Cribbage Scoring Explained: Every Point in the Game

Nobody forgets how to play cribbage. What slips after a few years away from the board is the counting — was the flush 4 or 5? Does it count in the crib? What exactly is his nobs worth? This page puts every scoring rule in one place: the points you peg during play, the points you count in your hand, what’s different about the crib, and the famous hands worth bragging about.

Keep it open next to the board, or print the free scoring chart and keep that next to the board instead.

Where the points come from

A quick refresher so the scoring has somewhere to live. In two-player cribbage each of you gets six cards and lays two away face down into the crib — an extra hand that the dealer will count later. The non-dealer cuts the deck and the dealer turns the top card face up: the starter. Then the hand has two scoring phases:

1. The play (pegging): you alternate laying cards, keeping a running total that may not pass 31, and peg points for combinations as they happen.
2. The show: you count your four-card hand together with the starter — non-dealer first, then the dealer’s hand, then the crib.

First player to 121 points — twice around a standard board plus one hole — wins on the spot, even mid-count. That’s why the counting order matters: near the end of a close game, the non-dealer counts first and can peg out before the dealer ever touches the crib.

His heels: 2 points before anyone plays

If the starter card turned up is a jack, the dealer immediately pegs 2 points. The old books call it “his heels” (you’ll also hear “nibs”). It’s the only score that happens between the deal and the play — and it’s easy to forget when the coffee’s being poured.

Scoring during the play (pegging)

You and your opponent alternate playing one card at a time, announcing the running total: “ten”… “seventeen”… “twenty-five.” Face cards count 10, aces count 1. The total may never pass 31. Points peg the moment they happen:

During the play	Points
Your card brings the total to exactly 15	2
Your card brings the total to exactly 31	2
Pair — your card matches the rank of the last card played	2
Pair royal — third card of the same rank in a row	6
Double pair royal — fourth card of the same rank in a row	12
Run of three or more — the last cards played form a sequence, in any order	1 per card
Go / last card — you play the final card of a count when your opponent can’t go	1

Two of those rows deserve a closer look:

• Runs don’t care about order. If the play goes 8, then 6, then 7 — the player laying the 7 pegs a run of three, because the last three cards form 6-7-8. A pair or a stray card in between breaks the chain.
• “Go” in plain words: when you can’t play a card without passing 31, you say “go.” Your opponent keeps playing while they legally can; whoever lays the last card of that count pegs 1 — or 2 if that card lands exactly on 31. Then the count resets to zero and the player who didn’t play last leads the next one.

Scoring your hand (the show)

After the play, everyone counts — non-dealer first, then dealer’s hand, then the crib. You count your four cards plus the starter as one five-card hand. Every distinct combination scores:

Combination	Points
Fifteen — any set of cards totaling exactly 15	2 each
Pair — two cards of the same rank	2 each
Run — three or more consecutive ranks	1 per card
Flush — all four hand cards of one suit	4
Flush with the starter — all five cards of one suit	5
His nobs — the jack matching the starter’s suit	1

The counting habits that keep it painless:

• Count out loud, fifteens first: “fifteen-two, fifteen-four…” then pairs, then runs, then flush and nobs. Same order every time and you’ll never lose your place.
• Every combination counts separately. Three 5s make three different pairs (5♠-5♥, 5♠-5♦, 5♥-5♦) — 6 points, before you even start on the fifteens.
• Double runs are your friend. A hand like 4-4-5-6 holds two separate 4-5-6 runs — one with each 4 — plus the pair.

Three hands counted step by step

Example 1 — the everyday hand

Hand: K♣ Q♦ J♥ 5♠  ·  Starter: 10♠

• Fifteens: K+5, Q+5, J+5, 10+5 — four of them — “fifteen-two, four, six, eight”
• Run: 10-J-Q-K, four cards — 4
• His nobs: J♥ doesn’t match the spade starter — 0

Total: 12 points.

Example 2 — the double run

Hand: 4♥ 4♣ 5♦ 6♠  ·  Starter: 8♠

• Fifteens: 4♥+5+6 and 4♣+5+6 — “fifteen-two, fifteen-four”
• Runs: 4-5-6 twice, once with each 4 — 6
• Pair of 4s — 2

Total: 12 points. The eight just watches — note that a ten-card starter would have chipped in two more (K+5 is a fifteen too).

