Cribbage

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Guy Downs

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Rules and Strategy

I have long been of the opinion that there are only two decent two-player card games; gin (scored Hollywood style) and cribbage. In this article we’ll take a look at the rules for cribbage, as well as some of the basic strategy that goes into the play of the game. If you’ve never played cribbage before, then take my word for it–it’s a fantastic two player game, and stands as one of the only games I know of that can be enjoyably played either for stakes or simply for fun. Should you decide to give this game a try after reading this article I can promise you that you won’t regret it.

The Play

Cribbage is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The point count for the cards is exactly the same as that for gin, with K’s, Q’s, J’s and T’s each counting as 10 points, 9’s-2’s counting for their face value, and A’s counting for one point. After the deck has been shuffled and cut each player is dealt six cards, and the top card on the remaining pack–called the ‘starter card’–is turned face up. Each player then discards two cards, and the two sets of discards are placed together on the side. These four discards (two from each player) are known as the ‘crib’. After the crib has been built (but not looked at!) the play of the hand begins.

To start, the non-dealer (called the ‘pone’) plays a card face up in front of himself and verbally declares its value. Then the dealer plays a card face up, and verbally declares the sum of the two cards which have now been played. The pone, in turn, now plays a card, again declaring the sum of all cards played. This continues until either a) the sum of all the cards played reaches 31, or b) neither player can play a card which will keep the count under 31. If a player cannot play a card that will keep the count under 31 when it’s his turn to play he must say ‘go’, at which point the count starts over and the play resumes. This continues until both players are out of cards.

The Scoring

Cribbage is somewhat unique in that points are awarded as the hand is being played. The scoring system for the play of the hand is as follows:

1. If the count ever reaches precisely 15 the player who played the last card is awarded two points.
2. If two cards of the same rank are played in succession the player who played the last card is awarded two points. So, for example, if your opponent played a seven, and you then played a seven, you would earn two points.
3. If three cards of the same suit are played in succession the person who played the last card is awarded six points.
4. If four cards of the same suit are played in succession the player who played the last card is awarded twelve points.
5. If three, four or five cards of consecutive rank are played then the player who played the last card is awarded three, four or five points respectively. So, if your opponent played a seven, you then played a nine, and your opponent then played an eight, your opponent would earn three points. Note that the cards do not need to be played in order.
6. A player that plays a card that brings the count to exactly 31 is awarded two points.
7. If a player cannot play a card without bringing the count to a total exceeding 31 then his opponent is awarded one point.

After the hand has been played each player is then awarded points based on the content of his hand (called ‘the show’). A player uses all four of his cards, plus the ‘starter card’ which was flipped up, to build their hand. These points are assigned as follows:

1. Two points for any combination of cards that sum to 15. Thus, if you have a 7 and an 8 you receive two points.
2. Three points for three cards of consecutive rank.
3. Four points for four cards of consecutive rank.
4. Five points for five cards of consecutive rank (note that this requires you to have a five card straight, and to use the starter card).
5. Four points for a four card flush.
6. Five points for a five card flush.
7. One point if you have the jack that’s of the same suit as the starter card.
8. Two points for a pair.
9. Three points for three of a kind.
10. Twelve points for four of a kind.

Bear in mind that while a card can only be played once during the play of the hand it can be used multiple times in the show. Thus, if you have a hand like 6s,7c,7d,8h, you would have two three card runs (you can use each seven once) for six points, a pair of sevens for two points, and two combinations that sum to fifteen (7c 8h and 7d 8h). This hand, then, would yield a total of twelve points.

At the conclusion of the show the dealer picks up the crib and is awarded however many points the crib contains. As with his main hand he may use the starter card in conjunction with the crib to earn as many points as possible.

Strategy

Many people are of the opinion that cribbage is not a game with a very strong strategic dimension. This is only partially correct. While it’s certainly true that there usually isn’t much strategy in the ‘show’, strong players will consistently ‘out peg’ their opponents in the play of the hand (cribbage is usually scored using a cribbage board, and small wooden pegs are used to keep track of each player’s score. Thus, to ‘out peg’ a player means to earn more points during the play of the hand than one’s opponent). There is also a fair bit of strategy involved in building the crib, since certain card combinations tend to result in higher scoring cribs.

While a full treatment of cribbage strategy is beyond our scope here, I do want to give you a quick rundown of some of the frequently encountered plays that you should (or should not) be in the habit of making.

The ‘Great Eight’

Here is a list of what I’ve come to believe are the eight most important plays in cribbage. You can improve on your game from here, but these plays will give you a strong foundation on which to build.

1. The pone always starts the play. Thus, if you are the pone you want to play a card smaller than a five to start, since it will be impossible for your opponent to score fifteen with the next card.
2. Small cards will usually give you a better chance to earn ‘peg points’, since you’ll have more opportunities to hit exactly 31 and will rarely be in a position where you can’t play a card (which would give your opponent one point). So, if you’re close to winning the game, you’d like to keep small cards instead of big cards, since these give you more flexibility in the play.
3. As we alluded to earlier, certain two card combinations tend to result in higher scoring cribs than other combinations. If you’re the dealer, you would like to build the crib with these higher scoring combos. Some of these include 5-5, 5-10(J,Q,K),2-3, and 7-8. Two card combinations that often result in low scoring cribs (and are thus preferable when you’re the pone) include Q-6, 10-(6,7,K), K-9, 7-(K,Q) and A-Q.
4. Try to avoid ever taking the count to exactly 21. Often your opponent will have a ten point card, and this gives him a chance to score two points with a 31.
5. Work to find a way to recoup points you may lose in the play if your opponent hits 15. For example, if you hold a 6, 7 and an 8, leading with the 7 or 8 is preferable to leading with the 6, since you’ll be able to make a three card run if you lead the 7 or 8 and your opponent hits 15.
6. When you have a choice between pairing and hitting 15 you should always choose hitting 15, as this prevents your opponent from playing for three of a kind.
7. If you have a pair in your hand then lead with one of those cards. This gives you a chance to play three of a kind if your opponent plays a card of that rank.
8. Most players are loathe to discard 5’s into an opponent’s crib. As such, you should try to avoid building a crib that requires 5’s in order to score big. Putting couplets like 3-4, or 6-4, into your own crib will rarely help you. When you find yourself tempted to put these cards in the crib consider instead holding them, as these small cards tend to score far more points in the play then the bigger cards.

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