1. 7. After The First Person Lies Down And Announces The Face Value Then It Is The Person To The Left Of Them Or The Dealer, In A Two Person Game, The...
2. Strategy For Playing Cribbage
3. Tips For Playing Cribbage
4. Cached

Cribbage Tips below are general principles of play. Skilled cribbage players also try to get to know their opponents and how they play and make a few mental notes of what their opponents like to discard to their cribs or their opponent's cribs, assuming they have choices when doing so. The American Cribbage Congress (ACC) is the largest cribbage organization in the world. The ACC sanctions tournaments, and authorizes grass roots clubs (237) throughout North America.

Any one of the following 24 tips may be enough to win a game for you. LAYING AWAY (early in game) Non-dealer: 1 Give opponent's crib 'balking' cards—wide cards, separated by two or more ranks, reduce chances of a sequence; 10-point cards are also good balkers. When playing Cribbage online, the computer will do the scoring for you, which makes things much easier. To start a new game, each player chooses a card from the pack at random. The player who chooses the lower value card starts as the dealer and after each round, the dealer passes to the opposite player. This same law can work for you at cribbage too. A Law of Averages operates in cribbage, just as surely as it operates in any card game. But cribbage is a subtle card game, in fact, one of the most subtle card games devised by man. Players learn the basics quickly, and become competitive quickly.

Below are a few cribbage tips and strategies for beginners and casual players. This page also offers book suggestions for cribbage players of all skill levels.

When possible, give yourself complimentary cards that can score big points if your opponent happens to give you the right card. For example, if you give yourself a pair of sixes, your opponent may give you a nine (which scores 15 twice) or even a third six. Similarly, if you give yourself a six and an eight, you might get lucky and get a seven.

Avoid giving your opponent cards of the same suit that could lead to a flush, or sequential cards that could lead to a run. Since players often like to give themselves fives, avoid giving 10-count cards.

Think twice about giving away all your low cards. You might be better off keeping them to score Go points.

If you are close to pegging out, you don’t need to worry about the quality of the cards you are putting in the crib. Keep the cards that will allow you to peg the most points. For example, pairs (which can lead to three-of-a-kind) and aces (great for making 31) are good pegging cards.

It’s a good idea to lead with a pair. If your opponent pairs your first card, you can play the second half of your pair and score 6.

Consider leading with an A, 2, 3 or 4. Low cards prevent your opponent from making 15 on their next play.

It’s not a good idea to lead with a five. Your opponent is likely to have a ten-count card and score 2 points by making an easy 15.

Think about how you can regain points if your about makes 15 off your lead. For example, if you have a nine and a six, it is better to lead with the six. That way, if your open plays a nine to make 15, you can score 2 points for a pair.

Think about leading your opponent into playing certain cards. For example, if you play a seven, your opponent will be inclined to play an eight for 15 and score 2 points. You could then play a nine to score 3 points for a run, and a net gain of 1 point.

If you have a choice between making 15 or pairing, make 15. This prevents your opponent from scoring a possible three-of-a-kind.

1980 National Open Cribbage Champion Dan Barlow has written several good, inexpensive cribbage books including Winning Cribbage Tips and a cribbage quiz book called Miracles on 4th Street. These and other cribbage books are available at major online booksellers such as Amazon and at The Cribbage Bookstore.

DeLynn Colvert - Tip #10

Twenty-Six Theory, part 1

Now that you know how to run traps, play offense, play defense, fake flushes, dump Js, entice the play, use psychological tricks, apply logic and have a solid end game what's left to learn? How can my game be improved to insure winning, even against an expert player?

Remember what Lord Kelvin said way back in the 19th Century:

'When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind.'

To carry this thought a bit further, can you honestly say that you can play the first card of the first hand with absolute certainty? And the second card? In fact, can you play the entire hand with absolute certainty? Do you know when to play on? When to play off? If not, your knowledge of cribbage IS of a meager and unsatisfactory kind!

Suppose you the non-dealer. Your very first hand consists of the 4-5-Q-K. Do you know the correct card to lead? The 4? No. The correct card to open the game is the K.

You're the dealer and your first hand consists of the 4-5-6-K. Your opponent leads a K. Do you know the correct response? the 5 for 15-2? Pair the K? No. The correct play is the 6. Both the K lead by the nondealer, and the 6 response by the dealer are made with absolute certainty.

But wait, earlier in these tips, leading from a card lower than a 5 was recommended as the percentage play, the play with 57% less chance of your opponent scoring. And for the dealer, if the K is led, why not play a 5 for 15-2 or at least pair the K? Why lay off?

The Twenty-Six Theory

An explanation of these controversial plays will come later. But first, I have developed a mathematical method of play that has been tried and proven, with thousands of games charted, tens of thousand of hands analyzed, and the results thoroughly studied. During this study, a method of play slowly evolved, a theory of play. A theory I have named the Twenty-Six Theory.

This Twenty-Six Theory, if played consistently, should improve you winning average a full 6%. Insignificant, you're thinking. But in this tough, subtle game of cribbage, 6% is the winning edge. Beating Uncle Jake by 6% is quite an achievement! Of course, players of lesser skill will fall at a much higher rate. On the tournament trail, my winning average is 58.1% or a full 16.2% over breaking even, and this has been accomplished against highly skilled players. This winning percentage comes from consistently using the Twenty-Six Theory.

By applying the Twenty-Six Theory your winning average will bound upwards against players of all skill levels. The Twenty-Six Theory is the ultimate cribbage weapon! The weapon that tells you exactly what card to play and when to play it, almost without exception.

Remember the old 'Law of Averages'? That law has built the gambling empires, creating fortunes for the gambling houses? The law that beats you at roulette, beats you at the dice table, beats you at the blackjack tables? This same law can work for you at cribbage too. A Law of Averages operates in cribbage, just as surely as it operates in any card game.

7. After The First Person Lies Down And Announces The Face Value Then It Is The Person To The Left Of Them Or The Dealer, In A Two Person Game, The...

But cribbage is a subtle card game, in fact, one of the most subtle card games devised by man. Players learn the basics quickly, and become competitive quickly. So quickly, in fact, that in a 121-point game, average players are actually dueling over the ten points or so (and usually much less) that can actually be controlled by the players, and not controlled by the luck of the draw. This small edge makes playing the 'averages' that much more important. Every point earned, or lost, through skillful, or unskillful play, is critical to winning consistently, or losing consistently. And this is where the Twenty-Six Theory comes in.

Strategy For Playing Cribbage

Tips For Playing Cribbage

- Republished from Play Winning Cribbage by permission. Text copyright © 2002 by DeLynn Colvert. All rights reserved.

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