How to Play Cribbage

Cribbage is a two-player card game won by being first to 121 points. Each hand you keep four of your six cards, add two to a shared crib, take turns laying cards up to 31 for points, and then count your hand. Scores are tracked by pegs moving around a board.

This page is a gentle first walk through. When you want every detail, the full rules are one click away.

What you need

A standard 52-card deck, one opponent, and a way to keep score. At a table that is a cribbage board with pegs, but you can also keep score on paper. Online the board is drawn for you. Aces are low and kings are high, and for adding purposes picture cards are worth ten.

1. Deal and make the crib

Each player gets six cards. Look at them and choose two to put face down in the crib, which belongs to the dealer. Keep the four that look most promising: pairs, cards that make fifteen together, and runs. The dealer alternates every hand, so you will own the crib half the time.

2. The cut

One card is turned face up from the rest of the deck and called the starter. Everyone uses it as a fifth card when counting. If it is a jack, the dealer immediately scores 2 points.

3. Pegging: the play

The player who is not dealing goes first. You lay one card and announce its value, then the other player lays one and announces the running total, and so on. The total must never go over 31. You score for hitting exactly 15 or 31, for pairs, and for runs. If you cannot play, you say Go and your opponent continues. When no one can play, the last person to lay a card scores one point and the count starts again from zero.

4. The show: counting your hand

When all the cards have been played, you pick up your four and count them with the starter. Score 2 for each combination adding to 15, 2 for each pair, one per card for runs of three or more, 4 or 5 for a flush, and 1 for a jack matching the starter's suit. The full list is on the scoring page.

Counting order

The non-dealer counts first, then the dealer counts their hand, and then the dealer counts the crib. The order matters because the first to reach 121 wins, even in mid-count.

5. Racing to 121

Each point moves your front peg forward, and the back peg jumps in front of it. The first player to reach 121 wins. The crib often decides close games, which is why the deal matters.

Your first hand, step by step

1. The dealer gives you six cards: 4♠ 5♦ 6♥ 9♣ K♣ 2♦. You are not the dealer, so the crib is your opponent's.
2. You keep 4♠ 5♦ 6♥ 9♣ (a run of three and fifteens) and discard the king and the deuce, which are less useful together.
3. The starter is turned: 7♣. It extends your 4-5-6 into a run of four.
4. You lead the first pegging card, say the 9, and say "nine". Your opponent plays a 6 and says "fifteen," scoring 2.
5. You play on, watching the count so you stay at or below 31. When the count cannot go higher, the last player to play scores for go.
6. After pegging you count your hand first: 4+5+6 and 6+9 are the fifteens, and 4-5-6-7 is a run of four, 8 points in all.
7. Your opponent counts their hand, then the crib, and the deal passes to you.

Not sure how many points a hand is worth? Drop it into the hand counter, or go straight to the table and play cribbage online.

Frequently asked questions