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What Is the Best Cribbage Hand? The 29-Point Hand Explained

Published: May 23, 2026

Every cribbage player dreams of it. The perfect hand. Twenty-nine points. It's the royal flush of cribbage — the highest possible score you can achieve in a single hand. But what exactly makes up this legendary combination, and just how rare is it?

The Perfect Hand: Three Fives and a Jack

A 29-point hand consists of three 5s plus a Jack in your hand, and the starter card must be the fourth 5 of the same suit as the Jack. Here's how the scoring breaks down:

The Math Behind 29 Points

• Fifteens (16 points): Each combination of cards totaling 15 scores 2 points. With four 5s plus a Jack (worth 10), there are eight ways to make 15: four combos of 5 + J = 15 (one for each 5), plus four combos of 5 + 5 + 5 = 15 (any three of the four 5s). 8 × 2 = 16 points.
• Double Pair Royal (12 points): Four cards of the same rank (four 5s) form six distinct pairs. 6 × 2 = 12 points.
• His Nobs (1 point): You hold the Jack in your hand. If the starter card is of the same suit as your Jack, you score 1 point for "nobs." In a 29-point hand, the starter is the fourth 5 matching your Jack's suit — giving you both the fourth 5 (completing the double pair royal) and nobs.

Total: 16 + 12 + 1 = 29 points.

The exact setup: Your hand contains three 5s plus the Jack. The starter card is the fourth 5, and it MUST be the same suit as your Jack. This gives you: four-of-a-kind (12 pts), eight fifteens (16 pts — four 5+J combos plus four 5+5+5 combos), and nobs (1 pt for the Jack matching the starter's suit).

How Rare Is a 29-Point Hand?

The commonly quoted odds are approximately 1 in 216,580 for a six-card deal that can become a 29 after the discard and starter card are taken into account. If you instead select a random four-card hand and a random starter, the odds are approximately 1 in 3,248,700. These figures describe different probability models, so they should not be compared as though they measure the same event.

Near-Perfect Hands Worth Knowing

While you'll likely never see a 29, these high-scoring hands are more achievable:

• 28 points: A combination of four 5s and any 10-value card scores 28 unless a Jack held in the hand matches the starter's suit and adds the point for nobs.
• 24 points: Several different combinations can score 24. One example is 4, 4, 5, 6 with a 6 as the starter: four runs of three score 12, the two pairs score 4, and four combinations totaling 15 score 8.
• 20 points: Four 5s without a 10-value fifth card score 20 from four-of-a-kind and four combinations totaling 15.

Pro tip: If you hold three 5s and a Jack, then cut the fourth 5 matching the Jack's suit, take a picture - you have a perfect 29-point hand.

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Score your own hands with the Cribbage Scoring Calculator or play Cribbage online.