While some think Cribbage game is hard to play, it’s a simple math and strategy game. The idea is to make runs and combinations to score points. Besides trying to score points, you must also work to prevent your opponent from scoring points.
Mastering Cribbage requires practice since you need both experience and intuition to learn all the aspects of the game. Cribbage is fast-paced, and seasoned players complete games in about ten minutes. Slow play is not encouraged, and therefore, new players must initially start playing with relatively inexperienced players.
Cribbage features several rules and has its own vocabulary of terms that you learn as you play. Here’s a guide to the basics of playing Cribbage.
What You Need to Play Cribbage
Besides having someone to play the game with, you need a standard card deck and a Cribbage board. If you don’t have a Cribbage board, you can use a pen and paper to keep score.
It’s important to remember that you score points in two different phases of the game: during the play of cards and scoring the points in your hand. You will need to record points during both stages of Cribbage.
Getting Started
The players cut the deck, and the player who draws the lowest card becomes the dealer. The deal alternates in every hand in the game that follows.
The dealer begins by shuffling the deck and offering the cards to the non-dealer to cut. Next, six cards are dealt facing downwards to both players. The rest of the deck (the “stock”) is placed in the middle of the table.
Both players pick up their cards and discard two cards from their decks facing downwards. The four cards go into the “crib,” forming a third hand that the dealer can use. The non-dealer only has one hand.
It’s important to remember that the cards in the crib do not play any part in the first phase of the game when the cards are played out.
Cutting the Deck
After both players know which cards they’re holding on to, the non-dealer cuts the stock, and the dealer flips over the top card to reveal the “starter” card.
The starter card becomes a part of all three hands but isn’t involved in the play. If the starter is a Jack, the dealer gets two points and must claim and record the points before any cards are played.
Scoring
If you’re using a Cribbage board, it will have four rows of 30 holes. The idea is for the players to score points and move the pegs around the track two times before the opponent. One point is equal to one space on the board, and you need 121 points to win the game.
Both players have two pegs to record their points, and when a player scores their first points, they put a peg on the board. When players score more points, the leading peg is introduced, which indicates their current score. Consequently, the trailing peg keeps a record of the previous score.
When the players near the end of the game, they typically try to prevent their opponent from winning, which is the optimum strategy. The player in the lead must play cautiously since the opponent will go all out to win.
Cribbage Tips
- Hold on to any low cards you have for the go. Once go is complete, the count resets, but you earn two points if you score the go. Having a low card improves the odds of you playing the last card and not going over 31. You don’t need to keep all the low cards in your hand, but having a couple can take you a long way.
- If you have Five cards, play them early on in the game since they won’t be of much use in the end game. The dealer is always looking for these cards. Giving up a five and enabling the dealer to score 15 is risky; nevertheless, the dealer is almost always holding cards that put them over 15 and cost them three points. Playing the Five card early on can cost the dealer some points, but this doesn’t always work.
- Discarding cards into the opponent’s crib is risky and requires careful strategizing since giving away points to the opponent is easy. To leave the opponent with a weak crib, throw cards that don’t work together into the crib. Avoid throwing in cards that make pairs, five or 15. Additionally, avoid throwing in low and middle cards.
Conclusion
Now that you understand the basics of Cribbage and have some insightful tips handy, it’s time to play your first hand of Cribbage. You don’t need to buy a Cribbage board for this – play Cribbage online for free at https://playcribbage-online.com.
