the same rank, played in immediate succession.The player of the fourth card scores 12.

Run:

A 'run' or 'sequence' is a set of 3 ormore cards of consecutive ranks (irrespective of suit) - suchas 9-10-jack or 2-3-4-5. Note that ace is low so for example ace-king-queenis not a run. The player of a card which completes a run scoresfor the run; the score is equal to the number of cards in therun. The cards to not have to be played in order, but no othercards must intervene.
Example: cards are played in the following order:4-2-3-5-6. The player of the 3 scores 3 for a run, then the playerof the 5 scores 4, and the player of the 6 scores 5.
Another example: 4-2-3-4-3. The player of thefirst 3 scores 3 for the run 4-2-3. Then the player of the second4 score 3 for the run 2-3-4. The player of the second 3 scoresnothing because the 3 does not complete a run.
Another example: 4-2-6-5-3. The final 3 scores 5 points for a 5-card run. Nothing is scored before then, because there is no run until the 3 is played.

Last Card:

If neither player manages to make the total exactly 31, whoeverplayed the last card scores 1 point.

The Show

Players now score for combinations of cards held in hand. Firstthe non-dealer's hand is exposed, and scored. The start card alsocounts as part of the hand when scoring combinations. All validscores from the following list are counted.

15:

Any combination of cards adding up to 15 pips scores 2 points.For example king, jack, five, five would count 8 points (fourfifteens as the king and the jack can each be paired with eitherfive). You would say 'Fifteen two, fifteen four, fifteensix, fifteen eight).

Pair:

A pair of cards of the same rank score 2 points. Three cardsof the same rank contain 3 different pairs and thus score a totalof 6 points for 'pair Royal'. Four of a kind contain6 pairs and so score 12 points.

Run:

Three cards of consecutive rank (irrespective of suit), suchas ace-2-3, score 3 points for a run. A hand such as 6-7-7-8 containstwo runs of 3 (as well as two fifteens and a pair) and so wouldscore 12 altogether. A run of four cards, such as 9-10-J-Q scores4 points. This is slightly illogical - you might expect it toscore 6 because it contains two runs of 3, but it doesn't. Theruns of 3 within it don't count -you just get 4.

Flush:

If all three cards of the hand are the same suit, 3 pointsare scored for flush. If the start card is the same suit as well,the flush is worth 4 points. There is no score for having 2 handcards and the starter all the same suit. Note also that thereis no score for flush during the play - it only counts in theshow.

One For His Nob:

If the hand contains the jack of the same suit as the startcard, score 1 extra point.

Note that when scoring a hand, the same card may be counted andscored as part of several different combinations. For exampleif your hand is 7 8 8 and the start card is a 9 you score 'fifteen2, fifteen 4, and a pair is 6, and a run is 9 and a run is 12'- 12 points to peg, with each of your 8s forming part of a fifteen,a pair and a run.

After non-dealer's hand has been shown and the score pegged, dealer'shand is shown, scored and pegged in the same way. Finally thedealer exposes the four cards of the crib and scores them withthe start card. The scoring is the same as for the players' handsexcept that:

• a flush in the crib only scores if all four crib cards andthe start card are of the same suit. If that happens the flushscores 5 points
• it is now possible to have a run of five cards, which scoresjust 5 points.

How Many Points Do You Need To Win Cribbage

Winning the game

As soon as someone reaches 61 points, that player wins the game. This can happen at any point - during the play or the show, or even by dealer scoring 'two for his heels'. Note thatit is not necessary to reach 61 exactly - for example if you overshoot by scoring 2 more points when you had 60 you still win.

Other Cribbage WWW pages

Here is the web site of the Salisbury and District Licensed Houses Cribbage League, where five-card cribbage is played.

The Cribbage page of Card Game Heaven also describes Five-Card Cribbage.

Other versions of Cribbage:

• Noddy, the precursor of Cribbage.
• Six Card Cribbage, which is now the most widespread form.
• The Noddy and Early Cribbage page of the Period Games site has further information.

With Meggiesoft Cribbage you can play Cribbage on-line or against a computer opponent. The target score is configurable and Muggins and Skunking are available as options. The program supports 5-card, 6-card and 7-card Cribbage and also Noddy.

Learn to Talk Cribbage

A difficult part of learning something new is learning the vocabulary. Cribbage is no different. Below is our cribbage glossary. If there are terms not on this list that you would like defined contact Dan Zeisler at danthefan@yahoo.com.

'15' - '15' comes up twice in cribbage. During the play of the cards, making the count fifteen scores two points. When counting the hands or Crib, any different combination of cards totaling fifteen will also score two points. One of the most unusual combinations scoring multiple '15s' is the Raggedy Ann.

19 Hand - 19 points is not possible in a single cribbage hand. Possible scores are 0-18, 20-24, 28 and 29. Since 19 is the only score under 24 not possible players often shout '19 hand' when in fact they have 0 points.