Example 3 — when the starter makes the hand

Hand: 7♠ 8♦ 8♥ 9♣  ·  Starter: 6♠

• Fifteens: 7+8♦, 7+8♥, 6+9 — 6
• Runs: 6-7-8-9 twice, once with each 8 — 8
• Pair of 8s — 2

Total: 16 points. Before the cut, that hand was worth 12 — the starter stretched both runs and added a fifteen. This is why cribbage players develop feelings about starter cards.

The crib: one rule is different

The dealer counts the crib exactly like a hand — fifteens, pairs, runs, and his nobs all work the same — with one exception: the flush. Four crib cards of one suit score nothing. A crib flush only counts when all five cards — the four in the crib plus the starter — share a suit, for 5 points. Worth remembering before you toss two pretty hearts away.

Muggins: the optional rule that ends friendships

Some tables play muggins: if you miss points while counting your own hand, your opponent may call “muggins!” and peg the overlooked points themselves. It sharpens everyone’s counting wonderfully and ruins the occasional Tuesday. Most tournament rule sets don’t use it. Our advice for the kitchen table: decide before the first deal, out loud, and shake on it.

The 29, the 28, and the impossible 19

The perfect 29. Three 5s and a jack in your hand; the starter is the fourth 5, matching your jack’s suit. It counts:

• Eight fifteens — four ways to pick three 5s, plus the jack with each 5 — 16
• Four 5s — double pair royal — 12
• His nobs — 1

Total: 29. The odds are about one in 216,000 hands. People frame these.

The 28 — four 5s and any ten-card without the nobs jack — is the runner-up and still a once-a-decade event at most tables.

The impossible 19. No combination of five cards can score exactly 19 (nor 25, 26, or 27). That’s why, when your hand is worth absolutely nothing, tradition demands you announce it with dignity: “I have a 19 hand.”

Quick-reference scoring chart

Score	Pegging	The show
Fifteen	2	2 per combination
Thirty-one	2	—
Go / last card	1	—
Pair	2	2 per pair
Three of a kind	6	6 (three pairs)
Four of a kind	12	12 (six pairs)
Run	1 per card	1 per card, per run
Flush (4 cards)	—	4 (hand only, never the crib)
Flush (5 cards)	—	5 (hand or crib)
His heels (jack starter)	2 to the dealer, when the starter is turned
His nobs (matching jack)	—	1

Frequently asked questions

What does “fifteen-two” actually mean?

It’s the counting chant. Each combination totaling 15 is worth 2 points, so players tick them off out loud: “fifteen-two, fifteen-four, fifteen-six…” It sounds like a secret language for exactly one evening, and then you’re fluent for life.

His nobs and his heels — which is which?

Heels happens at the cut: the starter itself is a jack, and the dealer pegs 2 on the spot. Nobs happens at the count: you hold the jack that matches the starter’s suit, worth 1. Heels at the heel of the hand, nobs when you show your knob… on second thought, just memorize it.

Why didn’t my flush count in the crib?

Because the crib is stricter: it needs all five cards — four crib cards plus the starter — in one suit to score its 5. In your own hand, four suited cards score 4, and the matching starter bumps it to 5.

Do runs have to be in order during pegging?

No. If the last three or more cards played can be arranged into a sequence — say 8, 6, 7 — the player completing it pegs the run. An interrupting pair or an unrelated card breaks it.

What’s the best hand you can get?

The 29: three 5s and a jack, with the fourth 5 of the jack’s suit cut as the starter. Sixteen for fifteens, twelve for the 5s, one for nobs. If you ever count one, date the score sheet and keep it.

Is 121 exact, or do you just need to pass it?

You need to reach 121 — and the game ends the instant you do. Pegging out mid-play or mid-count wins immediately; the rest of the hand is never counted.

While the board’s out

Cribbage is the perfect two-player evening — but if a third joins, deal them into three-handed euchre. Hosting a full table? Our card game night guide is the checklist. And when the regular crowd is scattered across time zones, here’s how to play with real people online — free, no real money, just cards.