An introduction to the land of Cribbage. Learn how to play and get familiar with the rules of this card game. Strategy tips and scoring chart included. Cribbage is a simple two person card game. The game involves scoring points by playing and grouping cards into pairs, runs, and combinations. Cribbage rules may sound a bit complex and obscure, but once learned the game can be quite fun and challenging to play. Common card games include bridge, poker, cribbage, solitaire, and rummy. Though the rules for card games vary around the world.

1. What Is Three Of A Kind Worth In Cribbage
2. What Is Three Of A Kind Worth In Cribbage Game

What is Cribbage?

Cribbage is a card game originating from the United Kingdom, and it is designed to be played by 2-6 players. The game is, at its core, a strategy-based card game, but it also has a distinct cribbage board that epitomizes the game type. The game has a strict set of rules and a unique scoring system, making it an acquired taste.

The classic Cribbage game has quite a following, especially in its country of origin. It is commonly played in pubs, clubs and other places of gathering, and serves as a popular pastime among the UK-based public.

The Board

Cribbage’s most distinctive aspect is theboard, and the same board style has been used since the game’s introduction inthe early 17^th century. The board serves as a makeshift scoringsheet, and is definitely one of the defining aspects of the game.

A typical Cribbage board template is a sequence of holes,known as “streets”, laid out in a cyclic fashion. Scores are kept across thewhole game, so two pegs are used per player. These pegs are used in analternating fashion, such that the previous peg always remains to show theprevious score.

While that forms the essentialscore-counting part of the board, there are also certain other boards thatincorporate a separate game-counter, which shows the number of games won byeach side.

How manyholes are in a Cribbage board?

The boards count score for each player, upto a maximum of 121, hence each line of peg-holes having a maximum of 120 holesin total.

How to Play Cribbage?

Cribbage is designed to be played by 2-6players, and you really just need a deck of the standard 52-card deck to play Cribbage. The board is anadded bonus, but can be substituted with a simple score sheet or counter if oneis unavailable.

The goal of the game is to be the firstplayer to reach the score threshold of 121 points, though certain variationsmight prefer the 61-point limit instead. Scores are awarded for satisfyingspecific conditions, which will be described in detail in the Scoring sectionof the guide.

We provide easy Cribbage instructions for the 2-player variant below.

Deal Phase

Regardless of the number of players, theturn order is determined through deck splitting. The player who reveals thelowest card goes first. Turn order then proceeds in clockwise order.

The dealer shuffles the deck and proceeds todeal 6 cards to each player. These 6 cards form the hands of each player. Eachplayer is then required to discard 2 cards, to form the crib. These discardedcards are placed face down, and will only be used in the Show phase of thegame.

At this stage, all players will have handsconsisting of 4 cards, and the crib also contains 4 cards.

The player to the left of the dealer willthen cut the deck, and the dealer reveals the top card. This card will be the“starter”.

Dealers rotate at the end of each round.

Play Phase

The non-dealer goes first, and places acard from their hand face up in front of her, stating the count. The count iscumulative, so each successive card played by any player will add to thisvalue.

For instance, if the first card laid down isa 5, the non-dealer will say “5” as the count. The dealer then plays a 10 inresponse. The dealer will say “15” as the count, summing up all previouslyplayed cards.

The count cannot exceed 31, and if a playeris unable to play cards without exceeding the count, they will say “Go”. If allplayers call “Go”, the last player who managed to play a card will earn apoint. The count is then reset to 0.

During the Play phase, players can beawarded points for achieving certain conditions. These include:

• Making a count of exactly 15
• Playing a card that is a pair,three of a kind, or four of a kind with the previously played card
• Making a run of three or morecards (note that suit is unimportant in these runs)

As scores are awarded, the pegs are movedin a leapfrog fashion. For example, if the dealer gets 2 points, he places apeg 2 holes ahead.

Show Phase

Once the play phase concludes, each playerthen places their hands face-up. Scores are the awarded based on the contentsof each hand. The starter card that was revealed during the Deal phase is alsoconsidered in the combinations.

Points are awarded for the following:

• Combinations of cards totallinga value of 15
• Runs
• Pairs
• Nobs, where a player has a Jackof the same suit as the starter card
• Flushes

When revealing each combination, the playeris required to show each combination, and count the points out loud.

