Cribbage 101

Cribbage is one of those games that you can learn in about 10-15 minutes but will spend a lifetime trying to master. I put the emphasis on trying to master, because even after 6 months of reading and playing, I can count hands with the best of them, I still make a lot of stupid mistakes. Think of this as the other civilized game, sort of the anti-bridge. I think Cribbage is cool for 2 reasons. 1) The hands are quick, and 2) No weird cards or bidding conventions.

Equipment needed

a small note here: Make sure you have all 52 cards. I once played with a deck missing the 9 of spades, and I never noticed it was missing.

The play

One game of Cribbage consists of several hands. Game is usually 121, but if you don't have the time, you can play to 61. Game play consists of steps called The cut, the deal, the play, the show, the crib. I will outline how to play each of these steps without editorial comment. Full rules can be found at The American Cribbage Congress Web Site

The Cut
The cut only happens when you begin a new game with a new opponent. Each person cuts the cards, low card deals.
The Deal.
The winner of the cut deals 6 cards to each player. The remainder of the deck is placed in the center of the table. At this point each player selects 2 cards and places them in the center of the table. This is the crib and it belongs to the dealer. Set the crib aside.
The Cut Part II
Non-Dealer cuts the deck. The Cut must leave at least 4 cards at either end of the deck. Dealer selects the top card of the cut. Non-dealer replaces the cut, and the drawn card is now placed on top of the stock. This is called the starter. If the card is a Jack, the dealer pegs 2 for His Heels. You can remember it because you pulled the Jack up by His Heels.
The Play
Non-Dealer selects any card from his hand, lays it on the table and announces it's value. Dealer selects a card, lays it on the table and adds the value of the already played card to the value of the card he is playing. Example. ND leads a 5, and announces "five". Dealer then plays a nine and announces "fourteen". This continues until the count is 31 or less. If the count is 22-30 and player cannot play without exceeding 31, then the player who cannot play states "Go". The opponent recieves 1 point. Play in this manner continues until all cards have been laid on the table. There are various points awarded for runs and pairs as well as 15 and 31. See the ACC's website for more information.
The Show.
Once all the cards are laid on the table, the hands are counted. Points are scored for the following: Each 15 is 2 points, A pair is 2, a pair royal (3 of a kind) is 6, a double pair royal is 12, a flush is 4, and so on. There are many many point values. Counting a hand takes practice. Investing a couple of bucks in a book of Hoyle isn't a bad idea.
The Crib.
You count in this fashion. Non-Dealer's hand, then Dealer's hand, then Dealer's Crib. Count as decribed above and peg accordingly.

Deals alternate, so the dealer of the first hand now becomes non-dealer of the second hand and so on and on until someone reaches 61, or 121. Now you know the basics of cribbage.

Books on the topic

There are lots of books out there on Cribbage, but I would recommend reading DeLynn Colvert's books on the subject. Also found at the American Cribbage Congress Web site.

Weird Cards

Near the top of the page I made reference to weird cards. By this I mean Bicycle #86 Bridge cards. The face cards all look as if they have an attitude. If you're not used to them they can really creep you out. Then again if you not like me, you probably won't even notice. ;)

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