Cribbage Hand Scorer

Cribbage scoring is famously easy to get wrong, because the parts interact: a run counted twice because a card is paired, fifteens missed because you stopped at the obvious ones, a flush claimed in the crib when only a five-card flush counts there. The rules are exact, so every part can be enumerated — and shown, with the cards that made it.

Your four cards

Written like 5S 5H 5D JC — rank then suit letter.

The starter

The card that was cut.

This is the crib (a four-card flush does not count)

5♠ 5♥ 5♦ J♣ with 5♣ cut.

Fifteen	5♠ 5♥ 5♦	2
Fifteen	5♠ J♣	2
Fifteen	5♥ J♣	2
Fifteen	5♦ J♣	2
Fifteen	5♠ 5♥ 5♣	2
Fifteen	5♠ 5♦ 5♣	2
Fifteen	5♥ 5♦ 5♣	2
Fifteen	J♣ 5♣	2
Pair	5♠ 5♥	2
Pair	5♠ 5♦	2
Pair	5♠ 5♣	2
Pair	5♥ 5♦	2
Pair	5♥ 5♣	2
Pair	5♦ 5♣	2
His nobs	J♣ 5♣	1

✓ The parts add up to the total — 15 scoring combinations making 29
✓ Every fifteen really sums to fifteen — 8 fifteens, found by testing all 31 combinations of the five cards
✓ Every run is consecutive, and only the longest counts — no run in this hand
✓ Every pair is a real pair — 6 pairs, which is 12 points — three of a kind gives six this way, without a special rule
✓ The flush rule is the right one for where the hand is — no flush in this hand
✓ Nothing scores twice — no combination uses the same card twice

What this generator does

Tests all thirty-one combinations of the five cards for fifteens, counts pairs as pairs, finds the longest run and every way of making it, and applies the flush and nobs rules.

How to use this tool

Type your four cards, written as rank then suit, like 5S 5H 5D JC.
Type the starter that was cut.
Tick the crib box if you are counting the crib rather than a hand.
Check the total against the list of combinations underneath it.

Understanding the controls

Your four cards: Rank then suit, with the suit as S, H, D or C. Ten can be written as 10 or T, and case does not matter. The same card twice is refused.
The starter: The card cut at the top of the deck, which counts towards the hand but is not part of it for the four-card flush.
This is the crib: In the crib a four-card flush does not count — only a flush of five including the starter. That is the rule most often got wrong, so it is a switch rather than something to remember.

Common use cases

Settling a count somebody has muggins-ed you on
Learning to count faster by seeing what you missed
Checking an unusual hand where the runs and pairs overlap
Remembering how the flush rule differs in the crib
Seeing what a 29 hand actually consists of

How this generator works

Fifteens come from testing every one of the thirty-one non-empty combinations of the five cards, so none is missed. Pairs are counted as pairs rather than as three or four of a kind, which is what makes a triple worth six and a quadruple twelve without any special rule. For runs, only the longest counts, and it counts once for each way of choosing among duplicate ranks — a three-card run inside a four-card run scores nothing extra, which is where hand counting usually goes astray. Every part is listed with the cards that made it, and the check adds the parts back to the total, confirms each fifteen really sums to fifteen, and confirms each run is consecutive and none shorter has been counted.

Randomness and fairness

Nothing is random. The same hand and starter always score the same.

For how randomness is produced across the whole site, see how Generate Random works.

Limitations and good to know

This scores the hand and the crib at the show; the pegging during play is a different count and is not covered.
His heels — the two points for cutting a jack — belongs to the dealer at the cut, not to the hand, so it is not included.
Nineteen, the joke score, means nothing at all, and that is what a scoreless hand shows.
The scoring rules are the standard ones; house variations are not offered.

Privacy and your data

The hand is scored in your browser. No cards are transmitted or stored.