Crib

Deal 6 each (5 for 3 players), throw 2 to the crib, then peg to 31 and count your hand: fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes and nobs.

1. 1Cut for deal — low card deals. With 2 players deal 6 cards each; with 3, deal 5 each plus 1 to the crib.
2. 2Everyone throws cards face down into the crib (2 each with 2 players) — it belongs to the dealer.
3. 3The player left of the dealer cuts the deck; the dealer turns up the top card (the starter). A jack there = 2 for the dealer (“his heels”).
4. 4The play (pegging): take turns laying a card, adding up the total out loud, never going past 31. Score 2 for making 15 or 31, pairs (2), three of a kind (6), four (12), runs (1 per card). Can't play? Say “go” — the last to play gets 1.
5. 5The show: count your hand plus the starter — fifteens (2 each), pairs (2), runs (1 per card), a flush (4 in hand, 5 with the starter), and 1 for “nobs” (the jack matching the starter's suit). Non-dealer counts first, then the dealer, then the crib.
6. 6Deal passes left. First to 121 wins — and you can win mid-hand while pegging.