28 Hand - Second rarest hand in cribbage. Consists of four 5's with any ten point card. Odds of getting one are 15,028 to one.

29 Hand - The best hand in Cribbage and a 216,580 to 1 shot. Consists of holding three 5s and a Jack, with the Jack being of a different suit than any of the three 5s. The starter card turned must then be the fourth 5 and being the same suit as the held Jack, makes the hand count 29.

Consolation Tournament - The Consolation Tournament is a secondary Sanctioned Tournament often(but not always) held during Weekend Tournaments and allows those who do not make the Qualifying Round or get knocked our of the first couple rounds of the Main Tournament Playoffs. It usually consists of a Qualifying Round of 7-9 games. 25% of the players in a Qualifying Round advance to bracket Playoffs and the top half of those players earn MRPs based upon their qualifying score.

Crib - The Crib is the four cards (two by each player) set aside from the original hand of six cards for the benefit of the dealer before the Starter Card is turned. The Crib is counted by the dealer after counting of the Pone's and dealer's hands.

Double Double Run - A Double Double Run is a run of three cards containing two pairs. The hand counts 16 plus any combinations of '15' that might exist. An example might be Jack,Jack,Queen,Queen,King. An example of a Double Double Run with an embedded '15' is 2,2,3,4,4. This had counts 18 points, 16 for the Double Double Run plus two points for the one combination of '15'. There are many combinations making Double Double Runs.

Double Run - A Double Run is a run of 3 or 4 cards containing a pair. These runs count 8 points and 10 points respectively, plus any combinations of 15 that may be present. Example of a three card Double Run is Ace, Ace, 2, 3. A four card double run might be 10,10,Jack Queen, King. There are hundreds of possible combinations plus many of the Double Runs contain combinations of 15 such as 7,7,8,9 which counts 8 for the double run plus an addition 4 points for the two combinations of '15'.

Double Skunk - Any game in which the loser scores 60 points or less, not making it onto Third Street.

False Claim Of Game - False Claim of Game is when a player takes more points than what they are entitled to and in so doing pegs into the Out Hole and/or claims the game. During tournament play this is a very serious situation which requires calling for a judge. The offending player is required to go back the number of pegs that were Over Pegged, with the opponent getting those pegs and then the offending player is charged a 15 point penalty for False Claim of Game.

First Street - Holes 1-30 on a cribbage board. A tournament-length cribbage board is divided into four sections of 30 holes each which can be used as landmarks during a game.

Flush - A flush is having all four cards in your hand of the same suit and counts 4 points plus any runs and embedded '15s'. If the Starter Card is also the same suit, you add one additonal point to the hand. In the case of the Crib, only 5 card Flushes including the Starter Count are allowed.

Fourth Street - Holes 91-120 on a cribbage board. See first street.

How Many Points Are Needed In Cribbage To Win

Game Hole - The Game Hole is the 121st hole and the first player to advance his peg to this hole is the winner. Many older boards do not have a actual hole for the 121st point and the first player to score 121 points is the winner. Almost all tournament boards have the 121st hole and players are encouraged to use it. See Pegging Out.

Go - GO: Called by a player during the play who cannot play a card without the count exceeding 31. The opponent scores one point unless they can make the count exactly 31 in which case two points are scored.

Grass Roots Rating Points - Grass Roots Rating Points are those points earned through weekly play at Grass Roots clubs across the country. See Local Clubs tab on the left for locations and club information. Lifetime awards are Bronze Award(1,000 Points), Silver Award(2,500)and Gold Award(5,000).

Gut Shot - A Gut Shot is like filling an inside straight in poker. It's having the starter card fill in between the other cards in your hand and significantly increasing the point total of the hand. While there are hundreds of examples, probably the most famous Gut Shot is holding 4,4,6,6 in your hand and having the Starter Card be the 5 for a 24 hand.

Hauling Lumber - Hauling Lumber(or Timber) usually refers to intentional Over Pegging, which is one form of cheating during a cribbage game. It is believed the term originated due to most boards being made out of wood and the offending player was pegging more wood than what they were entitled to.

His Heels - See Nibs

His Nobs - See Nobs

Judge - A Judge is a person who is knowledgable with the rules and is tested and authorized by the American Cribbage Congress to answer questions and settles disputes of players during sanctioned events.

Main Tournament - The Main Tournament is a Sanctioned Tournament and the premier event of a Weekend Tournament. It usually consists of a Qualifying Round of 12-22 games. 25% of the players in a Qualifying Round advance to bracket Playoffs and the top half of those players earn MRPs based upon their qualifying score. See also Consolation Tournament and Satellite Events.

Master Rating Points or MRP - Master Rating Points or MRPs are points earned during tournament play at sanctioned American Cribbage Congress events. They can be earned in a Qualifying Round or in the Playoffs for the top positions. Lifetime award levels are Master(2,000 points), Grand Master(4,000), Life Master(6,000), Life Master One Star(10,000), Life Master Two Stars(15,000), etc.

