Basic Rules Of Cribbage

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CRIBBAGE RULES

TWO HAND
A full deck of 52 cards should be used, King being high, Queen-Jack-10-9, etc., to Ace, which is always low.
Cut for deal; low card dealing.
Each player may shuffle the deck, dealer shuffling last, the deck being cut by dealer’s opponent (Pone). Deal six cards each.
THREE HAND
Deal five cards each and one card in the crib, and each player discards one card in the crib.
FOUR HAND
Deal five cards each and each player discards one card in the crib.
THE CRIB
After cards have been dealt, each player discards two cards from their hand, placing them face down on the table, these cards form “The Crib.” The “Crib” belongs to the dealer and is not used until the hands have been played out. The dealer scores any points contained in the crib, combined with the “Starter.”
THE STARTER
Pone then cuts the deck whereupon the dealer turns up the top card of the lower portion of the deck and places this card face up on the reunited deck. This turned up card is called the Starter, and is not used during the play of the hands. It is counted, however, with each hand and the “Crib” on the final count. If the Starter (S) is a Jack (called His Nobs) the dealer immediately scores two points providing these points are scored before the dealer plays a card. Otherwise the dealer cannot score them.
OBJECT OF THE GAME
Players attempt to form various counting combinations, as pairs, triplets, fours, sequences and fifteens. Combinations can be formed by the card played, or in the hands and crib in conjunction with the starter.
METHOD OF PLAY
Pone plays any card from their hand – placing it face up on the table in front of them, at the same time announcing the numerical (pip) value of the same. All face cards except Aces are valued as tens and all other cards according their number. Aces being ones. Then dealer then plays a card, placing immediately in front of them, and announces the value, which is the sum of his card and the one already played by the Pone, the game proceeds in the manner the value of each card being added to all cards previously played. The total sum of all cards must not exceed 31. If a player has no un-played card which will play within the sum of 31 he announces “Go”. This entitles their opponent to play and to continue to play until he reaches 31 or can play no further, so stating if it is impossible to proceed.
THE “GO”
The player who most nearly approaches 31 scores one point. If the player makes 31 exactly they score two points. If the last card that can be played makes 15, the player scores three points. (Explanation: The player gets two for making the 15 and one for the last card for the “Go”.
When 31 has been reached or a “Go” has been declared and pegged on the score board, each player turns the cards face down that have been played then begins to play again, leaving the cards face up in order to determine runs. A card can never be played that will make the total exceed 31. The players must play alternately except when on player has called a “Go” and the others can still play on or more cards.
POINTS OF PLAY
Fifteen – If a player plays a card making the numerical value of the cards played exactly fifteen, the player scores two points, announcing, “Fifteen-two”.
Pairs – If either plays a card which makes a pair (i.e. is of the same denomination as the last card played, as two fours or two jacks) the player scores two points.
Triplets, Threes or Pairs Royal – If, after a pair has been made, another card of the same denomination is immediately played (if no 31 or pegged go intervenes) the player of the third card scores six points for three pairs. (Thus the Queen of hearts, Queen of clubs, and Queen of spades. The Queen of hears and the Queen of clubs are one pair, the Queen of hearts and Queen of spades another, and the Queen of clubs and the Queen of spades is the third pair).
Four, Double Pairs or Double Pairs Royal – If, after a pair royal has been made, the fourth card of the same denomination is immediately played (if no 31 or pegged “Go” intervenes), the player of such fourth card scores twelve points for six pairs. (Thus, the four twos – 2 of hears and the 2 of diamonds are one pair, the 2 of hearts and the 2 of clubs a second, the 2 of hearts and 2 of spades a third, the 2 of diamonds and the 2 of clubs a fourth, the 2 of diamonds and 2 of spades a fifth, and the 2 of clubs and 2 of spades as a sixth.)
Sequence or Runs – When three or more cards, all in numerical sequence, are played, the player of the last card counts one point for each in the sequence, even though they are not played in numerical rotation. Ace being low, Queen, King, Ace would not be considered a sequence.
An Intervening Card or Duplicate “breaks” the sequence thus, 5-4-3-3. The 5-4-3 is a sequence of three cards, but the second 3 is not a sequence.
Note: Pairs, triplets, fours and sequences may be formed by the opponents playing alternately, and also by cards played from one hand (within the limit of 31) after the other player has declared a “Go”.
If a player overlooks a point, their opponent is entitled to take it if they see it.
SCORING
The cribbage board is placed horizontally between the players and each should start from the same end pegging down the outside edge and up the inside to Home. Two pegs for each player should be used. Each hole counts one point and when the second count is made instead of counting with the peg first used, the second peg should be used. After this the holes should be pegged by moving the rear peg ahead of the other. A GAME consists of 61 or 121 points. If the winner reaches 61 before their opponent get 31, or 121 before the opponent get 91, this is called a “Lurch” and is considered as two games won.

Cribbage is a stately race, advancing to the goal of 121 points by increments of one or two. Each player responds in turn to the other's moves, making game play more like conversation than combat.

Cribbage Guide:Overview How to play Rules Scoring Chart Tips and Strategies Tournaments 5 Card Cribbage Boards Where to Play Glossary Links

Two to four people may play. These cribbage rules describe two-player cribbage. Rule variations for three- and four-player cribbage are given after the basic rules.

A cribbage board and a standard deck of 52 cards (jokers discarded). A typical cribbage board is show below.

