Revised May 2011

Revised May 2011

CRIBBAGE

All competitors must be at least 55 years of age by December 31 of the year of the games.

AGE CATEGORIES / EVENTS: Open to ladies and men

AGE

EVENTS

NUMBER OF COMPETITORS

PER ASSOCIATION

55+

Open Teams

5 teams of 2

TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PER PROVINCE/TERRITORY = 10

RULES INFORMATION:

The provisions of the Laws of Cribbage will apply.

Also note the following:

One game of 121 points constitutes a match.

Neither penalty, nor extra premium will be scored for a skunk.

As soon as a player pegs out, no further counting can be done.

Cut for crib in each game. Lowest card wins the deal.

When counting, cards must be placed face up on the table.

In the event of a misdeal, the dealer will deal again.

Jacks that are ‘cut’ may be counted right up to and including the last hole.

Any points missed cannot be counted once a player has finished moving his peg.

Suit in the hand counts four. Suit in the hand plus deck card counts five. Suit in the crib plus the deck card counts five. Suit in the crib only does not count.

No “muggings” are allowed. (Players get whatever they have.)

Opposition agrees with your score before you peg.

At the Canada 55+ Games, tournament play shall be a double round robin (one round per day.)

The scoring system will be based on wins plus losses with one point for a win and zero points for a loss. Should there be a tie; a winner is declared based on total points scored by those tied in all games played. If a tie still exists, go to “who beat who” in the round robin (amongst those tied).

No game may be conceded.

All pairs must have the same partners throughout the competition.

OFFICIAL CRIBBAGE RULES

WHAT YOU NEED:

All you need to enjoy the game is a standard cribbage board with pegs, a regular deck of 52 cards, and a table or playing surface.

SHOWING AND MAKING POINTS:

The cribbage board is merely used to keep track of the score. Each player has a set of pegs that is moved up and back on his row of holes, or around the track if the board is of the continuous track type. The peg that is farthest advanced for each player indicates his total current score; the other peg shows the total after the previous play and the difference between the two is the number of points gained in the play just completed.

Points are made in two ways by the play of a hand and in the count or “meld” of the hand; that is, players deal and play out their cards as shown below and then pick up their hand again to make additional points through combinations contained in the hand.

PLAYING THE GAME:

The easiest way into the game is to start playing it with special attention to some terms that have special meaning in cribbage and are underlined in the explanation that follows.

Each player cuts the deck for the low card to choose the dealer who deals five cards to each player one at a time. In looking over your hand, you’ll find the counting of “pip” value corresponds to the numerals with the exception of face cards which all count for ten, and the aces, which count for one. It takes several deals to complete a game in which one player makes a total of 121 and the deal alternates among the four players.

After the deal, each player puts one (1) card face down on the table. These 4 cards make up the crib and are put aside till after the hands are played. Then the “pone” or dealer’s opponent to his right cuts the deck and the dealer takes the top card off the bottom section to obtain the starter which, like the crib, is set aside and has no significance during the play; if it happens to be a Jack, the dealer takes 2 points for “Nobs” by putting his leading peg in the second hole.

Then players, starting to the left of dealer (the pone), in turn play cards individually face up on the table. Cards are played around the table with the dealer being the fourth player with the opportunity to play. Each chooses a card that will make points when added to the first card played, adding up to 15 or mating the first card for a pair by placing it face up in front of them towards the middle of the table. The third card played in like manner by the next player might make a run of three if all three cards (regardless of suit) that have been played in sequence have pip values that are played or can be arranged in numerical order like 2-3-4, 4-3-2, 6-7-8, 8-7-6.

This continues until the total pip values played add up to 31 or until one player cannot play without going over 31; in that event the other player takes a point for “Go” and must play for as long as he can add pip values that do not exceed 31. After each 31 all cards played are turned over and any part of “run” cannot be carried over for counting into the next 31 series. Any time a card played hits 31 “on the nose” the player can take 2 points; otherwise each “card before the other player has to stop” counts one.

While some hands will play out without reaching 31, the hand will usually contain more than one 31 series and continues until all cards are played. Each time one player can’t play without exceeding 31, he tells the other player to “Go”. In summary, here are the points that can be scored in play:

Fifteen………………….………….. 2 points

Pair………….………….…………. 2 points

Triplets…………………..………… 6 points

Fours………….……….………….. 12 points

Runs of 3 or more……….………… 1 point for each card

“Last Card”……………..…………. 1 point

31 w/last card……………………… 2 points

Nobs in hand……………….……….1 point

COUNTING THE HAND

After the last card is played, the hands are counted using the starter card as if it were a fifth card in each hand. The pone counts his hand first, taking points for any and all combinations that he finds, as listed above except of course “last card” and “31”. In addition he may take 4 points for a 4 card flush (4 cards in the hand all in the same suit) and 5 points for a 5 card flush, pegging off his count, as for example “15-two-four-six and eight, two pairs for 12 and fours runs of three for 24”. The Jack of the same suit as the starter card, found in the hand is called “Nobs” and counts one point. Players continue to count in order with the dealer counting his hand and the crib last.

To count a flush in crib, all 4 cards must match the suit of the starter card. It should be noted that in counting the hands, the same cards can be used over and over so long as either a new card is added or the same cards for different combination. The example above is of a hand, which, with starter card, contains a pair of fours, a five and a pair of sixes.

EXAMPLES OF COUNTING:

Here are some examples of possible cribbage hands and how they add up after the play. Checking them out against the first six of the eight point values listed above and the 5 for a 5- card flush that apply to the “meld” will help you become accustomed to recognizing combinations that count.

The N stand for His Nobs or Jack of trump, and the asterisk (*) indicates that the whole hand and starter are of one suit (5-card flush). Impossible hand counts are 19, 25, 26 and 27. The first example counts out as follows: “fifteen-two, four, six, (the 10 and 1 combining with each of the three fours for two points each) and triplets are 12.

HAND	SCORE	HAND	SCORE
1, 4, 4, 4,10	= 12	3, 3, 4, 4, 5	= 20
1, 1, 6, 7, 7	= 12	6, 6, 9, 9, 9	= 20
2, 6, 6, 7, 7	= 12	3, 3, 6, 6, 6	= 20
1, 1, 6, 7, 8	= 13	4, 4, 4, 7, 7	= 20
1, 4, 4, N, 4	= 13	3, 3, 4, 5, 5	= 20
3, 3, 6, 6, 9	= 14	6, 6, 7, 7, 8	= 20
4, 4, 7, 7, 7	= 14	7, 8, 8, 9, 9	= 20
4, 5, 6, Q, K*	= 14	4, 5, 6, 6, 6	= 21
3, 3, 9, 9, 9	= 14	5, 5, N, J, J	= 21
1, 2, 3, 3, 3	= 15	3, 3, 3, 4, 5	= 21
1, 1, 2, 2, 3	= 16	7, 7, 7, 8, 9	= 21
2, 3, 4, 4, 4	= 17	5, 5, 5, 10, 10	= 22
2, 3, 3, 3, 4	= 17	5, 5, 5, N, J	= 23
5, 5, J, Q, K	= 17	4, 5, 5, 6, 6	= 24
3, 3, 6, 6, 6	= 18	5, 5, 5, 5, 10	= 28
5, 5, 10, N, Q	= 18	5, N, 5, 5, 5	= 29

MISDEAL:

There must be a new deal by the same dealer if a card is found faced in the pack, if a card is exposed in dealing, or if the pack were found imperfect.

WRONG NUMBER OF CARDS:

If one hand (not crib) is found to have the wrong number of cards after laying away the crib, the other hands and crib being correct, a misdeal is declared and cards are re-dealt by the one who misdealt the hand.

ERROR IN PEGGING:

If a player places a peg short of the amount to which he is entitled, he may not correct the error after he has played the next card. If he pegs more than his announced score, the error must be corrected on demand at any time before the play resumes.

The hand and crib must be laid out plainly when counting and must remain so until the opponents understand the count being carried out.

THE DRAW:

Participants come to the Canada 55+ Games for a variety of reasons, but most importantly to play the 'sport' of their choice. When making the draw up for this event, it is important for the Host to remember that this event should last a minimum of two full days. Normally a double round robin in Contract Bridge will suffice, but dependant on the number of participants entered, this may have to be altered to a single round robin.