Muggins - Muggins is taking points your opponent misses. Muggins points come from one of two sources. If your opponent misses points during the play of the cards, Muggins may be called after a pause to make sure the opponent is truly missing the points. The other situation is where your opponent fails to count and/or take all the points in the hand. Once he has under pegged his hand, Muggins may be called for the difference in what was pegged and the actual count in the hand. Muggins may not be taken in the case of an opponent failing to take his two points when a Jack is the starter card, those points are lost once the dealer plays a card. Muggins is not applicable in the case where an opponent over pegs his hand, see Over Pegging - Hauling Lumber

Nibs - Nibs or His Heels is a Jack turned as the Starter Card, counts as two points for the dealer. A player needing only two points to win a game may take Nibs to win.

Nobs - Nobs or His Nobs is a Jack, either in the hand or crib, of the same suit as the Starter Card. Counts one point.

Overpegging - Overpegging is pegging more points that what you are entitled to take. It may happen during the play of the hand, in counting the hand or by accidently taking more pegs than indicated. If the opponent catches the Overpegging, you must return your front peg to the proper place and the opponent gets to take the difference between what was pegged and the correct total. If you notice your own Overpegging before your opponent, you may announce the fact and correct your front peg to its proper location with no penalty. See also False Claim of Game and Hauling Lumber.

Pegging Out - Pegging Out is the act of moving your peg into the Game Hole (the 121st) and winning the game. While not absolutely required to claim a game win, it is highly recommended by most tournament directors and Judges.

Playoffs - Playoffs are bracketed matches between players who were successful in the Qualifying Round. Initial bracket places are determined by place of finish in the Qualifying Round. Most matches are best 3 of 5 in the Main Tournament and 2 of 3 in the Consolation Tournament. As long as players win their match, they continue to advance to determine the ultimate winner of the tournament. MRPs are earned by all players in the Playoffs and increase based upon each round won.

Pone - The Pone is the non-dealer in a hand of cribbage.

Qualifying Round - Qualifying Round is the beginning round of play at a sanctioned tournament. It usually consists of 12-22 games in a Main Tournament or 7-9 games in a Consolation Tournament. At the conclusion of the Qualifying Round, the qualifiers or top 25% of the players will move on to bracketed Playoffs to determine the final winner of the tournament. The top 50% of the qualifiers will also get MRPs.

Raggedy Andy - Cribbage Hand of 8-7-6-2-2, scoring 11 points. See Raggedy Ann.

Raggedy Ann - Term for cribbage hand containing 8-7-6-A-A. Believed named because of its ragged nature but scores well at 13 points. Have also heard it called a 'ragged thirteen'.

Renege - A Renege is the failure during the play of the cards to play one or more cards that could have been played still keeping the count at 31 or less.

Sanctioned Event - A Sanctioned Event is one that has been approved by one of the regional tournament directors of the American Cribbage Congress. A potential tournament director makes a proposal for a Tournament Weekend and then based upon various guidelines and rules, most are approved as a Sanctioned Event allowing players to earn MRPs during the Main and Consolation tournaments.

Satellite Event - One or more Satellite Events may be held during a Weekend Tournament. These events may be either a single or doubles tournament, usually consisting of 7-9 games. They are usually scheduled on Friday or Saturday evenings of a Weekend Tournament but sometimes are scheduled on Friday afternoon or Sunday afternoon as a last chance tournament. Satellite Events are not Sanctioned Events and do not qualify for MRPs although the ACC does monitor the payouts and reports the winners in Cribbage World Magazine.

Second Street - Holes 31-60 on a cribbage board. See First Street.

Skunk - Any game in which the loser scores 61-90 points, not making it onto Fourth Street. In most Sanctioned Tournaments, a Skunk counts as 3 game points while a regular win is 2. See Double Skunk.

Starter Card - The Starter Card is the card cut and placed on the remainder of the pack before the play of the hand and is used in counting the value of each hand and the crib.

Stink Hole - Hole 120 on a cribbage board, sometimes referred to as the dead hole. If you finish up a game in this hole it means you lost 121-120, which stinks!

Third Street - Holes 61-90 on a cribbage board. See First Street.

Triple Run - A Triple Run is a run of three cards containing 3 of a kind. The hand counts 15 plus any embedded '15s'. An example with no '15s' might be 2,2,2,3,4 or one containing '15s' might be 4,4,4,5,6. In the last case the hand count is 21, 15 for the Triple Run and 6 more points for the three embedded '15s'. There are 33 possible combinations to make a Triple Run.

Up Sticks or Sticks - Indicates a tie at the end of a hand during the course of a game. Can occur anywhere on the board.

Weekend Tournament - Most tounament directors schedule Weekend Tournaments for the benefit of the players. A sanctioned Main Tournament is always included and most times a Consolation Tournament. One to four Satellite events may also be scheduled on the director's perogative. Occasionally tournaments are scheduled during the middle of a week and there have been instances of tournaments held on cruise ships during a week of cruising.