How Many Points Is 3 Of A Kind In Cribbage

Learn how to play the ever-popular game of cribbage.Learn how to play the ever-popular game of cribbage. .of a kind, which is worth 6 points,. Also, in cribbage rules, if the card is a jack, it is called “His Heels” and the dealer receives two points. Play the classic card game Cribbage online for free. No download required. Play against the computer, or challenge another human player! 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.

1. How Many Points Is 3 Of A Kind In Cribbage Rules

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Cribbage - often abbreviated to crib - is a two, three, or sometimes four player (e.g. playing two against two as partners) card game.

The information in this guide explains how to play cribbage card game and the terms, definitions, and lingo used by the players.

RULES OF CRIBBAGE UK: The regulations explained in this article refer mostly to the two (2) player cribbage game.

There is one main object of cribbage. The aim is to be the first player to score 61 or 121 points.

Players need nominal equipment to play crib. You need a 52 standard deck of cards and a crib board - called a cribbage pegging out board.

As a rule, a crib tournament will use the 61 point game to speed up the knockout stages. But, the 121 point game is the most popular version played in pubs, especially when there are 4 players.

Legal Note about Crib Rules: Last time we checked, cribbage is the only card game you can play 'legally' for money in British pubs. Another section contains more information about old English laws not repealed.

How to Play Cribbage UK: 6 Sections

1. The Cut: Cutting the deck before dealing.
2. The Deal: Dealing out the cards.
3. Cribbage Discards: Placing cards into the dealers crib (box).
4. The Play: Pegging as many points as possible.
5. The Show: Adding up the scores and pegging on the board.
6. The Crib: Adding up extra scores from the box and pegging them on the board.

1. Cribbage Cut Rules: Who Cuts the Deck

The first step is to shuffle the pack of cards and then each player cuts the deck in turn. The player turning up the lowest card becomes the dealer. A 'king' is the highest card and an 'ace' is lowest.

Cutting the deck determines the first dealer. But, the dealership alternates between the players after making the first deal.

What if both players cut the same card, such as two queens? In this case the players should reshuffle the whole pack and both players cut the deck once more.

2. Cribbage Dealing Rules

The dealer shuffles the pack once more and then the non-dealer cuts the deck. The dealer should deal out six (6) cards face down and in turn to each player, dealing out to the non-dealer first.

Important: An English pub cribbage game will often award three (3) points to the non-dealer once only and at the start of play.

3. The Cribbage Discard Strategy

Each player should discard two (2) cards, face down into the dealers crib. The crib should stay face down until it is ready for cribbage scoring and pegging.

The top card of the deck becomes the 'turn card' (also called the start card). If it is a 'jack', the dealer pegs two (2) points (saying out loud 'two for his heels' - also called nibs).

4. Crib Rules: The Play

The basic aim of cribbage is to peg as many points as possible. The non-dealer lays the first card face up and the dealer follows. Players must 'call out and peg' if they score points. Play will continue until someone reaches a count of 31 or both players call 'go'.

If a player cannot lay a card without going over 31 they call 'go' and the other player continues. But, once both players say 'go', or there is a 31, you must move the cards to one side and face down.

The person who did not lay the last card starts the new play. The cards stay in front of each player because they are for 'the show'.

How to Play Cribbage Points

• 2 Points: For making 15
• 2 Points: For a pair
• 6 Points: For three of a kind
• 12 Points: For cribbage four of a kind
• 1 Point (per card): For a run of three or more
• 1 Point (for last card rules): Not making 31
• 2 Points: For making 31

5. The Show in Cribbage Rules UK

The non-dealer places their cards face up, counts their tally, and pegs the score. The dealer follows that by doing the same with their hand.

All five cards, which includes the four (4) hand cards as well as the turn card, are available for crib pegging rules. The same cards are also in play for extra points.

• Example A: The four cards in the hand are all hearts with a 4, 5, and a 6. This scores 2 points for fifteen, 3 points for a run of three, and 4 points for a flush of 4. The total score for that crib hand would be 9 points.
• Example B: In the hand is a 5 and a 10, the turn card is also a 10. That example would score 4 points for two fifteens (5 hand card plus 10 hand card and 5 hand card plus 10 turn card). You would also get 2 points for a pair (10 hand card plus 10 turn card). The total score for that crib hand would be 6 points.

Note: It is impossible to score 19 points in Cribbage. If a player calls a count of 19 points you should call the 'muggins' rule. Question how they get the count of 19 if you do not play the muggins rule.

When beginners count the points it is best to do it in your head first. Then count out your score aloud before you peg them on the board. Miscounting the muggins rule can cost you points in the rules of cribbage UK.

6. The Rules for Crib

Crib scoring is exactly the same principle as that of the show. One exception is that a crib score can only include a flush if all five crib cards are of the same suit to get the 5 points.

