Cribbage Calculator
Type four cards and the starter, and this cribbage calculator gives the score of the hand or crib with every fifteen, pair, run, flush and nobs listed card by card.
Hand score
- Hand score J♥ 5♦ 4♣ 6♠ with the 5♥ cut.
- 17
- Fifteens 4 fifteens at 2 each.
- 8
- Pairs 1 pair for 2.
- 2
- Runs A double run of 3: 2 runs of 3 at 3 each.
- 6
- Flush The four hand cards are not all one suit.
- 0
- His nobs The J♥ matches the starter's suit.
- 1
- Read as
- J♥ 5♦ 4♣ 6♠ + 5♥
| Scores | Cards | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Fifteen | 5♥ J♥ | 2 |
| Fifteen | 5♦ J♥ | 2 |
| Fifteen | 4♣ 5♥ 6♠ | 2 |
| Fifteen | 4♣ 5♦ 6♠ | 2 |
| Pair | 5♥ 5♦ | 2 |
| Run of 3 | 4♣ 5♥ 6♠ | 3 |
| Run of 3 | 4♣ 5♦ 6♠ | 3 |
| His nobs | J♥ 5♥ | 1 |
| Total | 8 scoring combinations | 17 |
How the Cribbage Calculator works
A cribbage hand is counted with the starter, the card cut from the deck after the discard, so every count is five cards: your four and the cut. The crib is counted the same way, by the dealer, with one exception for flushes. Five things score.
Fifteens: every combination of cards that adds up to 15 scores 2. Aces count 1, and jacks, queens and kings count 10. The combinations overlap freely: in 5 5 5 J with the fourth 5 cut, the jack makes 15 with each of the four fives, and any three of the four fives make 15 as well, so that hand holds eight fifteens for 16.
Pairs: every two cards of the same rank score 2. Three of a kind holds three pairs, so it scores 6, and four of a kind holds six pairs for 12.
Runs: three or more ranks in a row score 1 a card. An extra card of a rank inside the run makes a second run: 3 3 4 5 is a double run of three, two runs for 6, plus the pair for 2. Two such pairs, as in 4 4 5 5 6, make four runs, the double double run, for 12. Ranks do not wrap, so Q K A is not a run.
Flush: four hand cards of one suit score 4, or 5 if the starter matches. In the crib only a five-card flush counts.
His nobs: a jack in hand of the same suit as the starter scores 1. A jack cut as the starter is his heels instead, 2 for the dealer at the cut, and it is not part of any hand count.
The default hand above, J♥ 5♦ 4♣ 6♠ with the 5♥ cut, shows most of them at once: four fifteens (each five with the jack, and 4 5 6 with either five) for 8, a pair of fives for 2, a double run of 4 5 6 for 6, and the jack of hearts for nobs. That is 17.
Run every possible deal through a cribbage point calculator and some totals never appear. Across all 12,994,800 ways to hold four cards with a fifth cut, no hand or crib ever scores 19, 25, 26 or 27. That is why players call a hand of 0 "nineteen". The average hand is 4.77, and 7.76% of hands score nothing. The top score is 29, three fives and a jack with the fourth five cut in the jack's suit, which happens 4 times in those 12,994,800 deals.
Type all six cards you were dealt and the calculator ranks the 15 ways to throw two of them. Each keep is counted against all 46 cards that could be cut, and the average is exact. The crib is left out of that ranking, because the two cards you throw score with two your opponent chooses.
Cribbage Calculator FAQ
What is the best possible cribbage hand?
29: three fives and the jack of one suit in hand, with the five of that same suit cut. It holds eight fifteens (16), six pairs (12) and his nobs (1). It comes up 4 times in all 12,994,800 combinations of a hand and a starter.
Which cribbage scores are impossible?
19, 25, 26 and 27. Enumerating every hand and starter, no combination scores any of the four, in the hand or the crib. A hand worth 0 is jokingly called a nineteen for that reason.
How does a crib hand calculator count the crib differently?
Only the flush changes. A four-card flush scores 4 in a hand and nothing in the crib, where all five cards, starter included, have to share a suit for 5. Tick the crib box and the calculator applies that rule.
How do you count a double run in cribbage?
Count each run separately, plus the pair. 3 3 4 5 holds two runs of three (6) and a pair of threes (2), so the runs and the pair are worth 8 before any fifteens. A run of four with a pair, such as 2 3 4 5 5, is a double run of four: 8 for the runs and 2 for the pair.
What is his nobs, and what is his heels?
His nobs is a jack in your hand of the starter's suit, worth 1 when the hand is counted. His heels is the starter itself being a jack, worth 2 to the dealer at the moment it is cut. The calculator scores nobs and notes heels without adding it.
What should I throw to the crib?
Type all six cards and the calculator ranks every keep by its average score over the 46 possible starters. That ranking values your hand only. Cards thrown into your own crib score for you, and cards thrown into your opponent's score for them.