Cribbage

Cribbage Rules: How to Play Cribbage

Objective

Cribbage is played to score points by forming certain card combinations and strategically playing cards during the game phases.

The first player to reach or exceed 121 points wins the game.

Setup

  • Use a standard 52-card deck and a cribbage board for scoring.
  • To pick the dealer, each player draws a card; the player with the lower card becomes the dealer. Redraw if there`s a tie.
  • Shuffle and deal 6 cards to each player.
  • Each player chooses 2 cards to place face-down into the crib. The crib belongs to the dealer and is counted later for extra points.
  • Draw and reveal the top card of the deck; this is the starter card.
  • If it`s a Jack, the dealer scores 2 points (“his heels”).

Gameplay Phases

Cribbage has two main phases:

  1. Play Phase
  2. Counting the Hands Phase

Play Phase

The non-dealer starts by playing a card and announcing its value:

  • Ace = 1
  • Number cards = face value
  • J/Q/K = 10

Players alternate playing cards, adding to a running total without going over 31.

  • If a player can`t play without exceeding 31, they say “Go.” The opponent scores 1 point.
  • If a player plays a card to reach exactly 31, they score 2 points.
  • After reaching 31 or when no more cards can be played, reset the count to 0, and continue with remaining cards.

Scoring during Play Phase:

CombinationPoints
Making the running total exactly 152
Pair (two cards of same rank)2
Triple (three cards of same rank)6
Four-of-a-kind (four cards of same rank)12
Run of 3 or more consecutive ranks1 per card

Runs don`t need to be in the original order - e.g., playing 3, then 5, then 4 still makes a run of 3.

Counting the Hands

After the Play Phase, players score their hands and the crib:

  • Each player counts 4 cards from their hand + the starter card.
  • The dealer also counts the crib (4 crib cards + starter card).

Scoring during Counting Phase:

CombinationPoints
Each unique combination summing to 152 per combination
Pair2
Triple6
Four-of-a-kind12
Runs of 3+ cards1 per card
Flush (4 hand cards same suit)4
Flush (4 hand cards + starter card same suit)5
"His nobs" (Jack in hand same suit as starter)1

The non-dealer counts first; if they pass 121 before the dealer counts, they win immediately.

Crib Scoring

The dealer then scores the crib as if it`s a hand, using the same rules.

Note: Flush in crib only scores if all 4 crib cards + starter card are the same suit (must be a 5-card flush).

Scoring on the Board

  • Players use two pegs each to track points.
  • Always move the back peg ahead of the front peg by the number of points scored.
  • This shows both your current score and your previous score.

Learn More about Cribbage

If you'd like to read detailed rules online, check out:

Or, if you prefer to learn by watching:

Check out this YouTube playlist covering cribbage rules and strategy.