Cribbage is a classic card game full of strategy and skill that has been enjoyed for centuries. I first learned Cribbage as a boy when my Grandpa taught me how to play, but I didn’t develop a full appreciation for the depth and strategy of the game until I was an adult.
As a beginning or inexperienced player, you might feel like Cribbage is mostly a game of luck, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a healthy amount of luck involved from the cards you’re dealt, but a good Cribbage player will win almost every time over a newbie. I’m not a pro player by any means, but I have learned enough strategy to win often and be competitive against almost any player.
I’ll get into the fundamental strategies of Cribbage soon, but first, you must have a complete understanding of the scoring system and the value of certain combinations of cards in Cribbage. Look at the charts below and ensure you completely understand all of the combinations and terminology, since they’ll be used later in this article. Beyond that, I will assume that you already know the rules of the game.
| Combination | Description | Playing Points | Hand/Crib Points | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | A combo of cards adding up to 15 | 2 | 2 | 10-5, Q-5, 4-4-7 |
| 31 | The sum of all cards equals 31 | 2 | – | 10-Q-K-A, 10-8-9-4 |
| Pair | 2 of a kind | 2 | 2 | 6-6, 9-9, J-J |
| Royal Pair | 3 of a kind (equals 3 pairs) | 6 | 6 | 8-8-8, 2-2-2 |
| Double Royal Pair | 4 of a kind (equals 6 pairs) | 12 | 12 | 7-7-7-7, 3-3-3-3 |
| 3-Card Straight | 3 cards of consecutive ranks | 3 | 3 | 4-6-5, K-Q-J, 2-3-4 |
| 4-Card Straight | 4 cards of consecutive ranks | 4 | 4 | 4-3-6-5, 7-8-6-9 |
| 5-Card Straight | 5 cards of consecutive ranks | 5 | 5 | 7-4-5-6-3 |
| Long Straight | Consecutive ranks, 1 pt for each | 1/card | 1/card | 3-4-5-2-6-A |
| 4-Card Flush | 4 cards in hand/crib are same suit | – | 4 | Four ♣, Four ♥ |
| 5-Card Flush | 5 cards in hand/crib are same suit | – | 5 | Five ♦, Five ♠ |
| Last Card or Go | Last card played below 31 | 1 | – | A-A-Q-K-8 |
| His Heels | Jack as starter (points to dealer) | 2 | – | J (as starter) |
| Nob | Jack in hand/crib matches starter’s suit | – | 1 | J♠ with 8♠ as starter |
| Combination | Description | Playing Points | Hand/Crib Points | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double run of 3 | A pair inside two 3-card runs | – | 8 | 4-5-5-6 |
| Double run of 4 | A pair inside two 4-card runs | – | 10 | 3-2-4-4-5 |
| Triple run of 3 | Royal pair and three 3-card runs | – | 15 | 6-7-8-8-8 |
| Quadruple run of 3 | Two pairs and four 3-card runs | – | 16 | 4-6-6-5-5 |
Strategies to use all the time
Most games of Cribbage end with very close scores, especially in high-level play. Every point you score (or deny to your opponent) is critical, so even a small improvement to your game can have a drastic effect on your win rate.
Some of the strategies you use in a game of cribbage vary depending on whether you’re the Dealer or the Pone, but many of them remain constant regardless of the position you’re in. The strategy tips listed below can be used in almost any situation and are a good starting point for any player looking to improve their play.
Never lead with a 10 or a 5
This is one of the most basic tenets of Cribbage. Unless you have no other choice, you should never lead with a 10 or 5 because your opponent is very likely to follow up with a 5 or 10 of their own to make 15, scoring 2 points.
If you have to choose between the two, I would recommend leading with a 10 because 5’s are much less common than court cards (face cards). Your opponent is far likelier to have a court card in their hand than a 5.
Avoid leaving a count of 21 or 26
On a similar note, you should always avoid playing a card that would leave a count of 21 or 26. Since 5’s and 10’s are the most common cards for players to have in their hand, leaving a count of 21 or 26 makes it very likely that your opponent will be able to score 31 for 2.
