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Cribbage hand calculator

Tap four cards and the starter to count a cribbage hand or crib, line by line. Or switch to "What should I throw?", enter the six cards you were dealt, and see all 15 ways to throw two of them, ranked.

How it counts

It uses the same scoring code as our online cribbage game: 2 for every set of cards adding to 15, 2 for every pair, 1 per card for every run of three or more, 4 for a four-card flush in the hand (5 if the starter matches), and 1 for the jack of the starter's suit. Tick "This is a crib" and a flush only counts when all five cards share a suit, which is the rule for the crib. The cribbage scoring chart has every combination with examples.

How the throw advice works

For each of the 15 ways to split six cards into four kept and two thrown, the calculator counts the four kept cards with every one of the 46 cards that could be cut as the starter, and averages them. That part is exact. It also shows the lowest and highest the hand could score, so you can see whether you're keeping a steady hand or a gamble.

Then it adds (when you deal) or subtracts (when you don't) what the two thrown cards are worth in the crib on average. That figure comes from our own count of every possible crib, assuming the other two crib cards and the starter are random. Real opponents don't throw at random, so treat the crib column as a close guide rather than gospel. A pair of 5s, for example, is worth about 9 crib points on that count, which is why players hate giving them away.

Our strong computer player throws exactly the way this table ranks, and you can play against it on the cribbage game page. The hint button there gives the same advice mid-game.

Questions

What's the highest score in cribbage?

29: three 5s and the jack of one suit in your hand, with the 5 of that same suit as the starter. It's eight fifteens (16), four of a kind (12) and his nobs (1). Of the 12,994,800 possible hand-and-starter combinations, only 4 score 29.

Why can't a hand score 19?

No mix of fifteens, pairs, runs, flush and nobs adds up to 19, and the same is true for 25, 26 and 27. Our count of every possible hand found none. Players say "nineteen" to mean a hand worth nothing.

Does it count pegging?

No, this calculator counts the show: your four cards plus the starter. Points in the play depend on the order cards come out, so they're scored as you play in our cribbage game.

Is the throw advice always right?

It picks the best average, which is the right call most of the time. Near the end of a game, position can matter more: if you need a few points to win, a steady hand beats a hand with a bigger average and a lower floor. Our cribbage strategy page covers when to change course.

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