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.
The deal
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.At this point, each player's hand and the crib will contain exactly four cards. The player on the
dealer's left cuts the deck and the dealer reveals the top card, called the "starter" or the "cut". If this
card
is a Jack, the dealer scores two points for "his heels".
The play
Starting with the player on the dealer's left, each player in turn lays one card face up on the table in
front
of him
or her, 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. 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. For causing the count to reach exactly fifteen a player scores two
points and
play continues. Completing a pair (two of a kind) scores two points; three or four of a kind are counted as
multiple
pairs: completing three of a kind is the same as three different pairs, or 6 points, and four of a kind is 6
different
kinds of 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, he calls "Go". Continuing with the player on
his 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 his or her 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".
The show
Once the play is complete, each player in turn, starting with the player on the left of the dealer, displays
his hand
on the table and scores points based on its content in conjunction with the starter card. Points are scored
for
combinations
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), a flush and having a Jack of the same suit as the starter card ("one for his nob [or nobs
or
nibs]", sometimes called the "right" Jack). A four-card flush scores four and cannot include the cut or
starter;
a five-card flush scores five.
The dealer scores his 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. Players may refer
colloquially
to
a hand scoring zero points as a “nineteen hand”.
Match
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 skunks 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.
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.
-------Scoring--------
The Starter
The player on the dealer's left cuts the undealt portion of the deck (leaving at least 4 cards), and the
dealer reveals
the top card, called the "starter" or the "cut", placing it on top of the deck face up. (It is illegal to
peek
at
any other cards in the deck during this process.) If this card is a Jack, the dealer scores two points for
"his
heels",
also known as "his nibs", or simply "nibs". The game can end on a cut of a Jack for the dealer.
The play
In addition to scoring one or two points for the last card, players score points according to the following
rules:
-
fifteen-twos
- two points for a cumulative total of
exactly fifteen ("fifteen two")
-
runs
- three points for completing a run of three cards, regardless of the order in which they are laid (a
6,
then a
4, then a 5 is a run of three even though they were not laid in order)
- four points for completing a run of four
- five points for completing a run of five
- six points for completing a run of six
- seven points for completing the run of seven; e.g. playing 2, 4, 6, A, 3, 5 and 7
-
pairs
- two points for laying a card of the same rank as the previous card, thus completing a pair
- six points for laying a third card of the same rank (a "pair royal" or "trips")
- twelve points for laying a fourth card of the same rank (a "double pair royal" or "quad")
The show
Once the play is complete, each player in turn receives points based on the content of their hand. Starting
with the
player on the dealer's left, players spread out their cards on the playing surface and calculate their score
based
on these four cards and the starter card:
-
fifteen-twos
- two points for each separate combination of two or more cards totalling
exactly fifteen
-
runs
- three points for a run of three consecutive cards (regardless of suit)
- four points for completing a run of four
- five points for completing a run of five
-
pairs
- two points for a pair of cards of a kind
- six points for three cards of a kind (known as a "pair royal", comprising three distinct pairs)
- twelve points for four cards of a kind (a "double pair royal", comprising six distinct pairs)
-
flush
- four points for a flush, where all four cards in the hand are of the same suit, with an additional
point if the
starter card is also of that suit.
- one point for holding the Jack of the same suit as the starter card ("one for his nob"
or "... his nobs"
)
In What Order Should I Count My Points?
To count your hand in cribbage, you should start by counting 15s, then runs, pairs, flushes, and nobs. 15s are
the most common and difficult scoring combination to identify, so it is recommended to start with them. To count
15s, start from 0 and skip-count by 2. Runs are the next most challenging to count, especially if you have pairs
that multiply the points. Each individual run must be worth 3, 4, or (rarely) 5 points, so you will need to add
3, 4, or 5 points at a time to your current total. Pairs are worth 2 points, "pair royal" (three of a kind) is
worth 6 points, and "double pair royal" (four of a kind) is worth 12 points. Flushes are worth 4 or 5 points (if
they include the cut card), and nobs are worth 1 point. It is helpful to order your hand from lowest to highest
to develop consistent counting habits.
-------Online--------
How do you play a friend?
To play a friend do one of the following:
- The best way is to add them by their Invite Code / cribbage ID (not username). You can find
your Invite Code / cribbage ID by
clicking on your
profile, or going to the online game and it will be in the upper right hand corner. Then go to
Online->Play a Friend-> Invite Code
- You can also invite them by email granted they entered their email into their Cribbage profile settings.
- You can also invite them via Facebook invite if you both are friends and using the Facebook
version.
- You can also just create a private room and both join it.
- You can also add a friend while playing someone by clicking on the "+Friends" button in game.
You both need to friend each other, so exchange IDs so you both can invite each other. Inviting by ID will also
allow you send notification invites to each other while offline.
Custom Cribbage Boards
When playing online, you will see one of the two player's custom Cribbage boards and background. Both players
will see the same display. For example, if you are using the fish board, both players will see the fish board if
you're the host (blue player).
Rating System
The points are relative to all active users. It uses the ELO system. The rankings (Bronze, Silver, ...) are
based on your standings. For example, Bronze is 0%-35% percentile after you order all active users by rating.
Your rating goes up when you win. It goes up a little if the player was lower rated and up a lot if they
were
higher rated. The same for losing, it goes down a lot if they were lower rated and down a little if they were
higher rated.It get exponentially hard to go up the higher you go. It is also a zero based system. That means
if
you were to averages all the rating you come out with 0. In this case it averages 1000 as that is the starting
value. So far after millions of rated games the system remains balanced, averaging exactly 1000.
The ELO system is a skill rating system. So the more you play does not mean the rating will go up, that would
be
accumulated point system or an experience system. I do plan on adding another award system based on the
experience gained.
The goal of the ELO system is to extract a skill level with the purpose of match making.
Ranks
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master and Grand Master
Source
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribbage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_cribbage
