Dealer's hand: K-10-5-A. The 10 is too near; the 5 and A are best retained for later. Dealer's hand: Q-7-7-6. If opponent has an ace, the 15 for which he scores may cost him a later go. If he plays any 10-point card your 7 will give you 31 for 2. Dealer's hand: 5-5-4-4. The game drops the traditional board and cards altogether and just focuses on Cribbage-style scoring. It combines Scrabble and Cribbage into a tile laying game where you use playing card tile to lay the best Cribbage hand possible. The biggest negative criticism I've read about this game is that it has heavy Analysis Paralysis potential. The Jack's suit matches the starter card awarding 'his nobs' for 1 point. This creates a total of 29 points and the best hand possbile in Cribbage. The odd of getting this hand is 1:216,580! Can you score 27, 26, or 25 points with a hand in Cribbage? Top cribbage player Bob Milk writes that leading a 5 can be a good cribbage strategy in the following situation: I am holding a 5 and three 10-value cards and I need one more point to win than I am holding. Example, I am holding 5-10-10-J and any card is cut that does not increase the value of the hand. I am stuck with 8 points.
The highest scoring cribbage hand you can get is worth 29 points. It consists of a Jack and three fives. The cut card is the five of the same suit as the Jack. So, there are actually four different hands that are worth 29 (each suit). Even so, your odds of getting this “perfect hand” is only 1 in 216,580!
How does it work? There are eight different fifteens, each worth two points. The four-of-a-kind is worth another 12 points. Finally, nobs is worth one point, bringing the total to 29.
Any ten or face card other than a suited Jack will also give you an impressive 28 points. There are 76 possible hands in which that happens, so your odds are slightly higher, though still extremely slim.
The allure of the perfect 29 hand is so great that many people have it depicted on custom cribbage boards like this one:
Now, go play a game of cribbage and see how long it takes you to get your own 29 hand!
This article was written by Robert James Reese.
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Best Cribbage Hand Possible
Traditional Cribbage is a card game that has been around since the 17th Century. It involves creating hands composed of pairs, runs, flushes, and sums to 15. Here at eCribbage.com, you can play 2 player, 3 player, and 4 player games. You can also play teams, muggins, and jokers.
What features make eCribbage.com the best?
How to play (2 player):
The players cut to see who gets the first 'crib'. Players are dealt 6 cards each, and both have to discard 2 cards into the crib. Then a community card is cut that will play for both hands in the show. If a jack is cut for the cut card, the player with the crib immediately gets 2 points. (This is called His Nobs). Now on to the play:
Best Cribbage Hand Possible
The play
Players take turns playing (pegging) their cards one at a time and announcing the total sum of the cards. Face cards count for 10. If the sum is equal to 15 or 31, that player gets 2 points. If the player forms a pair, they get 2 points. A triple pair is worth 6 points, and a quadruple pair is worth 12 points. If either player forms a run of 3 or more, they get to claim that many points as well. Runs do not necessarily have to be played in order. For example if 4,7,5,6 was played, whoever laid the 6 would get to claim a run for 4 points.
You are not allowed to play a card to make a sum over 31, so if you play to 28 and your opponent only has cards of over 3, they will say GO and you will continue to play as many cards as you can up to 31. You also claim one point for playing the last card of every trick. Whoever played the last card in the trick, their opponent starts the next trick. When all cards have been played, you move on to the show.
The show
The show is where you count all the hands up. The player that does not have the crib counts first, then the player with the crib counts their hand, and then finally the crib is counted. Scores count for the following:
How to play (3 player):
3 player crib is very similar to 2 player crib except players are dealt 5 cards each instead of 6. They only throw one card each to the crib, and one card is taken off the top of the deck and placed in the crib.
eCribbage.com also provides the variant where the dealer (the player with the crib) can deal themself 6 cards, and the rest of the players 5. The dealer throws 2 cards to their crib, and the rest of the players throw 1 card to the crib.
How to play (4 player):
4 player crib is very similar to 2 player crib except players are dealt 5 cards each instead of 6. Every player throws one card to the crib. The play goes clockwise through all players. There is also a 2 vs 2, team cribbage game that is described on the team cribbage page.