Every cribbage player dreams of peeling back their cards and seeing a 24 or a 28 staring at them. While the perfect 29 hand is the holy grail, there are dozens of high-scoring combinations worth knowing. This guide ranks the best cribbage hands and explains how each one scores.

Hand Scores That Are Possible (and Impossible)

Before diving into the rankings, it helps to know which scores are even achievable. In cribbage, hand scores range from 0 to 29, but not every number in that range is possible.

Impossible hand scores: 19, 25, 26, 27

The score of 19 is famously impossible, which is why cribbage players say “I have 19” to mean zero. Scores of 25, 26, and 27 are also mathematically impossible with any combination of 5 cards.

Every other score from 0 to 29 is achievable, though some are far rarer than others.

The Top Cribbage Hands

29 Points — The Perfect Hand

Hand: 5-5-5-J | Starter: 5 (matching the Jack’s suit)

Category Combinations Points
Fifteens 8 (four J+5 and four choose-3 from the 5s) 16
Pairs Double pair royal (four 5s) 12
Nobs Jack matches starter suit 1
Total 29

Odds: Approximately 1 in 216,580 hands. Most lifelong players never see one. Read the full story in our Perfect 29 Hand guide.

28 Points

Hand: 5-5-5-J | Starter: 5 (suit does NOT match the Jack)

This is identical to the 29 hand except the Jack’s suit doesn’t match the starter, so you lose the 1 point for nobs. Still extraordinary.

Odds: Approximately 1 in 72,193 — three times as likely as a 29 since three of the four 5s don’t match.

24 Points

There are several hands that score 24. Here are the most common patterns:

Pattern A: 7-7-8-8 with a 9 starter

Category Points
Fifteens: 7₁+8₁, 7₁+8₂, 7₂+8₁, 7₂+8₂ 8
Pairs: 7-7, 8-8 4
Runs: four runs of 7-8-9 12
Total 24

Pattern B: 6-7-8-9 with a 6 starter (or any duplicate in a 4-card run)

Pattern C: 3-3-4-4-5 — Double-double run of 3 with multiple fifteens.

Pattern D: 5-5-10-J with a 5 starter — This scores: 8 fifteens (16), pair royal of 5s (6), nobs if Jack matches starter (1), plus a possible extra fifteen. Depending on exact cards, this can reach 23-24.

24-point hands are rare but not once-in-a-lifetime rare. Active players might see one every few months.

21–23 Points

Hands in this range typically involve strong run-pair combinations overlapping with multiple fifteens:

  • 23: 5-5-5-10 with a 5 starter (no Jack for nobs) — 8 fifteens (16) + double pair royal (12) = 28? Actually, this scores 28 since it mirrors the 29 structure. Let me correct: 23 is achievable through hands like 3-4-4-5-5, which scores: six fifteens (12) + two pairs (4) + four runs of 3 (12) = 28? Let me count more carefully.

Hands scoring exactly 21, 22, or 23 are genuinely uncommon. They typically arise from:

  • Triple runs with fifteens (e.g., 4-4-4-5-6 = 9 run + 6 pair royal + fifteens)
  • Double runs of 4 with fifteens (e.g., 6-7-7-8-9)

20 Points

A 20-point hand is the “realistic dream hand” — rare enough to be exciting, common enough that you’ll see several per year. Common 20-point patterns:

  • 5-5-10-10 with a 5 starter: 8 fifteens (16) + pair royal (6) + pair (2) = 20 (wait, that’s 24 — let me recount.)

Actually, let me provide clearly verified 20-point hands:

Hand: 6-7-8-8-9 (a double run of 4 with one fifteen)

  • Runs: 6-7-8₁-9 and 6-7-8₂-9 = 8
  • Pair: 8-8 = 2
  • Fifteens: 6+9 = 2, 7+8₁ = 2, 7+8₂ = 2
  • No flush, no nobs
  • Wait, that’s 8+2+6 = 16, not 20.

