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Cribbage scoring chart
In the show, a cribbage hand scores 2 for every set of cards adding to 15, 2 for every pair, 1 per card for every run of three or more, 4 or 5 for a flush and 1 for his nobs. Your four cards always count together with the starter. The best possible hand is 29; the most common scores are 2 and 4.
The hand and the crib
| Combination | Points | Example (with the starter) |
|---|---|---|
| Fifteen: any cards adding to 15 | 2 each | 7 and 8; or 5 and a king; or 2, 3 and 10 |
| Pair | 2 | Two 9s |
| Three of a kind (pair royal) | 6 | Three 9s make three different pairs |
| Four of a kind (double pair royal) | 12 | Four 9s make six pairs |
| Run of 3 | 3 | 4, 5, 6 (any suits, any order) |
| Run of 4 | 4 | 9, 10, jack, queen |
| Run of 5 | 5 | Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Flush in the hand | 4, or 5 with the starter | Four hearts in your hand |
| Flush in the crib | 5 (all five cards only) | Four crib hearts and a heart starter |
| His nobs | 1 | The jack of spades in hand when the starter is a spade |
Jacks, queens and kings count 10 toward fifteen, and an ace counts 1. In runs, cards keep their rank, and the ace is always low: queen, king, ace isn't a run.
The play (pegging)
| Your card makes | Points |
|---|---|
| A count of 15 | 2 |
| A count of exactly 31 | 2 |
| A pair with the card just played | 2 |
| Three of a kind in a row | 6 |
| Four of a kind in a row | 12 |
| A run of 3 or more with the cards just before it, in any order | 1 per card |
| The last card before the count resets (a go), short of 31 | 1 |
The rules for go are on our how to play cribbage page.
How to count a hand without missing points
Count in the same order every time and you won't skip anything:
- Fifteens. Look for pairs of cards first (anything with a 10-card and a 5, a 7 and an 8, a 6 and a 9), then threes, then fours and all five.
- Pairs. Count every pair. Three of a kind is three pairs, so 6.
- Runs. If a card in the run is doubled, the run counts twice. 3, 4, 4, 5 holds two runs of 3-4-5, one with each 4, so that's 6 for runs plus 2 for the pair.
- Flush, then nobs.
Out loud, players add as they go: "fifteen two, fifteen four, a pair is six, and a double run is twelve." Our game writes the count that way under every hand.
Tricky hands, counted out
| Hand | Starter | Total | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5, 5, 5, jack | 5 of the jack's suit | 29 | Eight fifteens (16), four of a kind (12), his nobs (1). The highest score there is. |
| 5, 5, 5, 5 | 10 | 28 | Eight fifteens (16), four of a kind (12) |
| 6, 6, 6, 6 | 3 | 24 | Six fifteens (each pair of 6s with the 3), four of a kind (12) |
| 7, 7, 8, 8 | 9 | 24 | Four fifteens (each 7 with each 8), two pairs (4), four runs of 7-8-9 (12) |
| 4, 4, 5, 6 | 5 | 24 | Four fifteens, two pairs (4), four runs of 4-5-6 (12) |
| 3, 3, 3, 9 | 9 | 20 | Six fifteens (two 3s with a 9, made three ways for each 9), three of a kind (6), a pair of 9s (2) |
| 4, 5, 6, 6 | 6 | 21 | Three fifteens, three of a kind (6), three runs of 4-5-6 (9) |
| 4, 5, 5, 6 | 10 | 16 | Four fifteens (each 5 with the 10, and 4-5-6 twice), a pair (2), two runs (6) |
| 5, 5, 10, jack | king | 14 | Six fifteens (each 5 with each 10-card), a pair (2) |
| 3, 4, 4, 5 | 6 | 14 | Two fifteens (4-5-6, twice), a pair (2), two runs of four (8) |
| Ace, 2, 3, 4 | 5 | 7 | One fifteen (all five cards), a run of five (5) |
| 2, 4, 6, 10 of hearts | king of spades | 4 | A four-card flush. In the crib this scores 0, because a crib flush needs the starter too. |
Want to check your own? Put any hand into the cribbage hand calculator and it lists every line.
How often each score comes up
We counted every possible four-card hand with every possible starter: 12,994,800 combinations. The average hand is worth 4.77 points and the middle score is 4. About 7.76% of hands score nothing, and only 4.0% reach 12 or more. Four scores can't be made at all: 19, 25, 26 and 27. That's why "nineteen" is cribbage slang for a zero hand.
| Points | Hands (of 12,994,800) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1,009,008 | 7.76% |
| 1 | 99,792 | 0.77% |
| 2 | 2,813,796 | 21.65% |
| 3 | 505,008 | 3.89% |
| 4 | 2,855,676 | 21.98% |
| 5 | 697,508 | 5.37% |
| 6 | 1,800,268 | 13.85% |
| 7 | 751,324 | 5.78% |
| 8 | 1,137,236 | 8.75% |
| 9 | 361,224 | 2.78% |
| 10 | 388,740 | 2.99% |
| 11 | 51,680 | 0.40% |
| 12 | 317,340 | 2.44% |
| 13 | 19,656 | 0.15% |
| 14 | 90,100 | 0.69% |
| 15 | 9,168 | 0.07% |
| 16 | 58,248 | 0.45% |
| 17 | 11,196 | 0.09% |
| 18 | 2,708 | 0.02% |
| 19 | 0 | never |
| 20 | 8,068 | 0.06% |
| 21 | 2,496 | 0.02% |
| 22 | 444 | under 0.01% |
| 23 | 356 | under 0.01% |
| 24 | 3,680 | 0.03% |
| 25 | 0 | never |
| 26 | 0 | never |
| 27 | 0 | never |
| 28 | 76 | under 0.01% |
| 29 | 4 | under 0.01% |
These count a hand dealt at random. A real kept hand scores more, because you pick the best four of six. In 10,000 games between two copies of our strong computer player, a kept hand averaged about 8 points (see the numbers on our cribbage strategy page).
For a crib, the only rule that changes is the flush, so the crib numbers are nearly the same: the average falls from 4.77 to 4.73.
Sources
- American Cribbage Congress, "Rules of Cribbage", tournament rulebook (2020 edition), cribbage.org: scoring combinations, flushes, nobs.
- John McLeod, "Six Card Cribbage", pagat.com: scoring in the play and the show.
- Score frequencies: our own exact count of all 12,994,800 hand-and-starter combinations, October 2026, using the scoring code in our game.
Keep playing
- Play cribbageAgainst the computer or a friend, counted for you.
- How to playThe deal, the crib, the play and the show, step by step.
- Hand calculatorCount any hand or crib, and see which two cards to throw.
- StrategyWhat to throw, how to peg, and the numbers behind it.
- Spite and MaliceAnother two-player card race, against the computer or a friend.