How to Play Cribbage with 2 Players
Quick answer
To play cribbage with 2 players, deal six cards each. Each player throws two cards into the dealer's crib, then you take turns playing cards toward 31 (pegging) and count your four cards plus the starter. The first to 121 points wins.
Two players is the standard game. It is the version the American Cribbage Congress uses in tournaments.
Two players is how cribbage is meant to be played
You need a standard 52-card deck with the jokers taken out, and a cribbage board or a pencil and paper. Aces count 1, face cards count 10, and every other card counts its number.
Sit across from each other. Cut the deck: the lower card deals first. The other player is called the pone.
Deal six cards each and keep four
- The dealer deals six cards each, one at a time, starting with the pone.
- Each player looks at their six cards and puts two face down in the crib. The crib belongs to the dealer.
- The pone cuts the deck and the dealer turns up the top card of the bottom half. This is the starter. If it is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 for “his heels.”
Choosing your two crib cards is the biggest decision in two-player cribbage. It changes with whose crib it is. Take the hand below:
- When you deal, the best throw is 6♣ and 6♠. You keep 5♦ K♥ Q♥ 3♣ and put a scoring pair into your own crib. Net: about 9.1 points a hand.
- When your opponent deals, the best throw is K♥ and Q♥. You keep the 5-6-6 and don't hand them the pair. Net: about 7.0.
Practice: choose your crib cards
Tap two cards. The trainer scores all 15 ways to split the hand, using the same engine that runs our online game. Switch between “Mine” and “My opponent's” to see how the crib changes the answer.
Try it: which two cards go in the crib?
You are dealt six cards. Two go to the crib. Pick the two you would throw, and the game engine scores all 15 choices against every possible starter card.
Your hand: Five of diamonds, Six of clubs, Six of spades, King of hearts, Queen of hearts, Three of clubs.
Best throw when it is your own crib: six of clubs and six of spades.
Keep 5♦ K♥ Q♥ 3♣: about 6.4 points in your hand on average. The two cards add about 2.7 to your crib. Net: 9.1.
Before the starter, 5♦ K♥ Q♥ 3♣ already scores 4: fifteen two, fifteen four.
All 15 choices, best first
| Throw | Keep | Hand | Crib | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. 6♣ 6♠ | 5♦ K♥ Q♥ 3♣ | 6.4 | +2.7 | 9.1 |
| 2. K♥ Q♥ | 5♦ 6♣ 6♠ 3♣ | 7.8 | +0.8 | 8.6 |
| 3. 5♦ K♥ | 6♣ 6♠ Q♥ 3♣ | 5.4 | +3.0 | 8.4 |
| 4. 5♦ Q♥ | 6♣ 6♠ K♥ 3♣ | 5.4 | +3.0 | 8.4 |
| 5. K♥ 3♣ | 5♦ 6♣ 6♠ Q♥ | 7.0 | +0.6 | 7.6 |
| 6. Q♥ 3♣ | 5♦ 6♣ 6♠ K♥ | 7.0 | +0.6 | 7.6 |
| 7. 6♣ 3♣ | 5♦ 6♠ K♥ Q♥ | 6.5 | +0.5 | 7.0 |
| 8. 6♠ 3♣ | 5♦ 6♣ K♥ Q♥ | 6.5 | +0.5 | 7.0 |
| 9. 6♣ K♥ | 5♦ 6♠ Q♥ 3♣ | 4.8 | +0.5 | 5.3 |
| 10. 6♣ Q♥ | 5♦ 6♠ K♥ 3♣ | 4.8 | +0.5 | 5.3 |
| 11. 6♠ K♥ | 5♦ 6♣ Q♥ 3♣ | 4.8 | +0.5 | 5.3 |
| 12. 6♠ Q♥ | 5♦ 6♣ K♥ 3♣ | 4.8 | +0.5 | 5.3 |
| 13. 5♦ 3♣ | 6♣ 6♠ K♥ Q♥ | 3.4 | +1.3 | 4.7 |
| 14. 5♦ 6♣ | 6♠ K♥ Q♥ 3♣ | 1.6 | +1.7 | 3.3 |
| 15. 5♦ 6♠ | 6♣ K♥ Q♥ 3♣ | 1.6 | +1.7 | 3.3 |
Averages over all 46 cards that could be cut as the starter. Pegging is not counted, so close calls can go either way.
A simple rule of thumb: in your own crib, throw cards that score together, like a pair, two cards that make 15, or a 5. In your opponent's crib, throw cards far apart in rank, such as a king and a 2, and never a 5 if you can help it.
Peg toward 31, then count the hands
The pone plays first. Take turns laying down one card and saying the running total. You score for making 15 or 31, for pairs and for runs. If you can't play without going over 31, say “go,” and your opponent plays on and scores the last card. Our pegging rules page plays a whole hand out card by card.
When all eight cards are played, count in this order: the pone's hand, the dealer's hand, then the dealer's crib. Each counts with the starter. See how to count a cribbage hand for every combination.
The deal alternates, so the crib evens out
The dealer gets the crib, a bonus four cards to count every other hand. The pone gets something back: the first card in pegging and the first count at the end. With two players, the deal passes back and forth each hand, so each player gets the crib about half the time.
Counting first matters near the end. If the pone reaches 121 while counting, the game is over, even if the dealer's hand and crib would have scored more.
Win by reaching 121 first
Play hand after hand until someone reaches 121. The game stops the moment that happens, even in the middle of pegging. Win by 31 or more and it is a skunk, which usually counts as two games. To keep score, see how to use a cribbage board.
If you like Cribbage, try
Euchre
2–4 players · 20 min · Learn in a game or two
Partners, trump and the two bowers. Take three tricks of five.
Spite & Malice
2–4 players · 25 min · Easy to learn
Play off your pile before your opponent does. The game Skip-Bo grew from.
Canasta
2–6 players · 60 min · Learn in a game or two
Meld sevens of a kind with your partner. Red threes are a bonus.
Questions people ask
How many cards do you deal in 2-player cribbage?
Six cards each. Each player throws two into the crib and keeps four, so both hands and the crib have four cards. The starter card makes each of them a five-card count.
Who deals first in 2-player cribbage?
Both players cut the deck. The lower card deals first, with aces low. After that the deal alternates every hand.
Who gets the crib in 2-handed cribbage?
The dealer. Both players throw two cards into it, but only the dealer scores it, after counting their own hand. That is why you throw good cards into your own crib and poor ones into your opponent’s.
How long does a two-player game take?
A game to 121 takes about 20 minutes, and one hand about three. Playing to 61, once around the board, takes about half as long.
Can you play cribbage with two people without a board?
Yes. Keep score on paper, or print our free cribbage board. Write each score down as it happens, because the game ends the moment someone reaches 121.