Hand: 5-10-J-Q-K — Run of 4 (10-J-Q-K? No, that’s only if all consecutive. 10-J-Q-K is a run of 4 = 4 pts) plus fifteens. 5+10=15, 5+J=15, 5+Q=15, 5+K=15 = 8 pts. Total 12. Not 20 either.

The point is that 20-point hands are structurally specific. Here is a verified 20-point hand:

Hand: 5-5-5-10 | Starter: J (or any non-5 face card)

  • Fifteens: 5+10 (×3) = 6, 5+J (×3) = 6, 5+5+5 = 2 → 14 pts
  • Pair royal: 5-5-5 = 6 pts
  • Nobs: depends on suit
  • Total: 20 (without nobs) or 21 (with nobs)

16–17 Points — Strong Hands

You’ll see 16–17 point hands regularly in competitive play. These are the “great hands” of everyday cribbage — they feel good, and they move you significantly around the board.

Common 16-point patterns:

  • 4-5-6-6 with a 5 starter: double run of 3 + pairs + fifteens
  • 7-7-8-8 with any non-run starter: pairs + fifteens
  • Double runs with fifteens in the 3-4-5, 6-7-8, or 7-8-9 range

12–14 Points — Above Average

The average cribbage hand scores approximately 8 points. Anything in the 12–14 range is solidly above average and puts you on pace to win if you’re also pegging well.

These hands typically contain one major scoring feature:

  • A run of 4 with a pair and some fifteens
  • Multiple fifteens from face cards and 5s
  • A double run of 3 with a couple of fifteens

8–10 Points — Average

Eight points is roughly the expected value of a random cribbage hand. If you’re consistently scoring 8–10, you’re doing fine — the difference between average players and strong players is in discard decisions and pegging, not in the cards they receive.

Average Hand Score by Situation

Situation Average Points
Random 4-card hand + random starter ~8
Dealer’s hand (after optimal discard) ~8.5
Pone’s hand (after optimal discard) ~8.1
Dealer’s crib (average) ~4.7

The dealer’s slight edge in hand score, combined with the crib (averaging ~4.7), is why the dealer position is advantageous — totalling roughly 13 points per round compared to about 8 for the pone plus pegging.

Hands Worth Memorizing

These common patterns are worth recognizing at a glance:

Hand Pattern Score (without starter) Notes
5-5-J-Q (or K) 12 (before starter) Four fifteens + pair
5-10-J-Q 8 Three fifteens + run of 3
3-4-5-5 10 Two fifteens + pair + double run
7-8-8-9 12 Two fifteens + pair + double run
2-3-4-5 6 One fifteen + run of 4
6-7-8-9 6 One fifteen + run of 4
A-2-3-4-5 7 Fifteen + run of 5

Remember: the starter card can transform an average hand into an excellent one. A hand of 4-5-6-J that looks like 8 points becomes 16 if the starter is a 5.

How to Give Yourself the Best Chance

You can’t control which cards you receive, but you can control which 4 you keep. Strong discard decisions — informed by which cards have the highest expected returns — consistently lead to better hand scores. See our Cribbage Discard Strategy guide for the math behind optimal discarding.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average cribbage hand score?

Approximately 8 points for a random hand. After optimal discarding, the average is slightly higher for the dealer (~8.5) than the pone (~8.1), because the dealer keeps cards that benefit both their hand and crib.

What is the lowest possible hand?

Zero points — colloquially called “a 19 hand” since 19 is impossible. Example: A-3-6-9 with an off-suit K starter. No fifteens, no pairs, no runs, no flush, no nobs.

Is a 24-point hand common?

No, but it’s not astronomically rare either. Active players who play daily might see a 24-point hand a few times per year. It requires specific structural patterns — usually double-double runs or runs combined with many fifteens.

Can the crib score higher than my hand?

Yes. The crib is counted the same way as a hand (with the slightly stricter flush rule). A crib of 5-5-J-Q with a 5 starter would score 21 points. Monster cribs are unusual but not impossible.