The dealer, after counting his/her hand,also counts the crib, and adds valid combinations from the crib to his score.

Winning

A player wins the game once he/she reachesthe defined point threshold.

Cribbage Rules

There are specific rules one must follow in Cribbage, and there is the optional “Muggins” rule that can add a layer of strategy.

Card Values

The cards are valued with Kings being thehighest card, and Aces being the lowest.

Calling Counts

What Is Three Of A Kind Worth In Cribbage

Counts are called with the conditionpreceeding it. For example, a player will call their scores as such “Pair 2,Pair 4, Three of a kind 7, 15 9…” and so on. This applies to all phases of thegame.

Flipping Jacks

If a Jack is revealed during the deckcutting, the player making the cut will be awarded 2 points.

CribbageRun Rules

Runs do not have to be played in order. Forexample, Player 1 plays an 8, followed by a 10 from Player 2. Player 1 can thenplay a 9 to claim a run.

Muggins

Since the game involves calling out thevalid combinations for scores, it is possible for players to miss some scorablesets. If other players observe these missed point opportunities, they can call“Muggins” to claim the points.

Note that this is an optional rule, andsome people play without this rule.

Summary of Rules

In summary, the Cribbage pegging rules are:

• Dealer is determined by deck cutting.
• Each player is dealt 6 cards.
• Each player discards 2 cards to the crib.
• The non-dealer cuts the deck to reveal the “starter” card.
• The non-dealer begins by playing a card, followed by the dealer.
• The play continues until all players have clear their cards from their hand.
• The Show phase commences, and each player counts their hand.
• The dealer counts the crib.
• The dealer rotates at the end of the round.
• When a player reaches the defined point threshold, they win.

Scoring Chart & Points

Cribbage scoring is based on the available combinations of cards, and each combination has a different assigned score. Once a player achieves the required points, they win the game. The highest score in Cribbage is 121, at which point the player wins.

Scoring Chart

The standard cribbage scoring chart is shown below.

There also several Cribbage scoring calculators available like this one.

Hand Example

This is an example hand of Cribbage played from thedeal to the end of the round.

The players are then required to discard 2cards to form the crib.

Crib: 6 ♥, K ♥, 10 ♦, 8 ♦

A starter card of is A ♣ is revealed.

The Play phase begins:

1. The non-dealer begins by playing a A ♣.
2. The dealer plays a A ♦, making a pair, getting awarded 2 points.
3. The non-dealer plays his/her A ♥, making a three of a kind, earning 6 points.
4. The dealer plays a 3 ♠, increasing the count to 6.
5. The non-dealer plays a 6 ♣, increasing the count to 12.
6. The dealer plays as 3 ♦, increasing the count to 15, earning 2 points.
7. The remaining cards are played out without any points being earned by either player.

At the end of the Play phase, the scores are:

• Dealer: 4 points
• Non-dealer: 6 points

The Show phase then begins:

The dealer’s hand has 2 pairs (3s and Aces with the starter card). The dealer gets 4 points.

The non-dealer’s hand has a three of a kind (Aces with the starter card). The dealer gets 6 points.

The players now have these points:

• Dealer: 4 + 4 = 8 points
• Non-dealer: 6 + 6 points = 12 points

The dealer then counts the crib, but thereare no available combinations.

Hence, the round ends with these scores:

• Dealer: 8 points
• Non-dealer: 12 points

The dealer the rotates for the next round.

What is thebest hand in Cribbage?

The best hand is ultimately subjectiveduring the Play phase, but the highest score a hand can get during the Showphase is 29.

The best possible hand is 5♠5♣ 5♥ 5♦ and any Jack.

One of the four cards will be the startercard. This combination gives 8 different 15s for 16 points, a four of a kindworth 12 points, and a nobs worth 1 point, giving a total of 29 points.

What Is Three Of A Kind Worth In Cribbage Game

Cribbage Strategy & Tips

Strategy and tips to help you master Cribbage land:

• Discards are important, as the crib serves as a possibility for the dealer to earn extra points.
• Cribbage strategy revolves around choosing the right cards to play during the play phase.
• Remember, runs do not have to be played in order.
• The best cribbage players always have the count in mind, getting easy 15s and 31s.
• Take your time during the show phase, as you don’t want to miss potential points.
• Keeping runs during the Deal phase can help during the Show phase, but not necessarily during the Play phase.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the game invented?

