Score
A cribbage hand calculator ends the “fifteen two, fifteen four, and…” pause. Hold 4-5-6-6 with a 5 cut and you’ve got 24: four fifteens for 8, two pairs for 4 and four runs of three for 12. The famous 29 hand (three 5s and the jack of the starter’s suit with the fourth 5 cut) gets its full breakdown too. Tap your four cards and the starter, and the free calculator lists every point. Switch to “What to throw” and give it six cards: it ranks every possible keep by its average score over all 46 possible starters.
How the cribbage hand calculator counts
- Fifteens: every combination of cards adding to 15 is 2 points. Picture cards count 10.
- Pairs: 2 points per pair, so three of a kind is 6 and four of a kind is 12.
- Runs: three or more cards in sequence, 1 point per card, and duplicates multiply them (a double run of three is 8 including the pair).
- Flush: four cards of one suit in your hand is 4, or 5 if the starter matches. The crib only scores a flush with all five.
- Nobs: the jack of the starter’s suit in your hand is 1.
Tick “This is the crib” to apply the crib flush rule.
What to throw
Discarding is where cribbage games are won. The calculator tries all 15 ways to keep four of your six, averages each over every possible cut, and adds a rough value for the two cards going into the crib: positive if it’s your crib, negative if it’s your opponent’s. A pair of 5s in your own crib is gold; in your opponent’s it’s a gift. When two keeps are close, the crib adjustment usually decides it.
Keeping score at the same time? The rummy score sheet works for any game counted in rounds, and the random card generator deals practice hands.