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Cribbage › Scoring

Cribbage hand calculator

Choose the four cards in the hand and the starter. The calculator counts it the way you’d say it at the table.

Card 1
Card 2
Card 3
Card 4
Starter

29 points

Fifteen 2, fifteen 4, fifteen 6, fifteen 8, fifteen 10, fifteen 12, fifteen 14, fifteen 16, pair is 18, pair is 20, pair is 22, pair is 24, pair is 26, pair is 28, one for his nobs is 29.

  • Fifteen (2): 5♥ J♦
  • Fifteen (2): 5♣ J♦
  • Fifteen (2): 5♠ J♦
  • Fifteen (2): 5♦ J♦
  • Fifteen (2): 5♠ 5♥ 5♣
  • Fifteen (2): 5♥ 5♦ 5♣
  • Fifteen (2): 5♠ 5♥ 5♦
  • Fifteen (2): 5♠ 5♦ 5♣
  • Pair (2): 5♥ 5♣
  • Pair (2): 5♥ 5♠
  • Pair (2): 5♥ 5♦
  • Pair (2): 5♣ 5♠
  • Pair (2): 5♣ 5♦
  • Pair (2): 5♠ 5♦
  • One for his nobs (1): J♦ 5♦

How to count a cribbage hand

Count in the same order every time and you won’t miss points:

  1. Fifteens first. Find every different group of cards that adds to 15. Each is 2. Face cards are 10.
  2. Pairs. Each pair is 2. Three of a kind is three pairs (6); four of a kind is six pairs (12).
  3. Runs. Three or more cards in order are 1 point each. With a pair inside a run, count the run twice.
  4. Flush. Four hand cards of one suit are 4, or 5 if the starter matches. The crib needs all five.
  5. Nobs. The jack of the starter’s suit is 1.

Hands you can’t score

Some totals are impossible in cribbage: 19, 25, 26 and 27. That’s why a hand worth nothing is jokingly called “nineteen.”

Put it into practice: play cribbage online and the table counts every hand for you, item by item. The full rules are on the cribbage rules page.