Cribbage was invented in the early 1600s in Great Britain. You can read more on the history here.

How many points is a Four of a Kind in Cribbage?

A four of a kind is worth 12 points.

What is a Skunk in Cribbage?

A skunk is when a player wins with a 31 point difference with his opponent.

What is a Flush in Cribbage?

A flush is a combination of 4 or more cards in the same suit.

Useful Links

• American Cribbage Congress: The largest Cribbage organization in the world. They standardized the rules for tournaments.
• The Cribbage Guy: Great place to find all kinds of unique Crib Boards.
• Cribbage Boards – Limited Edition: House of Cribbage is an online store for limited edition exquisite inlaid wooden boards.

Game rules

Cribbage is an Anglo-Saxon and Canadian game played with a 52 cards deck, which mixes chance and strategy during two different game phases. Classic cribbage is played with two players face to face, but it can also be played with 4 players in teams of 2 (parthnership cribbage). Playroom also allows games with 3, 4, 5 or 6 players, in teams or not. Rules described right below concern the two players game; the minor modifications needed for a game with more players follow further down.

The winner of the game is the first to reach a defined score, by default 121 points. Games in 61, 91 or 241 points are also common for shorter or longer sessions.

Historically,the cribe is played with a board with 120 small wholes, allowing small tokens to be put into them. This permitted to mark the score of the players. Traditionnally, the first who go out of the boart, by marking his 121st point, wins and immediately stops the game without waiting for the end of the round.

Deal

The dealer deals 6 cards to each player one by one, then everyone discard two cards ammong the 6. The four cards thus discard by both players together makes the aside called cribe. The later stays conciled up to the second phase of the game, in which the points contained in it will be given to the dealer.

additionnally to dealed cards, a supplementary card is turned up visible after the cribe is composed. This card is common to all players and can be used by everyone to make combinations in the second phase of the game. IF this starting card is a jack, the dealer immediately gets two bonus points.

It isn't rare at all for the dealer to put interesting cards into the cribe, knowing that it will belong to him, while the other player will try as much as possible to discard uninteresting cards for the dealer.

Play phase

The first phase of the game might remember you ninety nine. IN turn, each player playes a card of his choice, and each card put on the table counts for a cumulative total of points. For example, if Alice plays a jack, and if Bob continues with a 7, the cmulative total will be 17. Then, if Alice keeps going with an 8, the total becomes 25, and so on.

At your turn, if you aren't able to play a card without making the total exceed 31, your turn is skipped. IF nobody can play any longer, the player who played the last card mark a point, the cumulative total is reset to 0, and the player who follows starts a new round of play until a new total of 31. This phase ends when everybody has played all his cards.

If, when playing a card, the total of 31 is exactly reached,two points are marked instead of only one. It isn't rare to play twice in a row, or to have still cards to play when the opponent has already played everything.

During this first phase of the game, you can also mark points by different means depending on the cards you play :

• Bring the cumulative total to exactly 15 gives 2 points
• Form a pair of two equally ranked cards give 2 points.For example, if the latest card played is a 7, you can make a pair by playing another 7. Be careful to the fact that, even if all figures count for 10 points, two different ones, e.g. a kind and a queen, don't make a pair.
• Make three or four of a kind in the same way respectively gives 6 and 12 points
• Make a run of three or more cards give as many points as there are cards in the sequence. IT hasn't to be in order, but there shouldn't any intervening card outside the run, nor any duplication. For example, if a 5 and a 4 are already on the table in this order, you can make a run of three cards and thus mark 3 points by playing a 6. By the way, you also get 2 points in this case, because 4+5+6 gives 15. If your opponent then plays another 6, he marks 2 points for making a pair of sixes, but no point for any run because 5 4 6 6 no longer form a run.

Cards from 2 to 10 are worth their face value, figures all count for 10, and aces for 1 (not 11).

Scoring phase

For the second phase of the game, each player take back the cards he had in his hand and try to make combinations to get more points. The cribe is given to the dealer and is counted exactly like all other hands. The visible card drawn at the beginning of the game is common to everybody, and can be used as part of combinations in players' hand and in the cribe.

