The scoring table
| Combination | What counts | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Fifteen | Any group of cards adding up to 15 (face cards are 10, aces are 1) | 2 each |
| Pair | Two cards of the same rank | 2 each |
| Run | Three or more cards in sequence, any suits | 1 per card |
| Flush | All four hand cards the same suit | 4 |
| Flush with the starter | All five cards the same suit | 5 |
| His nobs | The jack of the same suit as the starter | 1 |
In the crib, a flush only counts if all five cards share a suit. A four-card crib flush scores nothing.
Step by step
1. Fifteens
Look for every way to make 15. Start with the tens and fives, since any ten-card plus a five is a fifteen. Then look for pairs of cards that sum to 15 (78, 69), then threes (456, 23K), then four or five cards. Each different combination counts, even if they share cards.
2. Pairs
Every pair is two points. Three of a kind contains three different pairs, so it's six (a pair royal). Four of a kind contains six pairs, so it's twelve.
3. Runs
A run is three or more ranks in a row. Count the longest run you can make, one point per card. If a rank is doubled, you have two runs: 5667 holds two runs of three (5-6-7 twice).
4. Flush
Four cards of one suit in your hand is four points. If the starter matches, it's five.
5. Nobs
If you hold the jack of the starter's suit, add one.
A worked example
Hand 6♠ 7♥ 8♦ 8♣, starter 9♥:
- Fifteens: 6+9, 7+8♦, 7+8♣. That's three fifteens: “fifteen two, fifteen four, fifteen six.”
- Pairs: the two eights: “and a pair is eight.”
- Runs: 6-7-8-9 twice, once with each eight: “two runs of four is sixteen.”
Sixteen points. Check it in the calculator.
Combinations worth memorising
Experienced players don't count runs and pairs separately when they overlap; they know these by heart. Each value includes the pairs and runs, but not any fifteens.
| Pattern | Example | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Double run of three | 4456 | 8 |
| Double run of four | 44567 | 10 |
| Triple run (three of a kind inside a run of three) | 44456 | 15 |
| Double double run (two pairs inside a run of three) | 44556 | 16 |
The highest hands
| Hand and starter | Points |
|---|---|
| 5♥5♦5♣J♠, starter 5♠. Eight fifteens, four of a kind, nobs. Count it | 29 |
| Four fives and any ten-card (not the nobs jack) | 28 |
| 3333 + 9, 4455 + 6, 7788 + 9 | 24 |
How often each score comes up
We counted every possible hand: all 12,994,800 combinations of four cards and a starter, scored once as a hand and once as a crib. A random hand averages 4.77 points, and a random crib 4.73. The most common scores are 4 and 2, and 7.8% of hands score nothing at all. (Players choose their four cards from six, so real hands average more than a random one.)
Exactly four of those 12,994,800 combinations score 29. No hand can score 19, 25, 26 or 27, which is why “nineteen” is the table joke for a zero hand.
| Score | How common (hand) | Hand | Crib |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 7.76% | 7.87% | |
| 1 | 0.77% | 0.77% | |
| 2 | 21.65% | 21.85% | |
| 3 | 3.89% | 3.92% | |
| 4 | 21.98% | 22.08% | |
| 5 | 5.37% | 5.41% | |
| 6 | 13.85% | 13.75% | |
| 7 | 5.78% | 5.81% | |
| 8 | 8.75% | 8.61% | |
| 9 | 2.78% | 2.76% | |
| 10 | 2.99% | 2.91% | |
| 11 | 0.40% | 0.34% | |
| 12 | 2.44% | 2.39% | |
| 13 | 0.15% | 0.13% | |
| 14 | 0.69% | 0.68% | |
| 15 | 0.07% | 0.07% | |
| 16 | 0.45% | 0.44% | |
| 17 | 0.09% | 0.09% | |
| 18 | 0.02% | 0.02% | |
| 19 | impossible | ||
| 20 | 0.06% | 0.06% | |
| 21 | 0.02% | 0.02% | |
| 22 | 0.0034% | 0.0034% | |
| 23 | 0.0027% | 0.0027% | |
| 24 | 0.03% | 0.03% | |
| 25 | impossible | ||
| 26 | impossible | ||
| 27 | impossible | ||
| 28 | 0.0006% | 0.0006% | |
| 29 | 0.00003% | 0.00003% | |
Crib odds differ slightly because a crib flush needs all five cards in one suit.
Scoring during the play
Pegging uses its own short list: 2 for making 15, 2 for making 31, 2 for a pair, 6 for three of a kind, 12 for four, one point per card for a run of three or more among the last cards played, 1 for the go and 1 for the last card. The rules page covers how the go works.