1st time poster in this forum section (normally my habitat is Omaha 8 and Stud 8).

Seemed like a good place to post this. I've known how to play for about a year and a half and I think I do OK at it. I can count properly, rarely miss points, but want to take my game to the next level. Like a pub poker player who wants to be competent in casinos.

What tips have you got with regards to hand selection and pegging that will help me improve?

Right now for example in pegging I believe it is best to open pegging by leading with a small card so my opponent cannot make 15 immediately, the best card being a 4. Am I correct? If you had a choice between leading any card, which one would you pick, and if you could choose between A, 2, 3 or 4, which one?

In what situations does it benefit me to try to encourage my opponent to make runs in pegging? It seems to me to vary in benefit according to how many points have been scored so far and also what cards one holds.

How do you put your opponent on a hand?

Obv don't lead more than a 4

Lol at putting an opponent on a hand

if it's your crib try to throw yourself a pair

I think it's incorrect to say don't lead with more than a 4. Depends what cards you have. Also, they are likely to keep low cards for pegging purposes, so chances are greater they will get a pair if you always lead with 4 or less, than they would get 15 if you lead with 6 or higher.

If it's between A-4, I would lead a 4.

But really it depends on your hand. If you have 7,7,8,A, I would much prefer to lead anything other than the ace. If you lead the 7, and he pairs it, you get trips. If he makes 15, you play your 8 for a pair. Alternatively, if you lead 8, you can pair off his 15.

Encourage him to make runs if you can make longer runs.

In terms of 'next level' cribbage, I don't think it's a game you can take very high. It's quite an easy game.

yeah i usually try to lead with less than 4, or i lead with 9. no idea if thats correct. i dont lead with 10s.

i did okay when i used to play online for fun, until shortline schooled me pretty bad a few times

Decent strat here:

Point 1 is good and I didn't know, but makes sense
http://www.gamecolony.com/play_cribbage_better.shtml

Actually you can put your opponent on a hand. If your opponent shows a 3 and then a 6 or a 9, he has at least one additional 3 6 or 9 considerably more often than not.

7 then 5? Has a 6.
T then 5? Has additional paint.

Furthermore if you lead off with an 8 and your opponent does not lay a 7 then he does not have one. In any situation where the card you lead could score for your opponent if he places the right card he is far more unlikely to hold that card.

These deductions are super super helpful for pegging well IMO. While there will be situations where it doesn't matter what you lay your opponent scores and you cant win a Go, theres many more where you can both prevent the opponent scoring and score yourself instead using these reads.

LOL at you.

OP, I love cribbage. Recently joined a league at a local craft beer bar. I'm always down to talk hands, strategy, etc and am glad I found this thread.

Read this book. He goes into great detail wrt pegging.

First part, true. Second, false. It's very similar to poker in that it appears quite easy on the surface, but can be taken to a very high level.

Example of bad play from the first league game last night: guy was repeatedly pairing his opponents leads. He couldn't figure out how she kept nailing him for a half dozen.

Won 2/3 for a 20 pt differential. Ran bad and just got skunked the last game. I like my chances though. Only one player seems really good.

OP, I take it you're not into cribbage any more?

Cribbage Forum.

It really depends on your hand.

2 3 3 4:

Obviously you lead the three first.
If he pairs it, you get 6.
If he tens it, you get 2.
If he only kept low cards to peg, you're likely going to get a run (though so will he).


I say the best time to encourage your opponent to make runs is late game when your opponent would need a monster hand to go out. If he's 30 holes away to your 35 and he has first count, let him create runs with the false hope of him of going out. By the end of the hand you're probably both sitting around 8 pegs to go out. Not close enough for him to go out and you have first count.

I follow your logic on how to play the 2 3 3 4 hand, but I don't get your thoughts on runs at all.

35 pegs away with 3 counts to 1 is okay but not great position. A dud crib (or hand) and you risk having to play a 3rd hand.

If my opponent is ~30 points away, I can afford to give up 10-13 pegs between the two hands because I only lose if his single count is 17+.

Meanwhile, I move from 35 to 22-25 with 3 counts which should be enough to go out.

Gotcha, but I'm still trying to give up as little as possible. False hope be damned.

This sounds surprising to me.

So educate me on this hypothetical:

Player A is me. I've played quite a few games and generally know what I'm doing, but may make a few minor mistakes. Player B is the best cribbage player in the world (whoever that might be)

Say I get a series of hands, which I'll call X.
So for example, I get [3,3,4,6,9,K] on hand 1, [A,2,3,7,8,K] on hand 2, and so on.

And say player B gets his/her series of hands, called Y.
[A, 4, 4, 6, 7, J] on hand 1, [2, 3, 4, 8, K, K] on hand 2, etc.

What percentage of the time would both of the following be true?
1) I lose against player B.
2) I would have also lost against player B if he had gotten the X hand series, and I had gotten the Y series.

I feel like this percentage is would be extraordinarily low. Am I wrong?

Of course the cards are going to dictate who wins sometimes, that goes without saying. Does that mean the game cannot be played at a high level? How is this not akin to poker?

You didn't really answer his question.

Eyebooger, I pretty much agree with what you say and it's a large part of why I dislike crib.

I don't hate cribbage, but I feel like the luck vs skill element is heavily weighted in favor of the former. Which is fine, but let's not pretend otherwise.

Well, I disagree. In the short term, sure. Long run tho, not so much. A lot like poker.

Find someone who's seasoned and play them a bunch. You'll see.

I can't recommend Dan Barlows book enough. Really shows how important the pegging side of the game is. I have improved greatly since reading and thinking about it. Also, it should show some of you how much more skill is involved than you currently believe.

Two things:

1- Do not pair your opponents lead(unless you have the other 3 LDO). I can't believe how many times I see this. Very basic no no.

2- If your opponent leads a 10 card don't play a 5(unless you have a bunch), as he/she likely has one also. If they do this, it most likely means they have more of them/5s. A simple, yet very effective counter is to play a card where you can make 31 after they rethrow.

E.g. You have 4566 and villain leads a J. Play a 6 and then play a 5 for 31 after they make it 26. No one wants to make it 21 and open up a run.

Simple logic, right? I can't believe how many people I see making these poor plays.

subbing