The following combinations give points:

• The jack of the same suit as the starting card give one point
• A set of cards which add up to 15 give 2 points. As before, figures count for 10 and aces for 1.
• A pair of cards of the same rank give 2 points
• A three of a kind gives 6 points. In fact, you should see that you can make two distinct pairs with your three cards, for a total of 6 points.
• A four of a kind gives 12 points. Here again, you should notice that it is possible to make 6 distinct pairs by taking each time two cards ammong the four.
• A run of three or more cards give as many points as there are cards in the sequence. In contrary to pairs, while it is possible to make two distinct runs of three cards with a run of four cards, the later is worth 4 points and not 6.
• Having all 4 cards of the same suit gives 4 points. If the common card is again of the same suit, it's 5 points. Be careful, having three cards out of four plus the common card all of the same suit does not give 4 points.

The main suptlety of cribbage scoring, what makes also of course all its interests, is that a card can be part of multiple combinations at the same time without any limit. For example, the hand 4 of club, 5 of spade, 6 of diamond, jack of heart with the common card 4 of heart gives a total of 15 points:

• We can make two distinct runs of three cards: 4 of heart, 5 of spade, 6 of diamond is a first run, while 4 of club, 5 of spade, 6 of diamond makes another one. This already gives 3+3=6 points.
• There is a pair of 4 for 2 points
• The jack together with the 5 add up to 15, what gives 2 points
• 4+5+6 gives 15, and there are two ways to obtain 15, once with the 4 of heart and once with the 4 of club, what gives another 4 points
• The jack is of the same suit as the 4 (the common card), what gives finally another last point

As scoring is one of the main and most intricate parts of cribbage, it isn't automatically done on the playroom. You must count your points yourself !

A very important rule in cribbage says that all points you miss or count too much , are given to your opponent! Thus, if, for the preceeding example, you miss the two ways of doing 4+5+6=15 for 4 points, and therefore said that your hand had a value of 11 points instead of 15, the 4 points you have forgotten are given to your opponent. Be very careful when scoring, so that you don't offer any easy point to other players.

The best possible cribbage hand is 5, 5, 5, jack, with the common card being the last 5 of the same suit as the jack, for a total of 29 points. We count as follows:

• Four 5 for 12 points
• 4 ways of adding up to 15 by taking the jack and a 5 for 8 points
• 4 ways of making 15 by taking three out of the four fives for 8 points
• The jack of the same suit as the common card for one point

By the way, there isn't any hand totalizing 19 points. Some experienced players like joking with this, saying 19 when they have in fact hands that aren't worth any point.

Cribbage for 3, 4, 5 or 6 players, and cribbage in teams

The game with 3, 4, 5 or 6 players is globally played the same way as the standard face to face game, except minor differences that occur mostly in the deal:

• Only one card is discarded to the cribe. We only discard two cards when playing with two players.
• With 3, 4 or 5 players, 5 cards are dealt instead of 6.
• With 5 and 6 players, the dealer receive one card less and don't discard any card to the cribe
• With 3 players, one more card is drawn from the deck and put into the cribe, so that it has 4 cards as usual.
• With 6 players, all hands as well as the cribe have 5 cards instead of 4 (or 6 instead of 5 if we count the common card). The best possible hand in that setting is 39 points.

There is no special rules for playing in teams, except that, of course, scores are counted together, and as in all card games played in teams, teammates aren't supposed to speak in any way about the cards they have in their hands. Players have to be layed out on the table so that each team is alternatively owner of the cribe.

Cribbage with time limit

It is possible to fix a maximum thinking time allowed to sum up your hand during the scoring phase. This time can range from 15 to 90 seconds. If the time expires before you indicated the score of your hand, then half of your points rounded down are given to your opponents.

This option is strongly discouraged for beginners. It gives a bit of adrenaline and add pressure to the game, but increase the risk of making errors due to stress. Better is first to learn how to count right than how to count fast.

Keyboard shortcuts summary

• C: during play phase, give the cumulative total between 0 and 31; during scoring pass, give the hand currently scored (your hand, the one of another player, or the cribe)
• B: say who owns the cribe
• F: say what is the starting card (common card)
• V: see card currently on the table (during play phase only)
• S: say scores
• T: say whose turn it is