Play three guided hands

Hand 1 · the rival deals

Cribbage is a race to 121. You were just dealt six cards. You score by making combinations, and every point moves your peg forward. Three short hands will teach you the whole game.

Before each hand you both throw two cards into a side pile called the crib. That makes a third four-card hand, and it belongs to whoever dealt. They count it at the end alongside their own hand. The deal alternates, so the crib is yours some hands and your rival's others. Always check whose crib it is before you throw.

Your rival dealt this hand, so the crib is theirs. Throw the 7 and the 2 into it. Tap both cards, then press Throw.

Good. The 7 and the 2 do not pair anything, do not make a fifteen, and do not start a run with what you kept. They are the easiest cards to give away. You held your three fives and your Jack, because a five and a ten-card make fifteen.

This crib is your rival's. Throwing junk into it is exactly right. When the crib is theirs, you give it nothing useful.

Now the deck is cut and the top card turns face up. This is the cut card. It counts for both hands and the crib when everyone counts up.

Now the play begins, the part people call pegging. You and your rival take turns laying cards down and adding to a running count. The count can never go past 31. If you cannot play without going over, you say Go. Press Next, and your first card will light up.

1. You 5
2. Rival 15 fifteen 2
3. You 20
4. Rival 25 pair 2
5. You 30 pair royal 6
6. Rival Go 30
7. You Go 0 go 1
8. Rival 9
9. You 19
10. Rival 29 last card 1

Landing the count exactly on fifteen is worth two. Your five led, and the rival's ten-card brought it to fifteen. Their peg moves two holes up the board.

The rival pairs your five for two. Playing a card that matches the one just before it is a pair.

Now your own third five. A pair is two. Three of a kind is a pair royal. It holds three separate pairs, so that is six. You just pegged all six and pulled ahead.

Neither of you can add a card without passing 31, so you both say Go. The last one to play takes a point for the Go. That was you. The count starts over.

The last card of the play is worth one more point, and the rival just laid it.

Now comes the show, where you count your hand together with the cut card. The non-dealer counts first, so that is you.

1. fifteen · 5♣ J♥ 2
2. fifteen · 5♠ J♥ 2
3. fifteen · 5♥ J♥ 2
4. fifteen · 5♥ 5♠ 5♣ 2
5. pair · 5♥ 5♠ 2
6. pair · 5♥ 5♣ 2
7. pair · 5♠ 5♣ 2
8. total 14

Every set of cards that adds up to fifteen is worth two. Your fives make several.

Your three fives make that same pair royal here in the show. Three pairs, six points. After you count, your rival counts their hand, and then the dealer counts the crib.

Hand 2 · you deal

This crib is yours this hand, because you dealt. Throw the 2 and the 3 into it. Tap both cards, then press Throw.

Those were your two weakest cards again. You kept two sevens, an eight, and a nine, four cards that pair and run together.

Because this crib is yours, the cards you throw still help you. When you deal, you feed your own crib instead of starving your rival's.

You almost never get to see this. Here is what your rival just slid into your crib. A pair of sixes. Those will score for you when you count the crib. Now picture knowing that every hand.

The cut turns up a Jack. When the cut card is a Jack, the dealer pegs two on the spot. That is called his heels, and you are the dealer this hand.

Pegging again. The rival leads this time. Keep the count from passing 31.

1. Rival 10
2. You 17
3. Rival 27
4. You Go 27
5. Rival 0 thirty-one 2
6. You 7
7. Rival 12
8. You 20
9. You 29 last card 1

That is 31 exactly, worth two points for the rival. The same things score in the count as in the show, fifteens and pairs and runs. The count starts over at zero.

And one more for the last card, which was yours.

Now watch this hand count up.

1. fifteen · 7♦ 8♠ 2
2. fifteen · 7♣ 8♠ 2
3. pair · 7♣ 7♦ 2
4. run of 3 · 7♣ 8♠ 9♥ 3
5. run of 3 · 7♦ 8♠ 9♥ 3
6. total 12

Seven plus eight makes fifteen. Your other seven plus that same eight makes a second fifteen. Two fifteens already.

Seven, eight, nine is a run of three. Your second seven makes that run a second time. Two runs, plus the pair of sevens. This is how a hand gets fat. Last comes the crib. Four buried cards plus the cut card, and only the dealer scores it.

Hand 3 · the rival deals

Your rival dealt again, so the crib is theirs. Throw the 8 and the Ace into it. Tap both cards, then press Throw.

The eight and the Ace make nothing with what you kept. You held the Jack, the four, the five, and the six, which make fifteens and a run together.

This crib is your rival's, so once again you feed it nothing. There is one more reason you kept that Jack of diamonds. Watch what the cut does with it.

The cut turns up the two of diamonds. It is a plain card for the count, but look at its suit. Your Jack is a diamond too.

And the pegging one last time. You lead.

1. You 4
2. Rival 14
3. You 20
4. Rival 29
5. You Go 29
6. Rival Go 0 go 1
7. You 5
8. Rival 13
9. You 23
10. Rival 30 last card 1

Neither of you can play without passing 31. You both say Go. The last card laid takes the point, and that was the rival. The count starts fresh.

And the last card laid is worth one more point.

Now count your hand.

1. fifteen · 4♦ 5♣ 6♥ 2
2. fifteen · J♦ 5♣ 2
3. run of 3 · 4♦ 5♣ 6♥ 3
4. nobs · J♦ 1
5. total 8

The Jack and the five make fifteen. The four, five, and six make a second fifteen, using that same five.

Your Jack is the same suit as the cut card, so it scores one more. That point is called nobs.

That is cribbage. Fifteens, pairs, runs, the crib, the cut, and the race to 121. One last thing. Four cards of one suit is a flush, worth four points when you hold it. That is the whole game. You are ready for a real match.