Adding Up The Show and Crib Points

• 2 Points: A score of fifteen (cards adding up to 15).
• 2 Points: A pair (2 cards with the same number).
• 6 Points: Three of a kind (pair royal).
• 12 Points: Four of a kind in the crib (double pair royal).
• 1 point per card: A run of three or more.
• 4 Points: Four card flush (all four cards of the same suit in a hand).
• 5 Points: Five card flush (the turn card is the same suit as the hand suit). Note: The Crib needs all 5 cards to flush to get the points.
• Muggins: The number of points missed by the opponent.

Reshuffle the pack after counting up the crib. The game returns to the next deal and continues until one player gets over 61 points (2 player game).

Terms Used in Cribbage

• The deck of cards is a standard 52 pack of playing cards. But, players should remove the two jokers from the pack.
• A cribbage pegging board is a special scoring device made for the game. The board is the same one used for two to four players and has 4 rows of 30 holes. The rows have a space every five holes. The gap after the first two rows is to separate the two players' scores. There are 4 extra holes for holding pegs.
• The hand refers to the 4 cards that the player has after each deal.
• The turn card (or starter card) is the top card after the non-dealer's cut.
• Cribbage pegs get used to track the score. The back peg is where the last score was. Whereas, the front peg denotes what the new score is. The third peg comes into play when you have gone around the board once already (i.e. scored 60 points).
• One for his nob (or nobs) refers to the jack cards. If a player is holding a jack that matches the same suit as the starter card, they will get one (1) extra point.
• Crib (or cribbage box) is the 4 cards discarded by the players.
• Go is a call made by a player when they cannot play a card and the count has not reached 31.
• Muggins occurs when an opponent sees the player miscount and pegged out their total. The opponent then receives the missed point. For example a player counts 10 points and the opponent sees he has missed 2 points they call 'muggins' and pegs those 2 points. If you over count and your opposition call muggins you lose all your points. But, crib muggins rules are optional and not always used.
• Crib terms skunked refers to a player who cannot reach 91 points before their opponent scores 121 (or more). In this case the winner would get two extra match points for that game. Cribbage skunk rules would only get used in tournament games.

Fun fact: The name for the penultimate hole on the board (e.g. before the finishing hole) is the 'stink hole'.

Cribbage Rhymes

These cribbage tips and rhymes are sometimes said during play when laying a card to hit 31 from a score that is:

• 29 (2's in time)
• 28 (3's is great)
• 27 (4's in heaven)
• 26 (5's a fix)
• 25 (6's alive)
• 24 (7's a score)
• 23 (8's a spree)
• 22 (9 will do)

Brief History of Cribbage

The game of cribbage comes from 'noddy' a 16th Century card game. Noddy was about as useful for gambling as the game of SNAP. So an Englishman named Sir John Suckling changed the game and it became cribbage in the 17th Century.

Sir John Suckling was a courtier, a poet, and an ardent gambler. One rumour says he gave gifts of marked cards to the aristocracy. He then made his fortune by winning large sums of money from them.

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Note: The short video explains the basic fundamentals and it's a useful addition to the official cribbage PDF instructions.

Rules of Cribbage Made Easy for Beginners in United Kingdom

© 2021 ALL RULES CONTACT PRIVACY SITEMAP

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]

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.

Cribbage board[edit]

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.

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]

1. ^Parlett, David. The Penguin Book of Card Games. London: Penguin (2008), p. 423. ISBN978-0-141-03787-5
2. ^Cash, Cassidy (12 January 2019). 'Experience Shakespeare: How to Play Noddy, a 16th Century Card Game'. youtube. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
3. ^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.
4. ^'American Cribbage Congress Website'. www.cribbage.org. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
5. ^Klemenc, Stacey Enesey. 'Cribbage: It's not just a game, it's an obsession'. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
6. ^'The O'Kane Cribbage Board Is Passed Down'. US Department of Defense. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
7. ^Parlett, David (October 1987). The Penguin Book of Card Games. Treasure Press. ISBN1-85051-221-3.
8. ^'The Mechanics of Playing Cribbage'. The American Cribbage Congress. 2004-10-01. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
9. ^Oxford Dictionaries, OxfordWords blog http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/11/popular-idioms-explained/ extracted 31 Oct 2014
10. ^Steven S. Lumetta (2007-05-15). 'Amusing Cribbage Facts'. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
11. ^Cribbage Corner (2008-05-05). 'The nineteen hand at cribbage'. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
12. ^'Rule 10. Muggins'.
13. ^Cribbage Corner. 'Cribbage rules – winning the game'. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
14. ^'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]

How Many Points Is 3 Of A Kind In Cribbage Rules