The Perfect 29 Hand in Cribbage — Odds, History & How It Works

The 29-point hand is the highest possible score in a single cribbage hand. It’s the game’s equivalent of a perfect game in bowling or a royal flush in poker — except it’s far rarer than either. Ask any lifelong cribbage player if they’ve ever held one, and most will say no. The American Cribbage Congress has verified only a handful of 29 hands in sanctioned tournament play.

What Cards Make a 29?

The perfect hand requires exactly:

• Three 5s in your hand
• The Jack of the fourth suit (matching the starter’s suit) in your hand
• The remaining 5 cut as the starter card

Specifically, any of these four combinations works:

The Jack must be the same suit as the starter 5 — that’s what gives you the nobs point.

How to Score the 29

Here’s the complete scoring breakdown:

Fifteens (16 points)

Every combination of cards totaling 15 scores 2 points:

With four 5s and one Jack (value 10), there are:

• Four three-card fifteens (choosing 3 of the 4 fives: $\binom{4}{3} = 4$ combinations)
• Four two-card fifteens (each 5 pairs with the Jack)

That’s 8 fifteens × 2 points = 16 points.

Pairs (12 points)

Four 5s make 6 different pairs ($\binom{4}{2} = 6$):

6 pairs × 2 points = 12 points

Nobs (1 point)

The Jack in your hand matches the suit of the starter card. That’s nobs — 1 bonus point.

Total

No runs are possible (there are no consecutive cards), and no flush can form (the Jack is a different rank from the 5s, and you’d need all four hand cards the same suit).

How Rare Is the 29?

The Math

After the deal, you hold 6 cards from a 52-card deck. The probability of receiving three 5s and the correct Jack, with the matching 5 being cut:

1. Probability of being dealt 5-5-5-J in a 6-card hand from 52 cards, then keeping those 4 cards
2. Probability of the matching 5 being cut from the remaining 46 cards

The exact probability:

$$P(\text{29 hand}) = \frac{1}{216{,}580}$$

That’s approximately 0.000462% — or about once every 216,580 hands dealt.

What Does That Mean in Practice?

If you play:

Most in-person players will never see a 29. Online players who play heavily may encounter one eventually.

Why Can’t You Score 28 in a Standard Hand?

This is one of cribbage’s famous quirks. The second-highest possible hand is 28, not 29 minus 1. But certain scores are actually impossible:

• 19 is impossible — there’s no combination of cards that totals exactly 19 points
• 25, 26, and 27 are also impossible

The next achievable score below 29 is 28, which comes from hands like four 5s with a non-Jack face card (e.g., 5-5-5-5 with a Q as starter — same fifteens and pairs but no nobs, so 28).

For the full breakdown of impossible scores and hand rankings, see Best Cribbage Hands.

The 29 in Crib?

Can the crib score 29? Yes, technically. The same combination (three 5s, the correct Jack, matching 5 cut) could appear in the crib. However, it’s even more improbable because:

1. You control only 2 of the 4 crib cards — your opponent contributes the other 2
2. Both players would need to voluntarily discard 5s
3. The cut would still need to be the matching 5

The probability is astronomically lower — a 29 crib may have never occurred in the history of competitive play.

Famous 29 Hands

The 29 hand carries special status in cribbage culture:

• The American Cribbage Congress (ACC) tracks and verifies reported 29 hands from tournament play
• Many cribbage boards have a special hole or marker for scoring a 29
• Some cribbage clubs give awards or certificates to players who achieve the perfect hand
• In casual play, announcing “twenty-nine” is often met with skepticism until the hand is verified card by card

Can You Score Higher Than 29?

No. 29 is the absolute maximum for a single cribbage hand. Here’s why it can’t be beaten:

• Four of a kind (the 5s) gives the maximum possible pairs (12 points)
• The 5s interact with the Jack to produce the maximum fifteens (16 points)
• Nobs adds 1 point
• No card combination can produce both more fifteens AND more pairs than 5-5-5-5-J
• A flush is impossible with four 5s + J because the Jack’s suit matches the starter, but the hand itself contains all four 5 suits

If cribbage allowed different scoring rules, higher scores might be possible — but under standard rules, 29 is the ceiling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has anyone scored a 29 in tournament play?

Yes, though it’s extremely rare. The American Cribbage Congress has verified a small number of 29 hands in sanctioned tournament play over the decades. Each one is considered a significant achievement and is often published in cribbage newsletters.

What should I do if I have three 5s and a Jack?

Keep them and pray. You need the matching 5 (the suit that matches your Jack) to be cut as the starter. The probability of the right 5 being cut is 1/46, or about 2.2%. You’ll score at least 14 points even without the matching 5, so it’s a strong hand regardless.

What’s the highest cribbage hand I can realistically expect?

In regular play, a hand of 20–24 points appears roughly once every 50–100 games. A 24-point hand (the most common “huge” hand) is far more realistic than the 29. See our Best Cribbage Hands guide for odds on each tier.

Is saying “nineteen” a cribbage tradition?

Yes. Because 19 is an impossible hand score, cribbage players traditionally announce “nineteen” when they have a hand worth zero points. It’s a tongue-in-cheek way of saying “I have nothing.” This quirk has been part of cribbage culture for generations.