On the flip side, you should always consider trying to make 11 if you have a 10 card to back it up. If you make 11 your opponent might have no choice but to play a 10 card, at which point you can follow it up with your 10 card to score 31 for 2 (and possibly score additional points for a pair).
CHECK IT OUT: If you love Cribbage and you want to be able to play it anywhere, I’d highly recommend getting a nice compact travel board like this one from Amazon.
Keep cards that are part of (or close to) runs
When deciding what to discard, you should try to keep cards that are part of a run or, at least, close to it. Holding cards that are part of a potential run offers many scoring opportunities you can’t get from ‘wide’ cards. This is especially true for mid-range cards like 6, 7, 8, and 9 that, in addition to their run potential, can combine in different ways to make 15’s.
Hold cards that make 11 (Magic Eleven)
This strategy is a bit more complex but is definitely worth remembering as a new player. Try to keep cards in your hand that total 11 points, because it will often help you to score 31. It’s worth noting that when you’re the deal you need 2 cards that total 11 but as Pone you need a combination of at least 3 cards for this to work.
Always consider the effect of potential upcards
You can’t just look at the cards in your hand to make a decision about which cards to discard into the Crib – you also must consider the potential effect of the upcard. Try to leave yourself with a hand that has the potential to benefit from a large range of upcards instead of hoping for just 1 or 2 specific cards.
Hold Jacks and play them carefully
Scoring some extra points off of Jacks is an often-overlooked but possibly game-changing tactic. Because of their potential to score nobs, players almost always decide to hold a Jack when deciding between two court cards to discard. This means that your opponent is more likely to have a Jack than any other court card.
Because Jacks are so commonly held, you should avoid playing them unless they make the count 22 or more (when it becomes impossible for your opponent to play another Jack as a pair). The exception to this rule is if you happen to have two Jacks in your hand, in which case you should lead with a Jack and hope to be able to follow up their pair with trips for 6 points.
Bait opponents into letting you score combinations
If you have cards in your hand that could be used to form a combination, try to bait your opponent into allowing you to play the combo. The easiest version of this is leading with a card that is part of a pair. Let’s say you have two 9’s in your hand and you play first. Lead with a 9 so that if your opponent plays another 9 to score a Pair for 2, you can play your second 9 to score a Royal Pair for 6.
Similarly, if you have a set of cards that can form a long run, play a card that is close to one of theirs to bait them into playing a run of 3. Then, extend the run to score more points than they did.
Lead with a 4 or lower when possible
The best opening lead in Cribbage is a 4. Your opponent can’t make a 15 and, depending on the cards in your hand, you will have the chance to make 15 yourself. Other low cards like A, 2, and 3 are also very safe to lead but can be very valuable when held to play for Go or to score 31.
One nice trap that I’ve been able to use often is when I have a 4 and a 7 in my hand (Magic 11). If I lead with the 4 my opponent may play a 4 to score a pair for 2, but then I can play the 7 to score 15 for 2.
Lead with a pair for more scoring opportunities
As I mentioned above, if you have a pair in your hand then it’s usually a good idea to lead with one of the cards in the pair. If your opponent matches the card to score a Pair for 2, you’ll be able to follow it up by playing a Royal Pair for 6.
If you’re playing against experienced opponents you should be wary of falling into this trap yourself. In general, you should not score a Pair if your opponent could possibly score a Royal Pair after you!
Get rid of higher cards first
In general, unless you can score through pegging you should get rid of your higher cards first to give you a better chance of scoring a Go. By playing the higher cards from your hand you simultaneously limit your opponent’s options by bringing the score closer to 31 and increase your chances of being able to play another card by keeping lower cards.
Ignore the Crib when the game reaches ~110 points
Once the game is close to ending, the Crib becomes largely irrelevant to the outcome of the game. Neither player should concern themselves with improving or harming the Crib because it’s unlikely that it will even come into play – someone will win before it does.
The Pone should only worry about scoring as many points as he or she can through pegging and their hand since their hand will score first. The Dealer should play to win through pegging if possible, but play defensively and try to stop the Pone from winning on that turn.
