Cribbage Companion

Cribbage scoring · Beginner guide

How to Score Cribbage

Count a hand one pattern at a time: fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes, and nobs. The starter card joins every hand, and the crib has one important flush difference.

Check a real handSee the scoring chart ↓

01

Cribbage scoring at a glance

A regular hand has four cards plus the starter. Score every distinct combination that applies; a card can belong to several combinations.

Cribbage scoring chart
PatternPointsQuick rule
Fifteen2 eachAny distinct cards totaling exactly 15.
Pair2Two cards of the same rank.
Three of a kind6Three pairs inside the three cards.
Four of a kind12Six pairs inside the four cards.
Run1 per cardThree or more consecutive ranks.
Flush4 or 5Four hand cards share a suit; add the starter for 5.
His nobs1A Jack in the hand matching the starter's suit.
His heels2The cut starter is a Jack; dealer scores immediately.

02

The patterns that make points

Count combinations, not just individual cards. Face cards count as 10 for fifteens; their rank still matters for pairs and runs.

15

Fifteens

Every distinct combination totaling 15 scores 2. For example, 7 + 8 and 5 + 10 are separate fifteens.

2×

Pairs

Matching ranks score 2. Three matching cards score 6 and four matching cards score 12.

3+

Runs

Three or more consecutive ranks score 1 per card. Suits do not matter, and duplicate cards can create multiple runs.

♣

Flushes

Four cards of one suit in a regular hand score 4. If the starter matches too, the flush scores 5.

J

Nobs

A Jack matching the starter's suit scores 1. This is “his nobs,” not the 2-point cut-J bonus.

03

Hand scoring versus crib scoring

The same starter is used for both regular hands and the dealer's crib, but the crib has a stricter flush rule.

Regular hand: four cards of one suit score a 4-point flush. If the starter is also that suit, score 5.
Crib: all four crib cards and the starter must share a suit for a flush. Four matching crib cards without the starter do not score a flush.

The crib is counted last, after the non-dealer's hand and the dealer's hand. For the full hand flow, read How to Play Cribbage. Pegging points happen earlier, during the play, and are explained in the Cribbage Pegging Guide.

04

Count in a consistent order

A reliable ritual keeps you from missing a combination and makes table counting easier to follow.

  1. 1
    Fifteens

    Find every distinct combination totaling 15.

  2. 2
    Pairs and runs

    Count matching ranks, then every valid run.

  3. 3
    Flush

    Check the four hand cards and then the starter.

  4. 4
    Nobs

    Check whether a Jack matches the starter's suit.

Players traditionally count the non-dealer's hand first, then the dealer's hand, then the dealer's crib. That order matters near 121 because a player who reaches 121 wins immediately.

05

Two quick scoring examples

Once you separate the patterns, even a busy hand becomes a short sum.

5♣5♦6♠7♥starter8♣
  1. Fifteen

    7 + 8 = 15

    +2
  2. Pair

    5 + 5

    +2
  3. Two runs of four

    Each 5 makes 5–6–7–8

    +8
Hand total12points

A simpler example: 2♣, 3♦, 4♠, and 10♥ with a 5♣ starter scores two fifteens (2 + 3 + 10 and 5 + 10), for 4 points, plus a run of four (2–3–4–5) for 4 points. Total: 8. For another famous example, see the perfect 29 hand in cribbage.

Want to check a real hand?

Use the Cribbage Calculator.

Choose four cards and a starter to see every fifteen, pair, run, flush, and nob in a clear point-by-point breakdown.

Open the Cribbage Calculator