Cribbage guide

Score points with card combinations. Race to 121 on the pegging board. A timeless 2-player classic.

How to play Cribbage

Be first around the board by scoring combinations in play and in your hand.

With two players, each is dealt six cards and discards two to the crib, which belongs to the dealer.
With three, each is dealt five and discards one, and a fourth card is dealt straight to the crib - the crib is always four cards.
A starter card is cut and turned up; it counts towards every hand at the show.

Players alternate playing cards, calling the running total, which may not exceed thirty-one.
Score two for making the total fifteen or thirty-one, two for pairing the previous card, and three or more for runs.
If you cannot play without exceeding thirty-one, say go and your opponent scores one for the last card.

After pegging, each hand is scored with the starter: two per combination summing to fifteen, two per pair, one per card in a run, four or five for a flush, and one for the Jack matching the starter suit.
The dealer scores their hand and then the crib, which is why the deal alternates.
Points are pegged the moment they are counted, so a hand can win mid-count.
First player to the target score wins - 61 or 121, set in the lobby - so late-game pegging often decides it.