Gaming · Card game scoring
Cribbage hand counter.
Pick your four cards and the starter card, say whether it is the hand or the crib, and the counter scores every fifteen, pair, run, flush and nobs. It follows the American Cribbage Congress scoring chart: fifteens 2 each, pairs 2, runs 1 per card (multiplied for double and triple runs), a four-card flush 4 in the hand only, five-card flush 5, and nobs 1. Example: 5♣ 5♦ 5♠ J♥ with the 5♥ starter is the perfect 29: eight fifteens (16), six pairs (12) and nobs (1).
Your cards
Result
Working out the result.
How a cribbage hand is counted
After the cut, each player counts four cards plus the shared starter, five cards in all. The American Cribbage Congress tournament rules (2020, rule 1.7) give the chart this tool uses: any combination of cards adding to 15 scores 2; a pair scores 2, three of a kind 6 and four of a kind 12; a run of three or more scores 1 per card; four cards of one suit in the hand score 4 and five score 5, while the crib counts a flush only with all five; and a jack in the hand matching the starter's suit scores 1 for nobs. A jack turned as the starter scores 2 for the dealer straight away, called his heels, which is separate from the show.
The counter checks all 31 non-empty subsets of the five cards for fifteens (face cards count 10, ace 1), counts pairs from how many cards share each rank, and finds runs by looking at the rank counts: each unbroken stretch of three or more ranks scores its length times the product of the counts of each rank in it. That product is why a double run of three is 6 points and a triple run of three is 9.
Worked examples with real numbers
- The 29 hand. 5♣ 5♦ 5♠ J♥ with the 5♥ cut: 8 fifteens = 16, 6 pairs = 12, nobs 1, total 29.
- The 28 hand. Four fives in the hand with a jack cut: 8 fifteens = 16 and 6 pairs = 12, total 28.
- Double-double run. 3♣ 3♦ 4♥ 4♠ with a 5 cut: runs 12 (a three-card run made 2 × 2 = 4 ways, 4 × 3), pairs 4, fifteens 4, total 20.
- Triple run. 3♣ 4♦ 4♥ 4♠ with a 5 cut: runs 9, pairs 6, fifteens 2, total 17.
- Flush. 2, 4, 6, 8 of hearts with a king of clubs: 4 points for the flush; with a king of hearts 5. The same four hearts in the crib score 0 unless the starter is a heart.
- A nineteen hand. 2♣ 4♦ 6♥ 8♠ with a king cut scores 0.
Which scores are possible?
Every score from 0 to 29 can happen except 19, 25, 26 and 27, which is why a zero hand is called a “nineteen hand.” The same result comes out of this calculator: running all 12,994,800 combinations of a four-card hand and a starter through the same scoring code gives every score from 0 to 29 except those four, with 29 reached by the perfect hand.
What this counter leaves out
It scores the show only. Pegging points during the play (reaching 15 or 31, last card, runs and pairs in the play) are not counted, and it does not know who the dealer is, so his heels is shown as a note, not added. It does not check that your five cards are possible from one deck, so the same card can be picked twice; enter real cards. Nibs, nobs and his heels are different names in different regions, and house rules about the crib flush vary, so check yours.
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedA four-card flush scores in the crib the same as in the hand.
What the source saysThe American Cribbage Congress chart lists the four-card flush as scoring only in the hand. A crib needs a five-card flush, with the starter, to score 5. [1]
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Often assumedA jack cut as the starter scores one point for the hand, like nobs.
What the source saysA jack turned as the starter counts 2 points for the dealer (his heels). Nobs is a different point: a jack in the hand or crib of the same suit as the starter, worth 1. [1]
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Often assumedAny score from 0 up to 29 can come up in a hand.
What the source saysEvery score from 0 to 29 is possible except 19, 25, 26 and 27, and 29 is the highest possible hand. [2]
- American Cribbage Congress: Tournament Rules 2020, scoring chart (rule 1.7)
- Wikipedia: Cribbage (maximum hand and impossible scores)
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
How do you count a cribbage hand?
Count fifteens (2 points each), pairs (2), runs (1 per card), a flush (4 or 5) and nobs (1) using the four hand cards plus the starter. Pick the cards above and the counter lists each item.
What is the highest hand in cribbage?
Twenty-nine: three fives and a jack in the hand with the fourth five as the starter, where the jack matches the starter in suit. It is eight fifteens (16), six pairs (12) and nobs (1).
Which scores are impossible in cribbage?
The scores 19, 25, 26 and 27 cannot happen in a hand. Every other total from 0 to 29 can.
Does a flush count in the crib?
Only if all five cards, including the starter, are the same suit. A four-card flush scores 4 in a hand but nothing in a crib.
How are double runs scored?
A pair inside a run doubles it, so 3-4-4-5 scores two runs of three (6 points) plus 2 for the pair. 3-3-4-4-5 is a double double run of three: 12 for the runs plus 4 for the two pairs.
What is the difference between nobs and his heels?
Nobs is 1 point for a jack in your hand of the same suit as the starter. His heels is 2 points to the dealer when the starter itself is a jack.
Sources
Retrieved
- American Cribbage Congress: Tournament Rules 2020 — scoring chart: pair 2, triple 6, quadruple 12, run 1 per card, 15-count 2, four-card flush hand only 4, five-card flush 5, nobs 1, his heels 2 (read 2026-10-26)
- Wikipedia: Cribbage — maximum hand 29, impossible scores 19, 25, 26 and 27, crib flush rule (read 2026-10-26)
Scores the show, not the pegging
Scoring follows the American Cribbage Congress chart as read on 26 October 2026. House rules differ in places. Nothing you pick is sent or stored.