What Is the Crib in Cribbage?
The crib is a second four-card hand that belongs to the dealer, built from the two cards each player discards face down after the deal. Also called the box, the crib stays face down until the show, where it is counted last, after both hands, with the starter as its fifth card.
How is the crib formed?
In a two-player game, each player is dealt six cards and discards two of them face down. Those four cards go together in one pile beside the dealer, and that pile is the crib. Nobody looks at it again until the counting at the end of the hand.
The crib belongs to the dealer no matter who contributed which cards. Because the deal alternates every hand, the crib changes owners with it: you feed your opponent's crib on one hand and own the next one yourself.
When is the crib counted?
The crib is always counted last. The show runs in a fixed order: the pone (the non-dealer) counts first, then the dealer counts their own hand. Only then does the dealer turn the crib face up and score it. The starter counts as a fifth card for the crib, exactly as it does for each hand, so the crib is scored as five cards in the usual way. Owning the crib is what lets the dealer count two hands in every show while the pone counts one.
Why does discarding depend on who deals?
Because the dealer owns the crib, the same discard decision points in opposite directions depending on your seat. When you deal, your two discards land in your own crib, so cards that work together (a pair, say, or two cards close in rank) may come back to you at the show. When you are the pone, your discards feed your opponent's crib, so most players lean the other way and try not to hand over cards that combine well. The six cards ask the same question either way; the crib's ownership changes the answer.
Does a flush count in the crib?
Only the five-card version counts. In the hand, four cards of one suit score 4 points, or 5 when the starter matches too. The crib is stricter: a flush counts only when all four crib cards and the starter share one suit, for 5 points. Four crib cards of a suit with an off-suit starter score nothing as a flush.
| Where | What must match | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | Four hand cards, one suit | 4 |
| Hand | Four hand cards plus starter, one suit | 5 |
| Crib | All four crib cards plus starter | 5 |
Is the crib always four cards?
Yes, in the two-player, three-player, and five-card games alike. Two players discard two cards each from six. With three players, each is dealt five cards and one card goes straight from the deck into the crib; every player then discards a single card, which again makes four. Even the older five-card game built it the same way, with two discards from each player making a four-card crib. In each of these forms, the dealer's box is four cards plus the starter.
By the Nobs Cribbage team Last reviewed 2026-08-01