How to score a cribbage hand
A cribbage hand is four cards plus the starter, the card cut from the deck and shared by every hand. You score it by adding up every fifteen, pair, run, flush and jack of the right suit. One card can count in several ways at once. The most a hand can score is 29.
What scores
Card values: ace is 1, number cards are face value, and jack, queen and king are all 10. For runs, order still goes A 2 3 … 10 J Q K, and the ace is always low.
| Scores | Worth |
|---|---|
| Fifteen — any set of cards adding to exactly 15 | 2 each |
| Pair — two cards of the same rank Three of a kind is three pairs (6); four of a kind is six pairs (12). |
2 each |
| Run — three or more cards in consecutive rank A run counts once for each way it can be made, so a duplicated rank doubles it. |
1 per card |
| Flush — all four cards in the hand are the same suit 5 if the starter is that suit too. |
4 |
| His nobs — a jack in the hand matching the starter's suit | 1 |
Count in that order, calling out a running total: “fifteen two, fifteen four, and a pair is six.”
Worked examples
Hand 5♥ 6♠ 9♦ K♣ with starter A♥:
- 5 + 9 + A = 15 → 2
- 6 + 9 = 15 → 2
- 5 + K = 15 (the king counts 10) → 2
- No pair, no run, no flush, no nobs → 0
Total: 6
A trickier one
Hand 4♦ 5♠ 6♥ 9♣ with starter 6♦:
- 4 + 5 + 6♥ = 15, and 4 + 5 + 6♦ = 15 → 4
- 6♥ + 9 = 15, and 6♦ + 9 = 15 → 4
- Pair of sixes → 2
- Run 4-5-6♥, and 4-5-6♦ → 6
Total: 16
The perfect hand: 29
Hand 5♣ 5♦ 5♥ J♠ with starter 5♠:
- The jack with each of the four fives → 8
- Any three of the four fives, four ways → 8
- Four of a kind → 12
- His nobs, the jack matching the starter’s spade → 1
Total: 29
Common combinations
Duplicated ranks inside a run come up often enough that experienced players count them as one lump. These are the runs and pairs only; add any fifteens on top.
| Combination | Worth |
|---|---|
| Double run of three — e.g. 4 5 5 6 | 8 |
| Double run of four — e.g. 4 5 6 6 7 | 10 |
| Triple run — e.g. 4 4 4 5 6 | 15 |
| Double double run — e.g. 4 4 5 5 6 | 16 |
No hand can score 19, 25, 26 or 27. That is why “nineteen” is cribbage slang for a hand worth nothing.
The crib, and his heels
In a game of cribbage the dealer also scores the crib, a second hand made from cards both players discarded. It is counted the same way, except that a flush only counts in the crib when the starter matches as well, for 5.
If the starter itself is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 for his heels. That is scored once when the card is cut, not as part of any hand.
Criboku has no dealer and no crib, so it scores every hand as an ordinary hand and never counts his heels.