See full list on learnplaywin.net.
Dec 13, 2012 Basic Rules of Cribbage in 8 Easy Steps. Cribbage is a fun, challenging game that can be played with 2-4 people. Although it may seem intimidating at first, the basic game is very easy to learn and play. Your cribbage board is an easy way to keep track of your score during the game.

The object of cribbage is to be the first player to score 121 points.

Cut the deck to determine who deals. Low card deals. Aces are low (one). For subsequent games, the loser deals.

The dealer deals 6 cards to each player.

The opponent puts two cards face-down into the dealer’s “crib”. The dealer also puts two cards face-down into the crib.

The opponent cuts the deck. The dealer takes one card off the deck at the cut point and places it face-up on the table. If this card is a jack, the dealer scores 2 points. This card will also be used later when scoring the hands.

The opponent starts by playing one card face-up on the table. Players alternate turns. On their turn, each player announces the cumulative value of the cards played. An ace is worth 1, face cards are worth 10, all others are worth their face value.

When a player cannot play a card without the cumulative total exceeding 31, that player says “go” and passes their turn. The other player then continues to play all the cards they can without exceeding 31. When no more cards can be played, the count restarts at 0 and play continues. The player who said “go” plays the first card. Players can’t use cards played in the previous run to 31 for scoring combinations in this new counting round.

Points are scored in cribbage as follows:

Pair, three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind:

If a player follows another player’s card with a card of the same value, that player scores 2 points. They commonly say “a pair is 2”. If a player plays a third card of the same value (three-of-a-kind), they score 6 points. A fourth card (four-of-a-kind) scores 12.

Run:

A run (a straight) of 3 or more cards scores 1 point per card. The cards do not have to run in order. For example, if the cards are played 7-5-6, the player who played the 6 scores 3 points for the run. The other player could then lay down a 4, for example, and score 4 points for a four-card run.

15:

If a player plays a card that brings the cumulative total to 15 exactly, they score 2 points. Reaching 31 exactly also scores 2 points.

Go:

When a player passes (says “go”), the other player scores 1 point.

31:

The player who plays the final card, without reaching a total of 31, scores 1 point.

Clarification on scoring a go: If the player who scores the go then plays a card to reach 31, they score one point for the go but only one additional point for reaching 31.

Example:

The cards are played 8-7-7-6. The dealer played the 8. Then the opponent played the 7 and scored 2 points because the total is 15. Then the dealer played the second 7 and scored 2 points for the pair. Then the opponent played the 6 and scored nothing (this is not a run because of the extra, intervening 7).

Next, the players score the cards in their hand. They use the cut card as part of their hand. The opponent goes first and the dealer last. The dealer will score the value of the cards in their hand, then separately score the value of the cards in the crib also using the cut card.

Here is how points are scored for this round of play:

Pair:

A pair scores 2 points. Three-of-a-kind scores 6. Four-of-a-kind scores 12.

Run:

A run of three or more cards scores 1 point per card.

15:

A combination of two or more cards that add up to 15 exactly scores 2 points.

Flush:

A four card flush in the hand (not in the crib and not including the cut card) scores 4 points. A five card flush including the cut card, in the hand or crib, scores 5.

His Nobs:

A jack of the same suit as the cut card (which is called His Nobs) scores 1 point.

Players may use the same card more than once to make multiple scoring combinations.

Example:

The player has 7-7-7-8 and the cut card is a 9. The player scores 6 for three-of-a-kind. He can make 15 three ways (7 plus 8) so scores another 6 points. Also the player can make three runs of 7-8-9 for 9 points. The player’s total score for this hand is 21 points.

For more assistance, see our cribbage scoring chart which lists the correct scores for most hard-to-count hands.

The winner is the first player to reach 121 points. If the loser fails to score at least 91 points, they are “skunked”. In match play, this is the equivalent of losing 2 games. If the player fails to score at least 61 points, they are “double-skunked”, which is the equivalent of losing 4 games. For scoring purposes, remember that the non-dealer counts their hand first. If they reach 121, the dealer can not count their points to try to avoid being skunked.

Deal five cards to each player and one to the crib. Each player then gives one card to the crib.

Deal five cards to each player. Each player then gives one card to the crib.

QUESTION:

When the players get to the last 5 holes at the end of the game, my friend plays that you can only peg out, and that you can’t count your cards if you’re in the last 5 holes. He says that you have to have the exact number to peg out and win! I’ve always played that when you’re in the STINK HOLE, which is the last hole only, that you can only peg out; that you can’t count your cards at that time. But he insists it starts at the last FIVE holes, and then you can only peg out, and you can’t count your hand if you are in those last five holes! Is there only a STINK HOLE or is there a LAST FIVE HOLE pegging only?

ANSWER:

In the most common rules, it doesn’t matter how you reach 121 points. You can peg out or count out. And you don’t need to reach 121 exactly. It’s okay to overshoot it. However, I have seen variations that require you to peg out if you are in the next to last hole. Your friend’s variation is new to me. But any variation is okay as long as players agree to it beforehand. For official tournament rules, refer to the American Cribbage Congress rules.

QUESTION:

In a run, is it possible to reverse a run for points? For example:

3-4-5-6-3

3-4-5-6 = 4pts

Does 4-5-6-3 also get 4pts?

ANSWER:

No, you can’t reverse the run. In your example 3-4-5-6-3, you would count 8 points for two unique runs as follows: