How To Win At Cribbage
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How to play Cribbage. Cribbage is a very popular card game that has been with us for many years, it is so popular that in the UK there are established. How to Play Cribbage. Cribbage is a challenging game that can be played with 2-6 people (not 5). Although it may seem intimidating at first, the basic game is very easy to learn and play.
- Cribbage is a popular card game usually played with a pegged board. Learn how to win by being the first player to earn 121 points.
- Play gin rummy, play cribbage, play dominoes, play backgammon, play and practice chess. 2 million interactive chess games online (.
Jan Hvizdak
Karpatska 3
Kosice 04001
Slovakia
Cribbage is a very popular card game that has been with us for many years, it is so popular that in the UK there are established leagues where players compete against each other and public houses will have teams that play each other on a weekly basis. It is believed that the game was invented in the 1600's by Sir John Suckling who travelled around Europe a lot and became one of the top card players in his time. Originally this game was known as “Noddy” and no-one is sure as to why the name was changed to cribbage.
It is a very simple game to learn but there is skill involved to become good at this game, this usually comes with experience. Normally this game is played with two players but there are variations to the basic game that can include three or four players.
The object of the game is to score 121 points by making combinations of the cards in your hand but some people will play a shortened version of the game where the target is 61 points. A standard deck of playing cards is used and the cards are valued at their face value,Aces are always counted as 1 and the royal cards i.e. King, Queen and Jack always have a value of 10.
Points are normally kept on a cribbage board and are tallied by using pegs, the board consists of 4 rows of 30 holes and these are grouped into 5 holes to make scoring easier, the rows are also split so that each player has 2 rows each as the scoring will go up and down the board until the final hole or “ peg” is reached, there is an extra hole at each end of the board to peg the winning point. Scoring is kept on the board by each player using two pegs and these are alternated each time a score is attained. If you don't have a cribbage board the scores can just as easily be kept by open and paper.
Starting the game
At the start of every game the cards are shuffled and then both players will cut the pack, the player cutting the lowest card will become the first dealer and after this the players will take it in turn to deal the cards. If the cut is a tie, the cards are cut again, the player who loses the cut then proceeds to add three points onto his score as a compensation for not dealing but this can only be done once at the start of the game.
The dealer then deals 6 cards to himself and the other player, the players then both study their cards and place two of these face down into a separate pile, this is known as the “crib” and is basically an extra hand at the end of each game for the dealer to make points from. Depending on whether you are the dealer or not can make a big decision as to which cards you place into the crib, the dealer will often place a pair in there to guarantee some points whilst the non-dealer will place two cards that are no use to him or are not likely to give the dealer any points.
Once all of the 6 cards have been dealt and the cards have been placed into the crib the pack is cut again and the top card of the cut is placed face upwards on top of the deck, this card does not come into play until the end of the game but if a Jack is cut from the pack the dealer is awarded a bonus point which he pegs straight away.
Now play commences and the dealer places one card face up and shouts out the value, the other player then lays down one of his cards and shouts out the value of the sum of the cards played, this continues with each player laying their cards alternately until a value of 31 is reached, if the player cannot lay a card without going over 31 he has to forfeit his turn and the other player can play again. If a score of 31 is reached the player that laid the final card receives a point on the peg board. If 31 cannot be reached then no points are given and the deal is over.
How to score in Cribbage
Scoring may seem a bit complicated at first but it is really very simple.
As the players lay their cards trying to reach a total of 31 scoring can be achieved during play. As the cards are laid if one player can make a total sum of 15 he will then receive a point for this.
If a player can match a card that has been laid, that player will receive 2 points for a matching pair, if the other player then lays another matching card he will receive 6 points for a triple and if the opposite play has the fourth matching card he will receive 12 points for a quartet.
Once each round is completed the players will then look at the cards that they were dealt with to begin scoring again. They have four cards in their hand plus the card that was placed on to of the pack to use for additional scores which can be achieved by having these combinations:-
How To Win Cribbage Solitaire
- Pair- two cards of the same value = 2 points
- Triple- three cards of the same value = 6 points
- Quartet- four cards of the same value = 12 points
- Sequence- if three or more cards of any suit follow each other = 1 point per card in the sequence
- Flush- four cards of the same suit = 4 points
- If the fifth card is the same suit as well 5 points are awarded
- Jack of the same suit as the fifth card = 1 point
Each card can be used repeatedly to make the different combinations, flushes do not count during actual play only when working out the combinations afterwards.
The winner is declared when he has pegged 121 points, this does not have to be exact and her can go over this figure, as soon as the total is reached the other player does not add on his scores.
Tips to be successful at Cribbage
Deciding which cards to place in the crib often wins you the game, if you are the dealer place cards in the crib that will score you points, the non-dealer should place cards in the crib that are hopefully no use to him or the dealer.
When laying the leading card keep it low, this will prevent your opponent from having the chance of getting a 15 straight away.
If you are near to reaching the final score of 121 keep low cards in your hand that will allow you to score small points to creep to the end of the peg board, if you are behind and need to make a lot of points then you may have to rely on the fifth card at the end of each round to give you more combinations.
As mentioned above with experience, this game will become a skill to yourself and will give you hours of enjoyment!
Games
Cribbage being played with a travel-sized scoring board | |
Origin | England |
---|---|
Alternative names | Crib |
Family | Matching |
Players | 2 (variations for 3–6) |
Skills required | Strategy, tactics, counting |
Cards | 52 |
Deck | Standard 52-card deck |
Play | Clockwise |
Card rank (highest first) | K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A |
Playing time | 15–30 min. |
Related games | |
Noddy, Costly Colours |
Cribbage, or crib, is a card game traditionally for two players, but commonly played with three, four or more, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points.
Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbage board used for score-keeping, the eponymouscrib, box, or kitty (in parts of Canada)—a separate hand counting for the dealer—two distinct scoring stages (the play and the show) and a unique scoring system including points for groups of cards that total fifteen. It has been characterized as 'Britain's national card game' and the only one legally playable on licensed premises (pubs and clubs) without requiring local authority permission.[1]
The game has relatively few rules yet yields endless subtleties during play. Tactical play varies, depending on which cards one's opponent has played, how many cards in the remaining deck will help the hand one holds, and what one's position on the board is. A game may be decided by only a few points—or even a single point—and the edge often goes to an experienced player who utilizes strategy, including calculating odds and making decisions based on the relative positions of players on the board.
Both cribbage and its close relative Costly Colours are descended from the old English card game of noddy. Cribbage added the distinctive feature of a crib and changed the scoring system for points, whereas Costly Colours added more combinations but retained the original noddy scoring scheme.
History[edit]
According to John Aubrey, cribbage was created by the English poet Sir John Suckling in the early 17th century, as a derivation of the game 'noddy'. While noddy has become a historical, rarely-played game,[2] cribbage has continued unchanged as a popular game in the English-speaking world.[3] The objective of the game is to be the first player to score a target number of points, typically 61 or 121. Points are scored for showing certain jacks, playing the last card, for card combinations adding up to 15 or 31, and for pairs, triples, quadruples (cards of the same rank), runs (sequences of consecutive numbers irrespective of suit) and flushes (sets of cards of the same suit).[4]
Cribbage was played by American submariners,[5] serving as a common pastime. The wardroom of the oldest active submarine in the United States Pacific Fleet carries on board the personal cribbage board of World War II submarine commander and Medal of Honor recipient, Rear Admiral Dick O'Kane, and upon the boat's decommissioning, the board is transferred to the next oldest boat.[6]
Rules[edit]
Play proceeds through a succession of 'hands', each hand consisting of a 'deal', 'the play' and 'the show'. At any time during any of these stages, if a player reaches the target score (usually 121), play ends immediately with that player being the winner of the game. This can even happen during the deal, since the dealer scores if a jack is cut as the starter.
Deal[edit]
The players cut for first deal, and the person who cuts the lowest card deals. The dealer shuffles and deals five or six cards to each player, depending on the number of players. For two players, each is dealt six cards; for three or four players, each is dealt five cards. In the case of three players, a single card is dealt face down in the centre of the table to start the crib. Once the cards have been dealt, each player chooses four cards to retain, then discards the other one or two face-down to form the 'crib' (also called the box), which will be used later by the dealer.[7]
At this point, each player's hand and the crib will contain exactly four cards. The player on the dealer's left cuts the remaining deck, and the dealer reveals the top card, called the 'starter' or the 'cut'.[8] If this card is a jack, the dealer scores two points for 'his heels' or 'his nibs'.
Play[edit]
How Do You Win At Cribbage
Starting with the player on the dealer's left, the players each in turn lay one card face up on the table in front of them, stating the count—that is, the cumulative value of the cards that have been laid (for example, the first player lays a five and says 'five', the next lays a six and says 'eleven', and so on)—without the count going above 31. Face cards (kings, queens, and jacks) count as 10. The cards are not laid in the centre of the table as, at the end of the 'play', each player needs to pick up the cards they have laid.
Players score points during the play as follows:
- 15 – For causing the count to reach exactly 15 a player scores two points, then play continues.
- Pair – Completing a pair (two of a kind) scores two points.
- Three of a kind is the same as three different pairs, or 6 points.
- Four of a kind is 6 different pairs, or 12 points.
- A run of three or more cards (consecutively played, but not necessarily in order) scores the number of cards in the run.
If a player cannot play without causing the count to exceed 31, they call 'Go'. Continuing with the player on their left, the other player(s) continue(s) the play until no one can play without the count exceeding 31. A player is obliged to play a card unless there is no card in their hand that can be played without the count exceeding 31 (one cannot voluntarily pass). Once 31 is reached or no one is able to play, the player who played the last card scores one point if the count is still under 31 and two if it is exactly 31. The count is then reset to zero and those players with cards remaining in their hands repeat the process starting with the player to the left of the player who played the last card. When all players have played all of their cards the game proceeds to the 'show'.
Players choose the order in which to lay their cards in order to maximize their scores; experienced players refer to this as either good or poor 'pegging' or 'pegsmanship'. If one player reaches the target (usually 61 or 121), the game ends immediately and that player wins. When the scores are level during a game, the players' pegs will be side by side, and it is thought that this gave rise to the phrase 'level pegging'.[9]
Show[edit]
Once the play is complete, each player in turn, starting with the player on the left of the dealer, displays their own hand on the table and scores points based on its content in conjunction with the starter card. Points are scored for:
- Combinations of any number of cards totalling fifteen
- Runs
- Pairs (Multiple pairs are scored pair by pair but may be referred to as three or four of a kind.)
- Flush (A four-card flush scores four and cannot include the starter card; a five-card flush scores five.)
- Having a jack of the same suit as the starter card ('one for his nob [or nobs or nibs]', sometimes called the 'right' jack)
The dealer scores their hand last and then turns the cards in the crib face up. These cards are then scored by the dealer as an additional hand, also in conjunction with the starter card. Unlike the dealer's own hand, the crib cannot score a four-card flush, but it can score a five-card flush with the starter.
All scores from 0 to 29 are possible, with the exception of 19, 25, 26 and 27.[10] Players may refer colloquially to a hand scoring zero points as a “nineteen hand”.[11]
Muggins[edit]
Muggins (also known as cut-throat) is a commonly used but optional rule, which must be announced before game play begins. If a player fails to claim their full score on any turn, the opponent may call out 'Muggins' and peg any points overlooked by the player.[12]
Match[edit]
A match (much like tennis) consists of more than one game, often an odd number. The match points are scored on the cribbage board using the holes reserved for match points. On a spiral board, these are often at the bottom of the board in a line with 5 or 7 holes. On a conventional board, they are often in the middle of the board or at the top or bottom.
In a two-player game of cribbage, a player scores one match point for winning a game. Their opponent will start as dealer in the next game. If a player lurches (British) or skunks (US) their opponent (reaches 121 points before their opponent scores 91 points), that player wins two match points for that game. If a player double skunks their opponent (reaches 121 points before their opponent reaches 61), they score three or four match points for the game, depending on local convention.[13] If a player triple skunks their opponent (reaches 121 points before their opponent reaches 31 points), they automatically win the match. Double and triple skunks are not included in the official rules of cribbage play and are optional. There are several different formats for scoring match points.
Scoring Variation | Points for ... | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Normal win | Skunking opponent | Double skunking opponent | Triple skunking opponent | |
Official Tournament rules (American Cribbage Congress) | 2 points | 3 points | No extra points | No extra points |
Long Match scoring | 3 points | 4 points | No extra points | No extra points |
Free play rules | 1 point | 2 points | 3 or 4 points | No extra points |
Free play rules with triple skunk | 1 point | 2 points | 4 points | Automatic win of match |
Cribbage board[edit]
How To Win At Playing Cribbage
Visually, cribbage is known for its scoring board—a series of holes ('streets') on which the score is tallied with pegs (also known as 'spilikins').[14] Scores can be kept on a piece of paper, but a cribbage board is almost always used, since scoring occurs throughout the game, not just at the conclusion of hands as in most other card games.
Points are registered as having been scored by 'pegging' along the crib board. Two pegs are used in a leapfrog fashion, so that if a player loses track during the count one peg still marks the previous score. Some boards have a 'game counter' with many additional holes for use with a third peg to count the games won by each side.
There are several designs of crib board:
- The classic design is a flat wooden board approximately 250–300 mm (10–12 in) by 70–80 mm (3–4 in) and 10–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in) deep. There are two sets of 60 holes (30 'out' and 30 'back') divided into 5 point sections. A pegging-out hole in the middle at each end allows the board to be used in either direction. One player or team scores on one set of 60 holes and the other player or team scores on the second set. Different arrangements are made for three player games.
- A relatively old design is that of an equilateral triangle with two rows of forty holes on each side. These boards did not generally include extra pegging-out holes or holes to count games.
- A newer design has three or four rows of 120 holes in a 'paperclip' shape (with a pegging-out hole at the end) and is often brightly coloured. It is best suited to games played to 121, though it can also be used for 61-point games.
- A tournament long board is used in sanctioned tournaments in the American Cribbage Congress and consists of four rows of 60 pegs (two rows for each player), no number markings or five point segments, and only a mark indicating the skunk line. Movement around the board starts on the outside and ends on the inside. Players start and end in the same hole.
- Another common variation is based on features of the highest-scoring cribbage hand. The board takes the form of the number 29 (the highest possible score), with the pegging rows following the contour of the numbers '2' and '9'. The design can sometimes include a background image of three fives and a jack, with the fourth five offset—the 'perfect hand' giving that score. The count being 8 combinations of 15 for 16 points, 6 pairs of 2 for 12 points and a matching 'nobs' jack (matching the cut card) for 1 totalling 29.
Each of the four 30-point divisions of the cribbage board (1–30, 31–60, 61–90, and 91–120) is colloquially called a 'street'. Being at 15 points would be on first street, being at 59 points would be on second street, etc.
Noddy and costly colours[edit]
The ancestor of cribbage is noddy, a game for two or four players, each receiving just three cards and playing and scoring in a similar manner to modern cribbage. However, instead of scoring 2 points for reaching 15 or 31 (called hitter), players scored the number of constituent cards making up the point. In addition, there was originally a third point at 25. Players also scored for pairs, prials, runs and flushes as in cribbage. There was no crib and game was 31.
Costly colours may have developed separately from noddy, as it retains several original features that are no longer part of cribbage. Again, only three cards are dealt, there is no crib and it uses the same scoring scheme for points at 15, 25 and 31 or hitter. What is new is that deuces play a similar role to jacks and that players may score for colours—i.e., having three or four cards of the same suit or colour. Four cards of the same suit are costly colours, hence the name.
How To Win At Cribbage
See also[edit]
- Cribbage Solitaire and Cribbage Square Solitaire, two solitaire card games based on Cribbage
- Hounds and Jackals, an Ancient Egyptian game, which uses a similar board
- Kings Cribbage, a game with cribbage hands being constructed crossword-style
- American Cribbage Congress, sanctioning body for cribbage clubs and tournaments in the US
References[edit]
- ^Parlett, David. The Penguin Book of Card Games. London: Penguin (2008), p. 423. ISBN978-0-141-03787-5
- ^Cash, Cassidy (12 January 2019). 'Experience Shakespeare: How to Play Noddy, a 16th Century Card Game'. youtube. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^Aubrey, John (1898). Andrew Clark (ed.). Brief Lives chiefly of Contemporaries set down John Aubrey between the Years 1669 and 1696, Volume II. Clarendon Press. p. 245.
- ^'American Cribbage Congress Website'. www.cribbage.org. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^Klemenc, Stacey Enesey. 'Cribbage: It's not just a game, it's an obsession'. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^'The O'Kane Cribbage Board Is Passed Down'. US Department of Defense. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^Parlett, David (October 1987). The Penguin Book of Card Games. Treasure Press. ISBN1-85051-221-3.
- ^'The Mechanics of Playing Cribbage'. The American Cribbage Congress. 2004-10-01. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^Oxford Dictionaries, OxfordWords blog http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/11/popular-idioms-explained/ extracted 31 Oct 2014
- ^Steven S. Lumetta (2007-05-15). 'Amusing Cribbage Facts'. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^Cribbage Corner (2008-05-05). 'The nineteen hand at cribbage'. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^'Rule 10. Muggins'.
- ^Cribbage Corner. 'Cribbage rules – winning the game'. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
- ^'Spilikin'. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
One of a number of small pieces or pegs of wood, ivory, bone, or other material, for playing a game, or for counting the score in a game, as in cribbage.
Further reading[edit]
- Scarne, John (1965). Scarne on Card Games. Dover Publications. pp. 395–404. ISBN0-486-43603-9.
- Wergin, Joe (1980). Win at Cribbage. Oldcastle Books. ISBN0-948353-97-X.
External links[edit]
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Cribbage. |