Once you become a more advanced player you would do well to familiarize yourself with the 26 Theory, devised by DeLynn Colvert. It’s a complicated but powerful way of analyzing the current game state based on where the players are on the board and it helps a player determine how they should play. It’s very math and theory-heavy so I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone other than an advanced and/or competitive player.
CHECK IT OUT: If you’re into classic card games, be sure to check out my complete strategy guides on Hearts and Spades
Strategies as the Dealer
How you approach a Cribbage hand fundamentally changes depending on whether you’re the Dealer or the Pone. The biggest difference is, of course, that the Dealer owns the Crib which offers an additional way to score points. In addition to the above strategies, here are some tips you should apply when playing as the Dealer.
Throw good cards into your crib
As a general rule, you shouldn’t sacrifice a good hand to create a good Crib because you never know what your opponent might choose to throw in. However, when you have several good options to make a good hand you should try to put combinations of cards in your Crib that have the potential to work well together and score additional points.
Good combinations of cards to throw into the Crib as the Dealer are:
- Pairs
- 5’s
- Consecutive rank cards
- Cards that total 15
- 3’s
These combos all have the potential (sometimes even a guarantee) of scoring you points from the Crib. Throwing a 5 into the Crib is powerful because your opponent may throw in some 10’s. Pairs and cards that total 15 are guaranteed to score you points and may combine with other cards for even more points. 3’s aren’t ideal, but they often work because they’re low and are generally useful in creating combinations totaling 15.
Play to enhance both your hand and the crib
Playing as the Dealer can be tricky because you’re always looking for a balance between maximizing your hand while also contributing to the health of your Crib. Look for ways to give all of your cards potential by placing a pair that works well together in the Crib without severely damaging your hand.
When in doubt, you should favor the sure points in your hand. Try to at least put some ‘near’ cards (cards that are close together) in your Crib to give the potential of a run.
Hold low cards if you have a bad hand
Sometimes you draw a hand that is just plain bad and there isn’t much you can do about it. In these cases, throw your higher cards into the Crib and keep the lower ones in your hand. Keeping low cards in your hand at least gives you some more opportunities to score through pegging so that they hand won’t be a complete waste.
Strategies as the Pone (Non-Dealer)
Your strategy as the Pone (non-dealer) is quite a bit different since you’re trying to sabotage the Crib. In many ways, you’re trying to do the exact opposite of the tips I listed for the Dealer. Playing as the Pone is usually a defensive role in which you’re trying to minimize the damage done in the Crib while still scoring as many points as you can from your hand.
Prioritize your hand over minimizing the crib
A lot of new players stress too much about trying to sabotage the Crib when they should instead be focused on their hand. You never know what your opponent will put into the Crib – it’s always just an educated guess. Sometimes you put cards that should be awful in the Crib and they end up scoring a lot of points, and vice versa.
Because it’s so unpredictable (for us mortals, anyway), you should first focus on your hand and keep the Crib as a secondary consideration.
Put split cards into the crib
As a general rule, you should discard ‘wide’ cards into the Crib that have no potential to score points for being a part of a run together. This can be a good rule of thumb to use as a tiebreaker when deciding between a few cards to discard – just make sure that the cards you put in the Crib are more than 2 apart.
For example, in the hand below, you should throw the 9 and the Ace because they’re ‘wide’. You don’t want to put the Pair of 2’s in the Crib and you definitely don’t want to discard the 5. You hope that the upcard will be a 10-point card, 2, 3, or 8 which would all help your hand immensely.
Avoid throwing desirable cards into the Crib
Similarly, you should always avoid putting desirable cards and combinations into the Crib. There’s no point in giving your opponent surefire points by putting a Pair or a 15 combo into the Crib. NEVER put a 5 into your opponent’s Crib since that’s just giving them huge scoring potential. You can sometimes get away with putting 10’s into their crib, but don’t make a habit of it because then they’ll know they can put 5’s into their Crib to score off of.
Thanks for reading! If I missed something or you have your own opinions, please drop a comment below.
Leave a Reply