Pegging, the play to 31
Pegging is the part of cribbage where you and your rival take turns laying one card at a time onto a shared count. The count can never pass 31. Land it on 15 or 31, pair the last card, or finish a run, and you score on the spot.
The shared count
After the cut, the non-dealer lays a card face up and says its value. The dealer lays one on top and says the new total. Back and forth it goes, and the total may never pass 31. Face cards all count 10 here, so the count climbs fast.
You never bust. If every card left in your hand would push the count past 31, you say Go. Your rival plays anything they still legally can, then pegs one point, and the count starts over at zero. That single point is the whole penalty.
What scores during the play
- Landing the count exactly on 15 scores 2.
- Matching the rank just played is a pair for 2. A third match is a pair royal for 6. A fourth is a double pair royal for 12.
- Completing a run of three or more with your card scores 1 per card. Order does not matter. 4, then 6, then 5 still makes a run of three.
- Landing exactly on 31 scores 2, and the count resets.
- Playing the last card of a sequence scores 1. If that last card lands on 31, the 2 for thirty-one replaces it. They never stack.
Fifteen, then a pair
The eight lands the count on 15 for 2. Pairing it right back scores 2 more, and the last card adds 1. Rank matters here, suit does not.
A run in any order
The five completes 4-6-5 as a run of three, worth 3, and lands the count on 15 for 2 more. One card, 5 points, plus 1 for last card.
Go, thirty-one, and the reset
At 29 your rival has nothing that fits under 31 and says Go. You still do. The two lands exactly on 31 for 2, and a 31 closes the round on its own, so no go point is scored. The count resets to zero. The final card of the play pegs last card for 1.
You try
Four cards each. You lead. Play any card that keeps the count at 31 or under. The rival plays a simple rule and the meter scores every card for both of you.