Cribbage
Cribbage, or crib, is a card game
traditionally for two players, but commonly played with three, four
or more, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations
which gain points. Cribbage has several distinctive features: the
cribbage board used for scorekeeping, the eponymous crib or box (a
separate hand counting for the dealer), two distinct scoring stages
(the play and the show) and a unique scoring system including
points for groups of cards that total fifteen.
Cribbage holds a special place among American submariners, serving
as an "official" pastime. The wardroom of the oldest submarine in
the fleet carries RADM Dick O'Kane's personal cribbage board
onboard, and upon decommissioning it is transferred to the next
oldest boat
Rules
The players cut for first deal, and the dealer shuffles and deals
five or six cards to each player, depending on the number of
players. For two players, each is dealt six cards; for three or
four players, each is dealt five cards. In the case of three
players, a single card is dealt face down in the centre of the
table to start the crib. Once the cards have been dealt, each
player chooses four cards to retain, then discards the other one or
two face-down to form the "crib" which will be used later by the
dealer. At this point, each player's hand and the crib will contain
exactly four cards. The player on the dealer's left cuts the deck
and the dealer reveals the top card, called the "starter". If this
card is a Jack, the dealer scores two points for "his heels", also
known as "his nibs".
The Play
Starting with the player on the dealer's left, each player lays one
card in turn onto a personal discard pile, stating the cumulative
value of the cards laid (for example, the first player lays a five
and says "five", the next lays a six and says "eleven", and so on),
without the total going above 31. Once no more cards can be played,
the cumulative position is reset to zero and those players with
cards remaining repeat the process until all players' cards have
been played. Players score points during this process for making a
total of fifteen, for reaching exactly, or as close as possible to
a total of thirty-one, for runs and for pairs. Players choose the
order in which to lay their cards in order to maximize their score;
experienced players refer to this as either good or poor
"pegsmanship". If one player reaches the target (usually 61 or
121), the game ends immediately and that player wins.
The Show
Once the play is complete, each player in turn receives points
based on the content of his hand in conjunction with the starter
card. Points are scored for combinations of cards totalling
fifteen, runs, pairs, flushes and having a Jack of the same suit as
the starter card ("one for his nob [or nobs or nibs]"). The dealer
scores his hand last and then turns the cards in the crib face up.
These cards are then scored by the dealer as an additional hand in
conjunction with the starter card. Scores between 0 and 29 are all
possible, with the exception of 19, 25, 26 and 27. Players may
refer colloquially to a hand scoring zero points as having a score
of nineteen.
|