Nobs Cribbage Get Muggins

Cribbage Terms

This glossary defines all of the words and phrases you'll hear when playing cribbage. Terms that require a lengthy explanation link out to their own page. All definitions are rooted in standard American cribbage rules as defined by the American Cribbage Congress.

The deal & the players

Crib (also “the box”)
The dealer’s second hand: two discards from each player, four cards counted last.
Cut
Splitting the deck: the lower cut takes the first deal; the pone’s cut yields the starter.
Deal
Six cards each in two-player cribbage, with the deal alternating every hand.
Dealer
The player who deals the hand, owns the crib, scores heels, and counts last.
Discard
The two cards each player puts face down into the crib after the deal.
Hand
The four cards kept after discarding, counted with the starter at the show.
His heels (also “nibs”)
A jack turned up as the starter: two points to the dealer, pegged immediately.
Pone
The non-dealer: cuts for the starter, leads the play, and counts first.
Starter (also “the cut card”)
The card turned up after the cut; a fifth card for every hand and the crib.

The play (pegging)

The count
The running total of the cards played, never allowed past thirty-one. Full rules →
Go
Said when you cannot play under 31; the last card laid pegs one, or two on exactly 31. Full rules →
Last card
One point for laying the final card of a count sequence or of the whole play. Full rules →
Lead
The first card of a count sequence; the pone leads first every hand.
Overpegging
Pegging more than you scored; when caught, the peg goes back and the opponent gains.
Pegging (also “the play”)
The play phase: alternating cards to a running count, points pegged as they happen.
Pegging out
Pegging into hole 121, the game hole, which wins the game on the spot. Full rules →
Pegs
Each player’s two scoring pegs; the back one leapfrogs the front by each score.
Renege
Withholding a playable card after saying go; a fault, penalized in tournament play. Full rules →
Thirty-one
The ceiling of the running count; landing on it exactly pegs two. Full rules →

Scoring combinations

Double run
A run of three or four with one rank paired: eight or ten points.
Double-double run
A run of three with two ranks paired: sixteen points plus its fifteens.
Fifteen
Any combination of cards totaling fifteen scores two, in the play or at the show.
Flush
Four hand cards of one suit score four, five with a matching starter; cribs are stricter. Full rules →
Nobs (also “his nobs”)
The jack in a hand or crib matching the starter’s suit: one point at the show.
Pair
Two cards of the same rank: two points, during play or at the show.
Pair royal (also “three of a kind”)
Three of one rank: six points, one for each pair hiding inside it.
Double pair royal (also “four of a kind”)
Four of one rank: twelve points, six pairs’ worth.
Run
Three or more consecutive ranks, suits irrelevant, one point per card.
Triple run
A run of three with one rank tripled: fifteen points plus any fifteens.

The show

Muggins (also “cutthroat”)
An optional rule: points your opponent overlooks, you may claim and peg yourself.
Nineteen hand
Table slang for a worthless hand, because nineteen is an impossible cribbage score. Full rules →
The show
The counting phase after play: pone’s hand, then dealer’s hand, then the crib. Full rules →
Twenty-eight hand
Four fives plus any ten-value card: 28 points, the second-highest hand, at 15,028 to 1.
Twenty-nine hand
The best possible hand: three fives and a jack, with the matching fourth five as starter.

The board & winning

Cribbage board
The 120-hole scoring track plus a game hole; every point in cribbage is pegged on it.
Corners
The turns at the ends of a traditional board’s rows; table talk that scores nothing.
Double skunk
Losing with sixty points or fewer, short of Third Street; often a triple or quadruple loss.
Game hole (also “hole 121”)
The 121st hole; pegging into it wins the game instantly.
Game points
ACC match scoring: a normal win counts two game points, a skunk win three.
Lurch
A stake term for losing short of sixty-one, traditionally a doubled loss.
Skunk
A game the loser finishes with 61–90 points; commonly counted as a double win.
Skunk line
The boundary between holes 90 and 91; lose behind it and you’ve been skunked.
Stinkhole (also “the dead hole”)
Hole 120, one short of game; the worst place on the board to finish.
Streets
The board’s four 30-hole quarters; Fourth Street runs from hole 91 to 120.

Slang & table talk

Gut shot
A starter that fills an inside gap and turns a modest hand into a big one.
Hauling lumber
Deliberately pegging points you didn’t score: cheating, not a miscount.
Raggedy Ann
The scattered-looking hand 8-7-6-A-A, worth a surprising thirteen points.
Raggedy Andy
Raggedy Ann’s little brother: 8-7-6-2-2, worth eleven points.
Up sticks
A tied score at any point mid-game.

Variants & history

Five-card cribbage
The original form: five cards each, game to sixty-one; six-card play has largely replaced it.
Four-handed cribbage (also “partnership cribbage”)
A partners game: partners sit opposite and one player pegs for the side.
Noddy
The 16th-century English game that cribbage evolved from in the early 1600s.
Three-handed cribbage
Five cards each plus one to the crib; the player left of the dealer leads and counts first.

By the Nobs Cribbage team Last reviewed 2026-08-01