CRIBBAGE TERMS & LINGO

"A Bullet": An Ace.

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Crib/Kitty: The Crib, commonly referred to as the Kitty in the UK, is an extra hand for the dealer. In two player cribbage, both players discard two of their cards into the Crib prior to the pegging round. 

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Cut Card: Both players are dealt 6 cards and discard two into the crib prior to The Cut.  The Cut Card is a community card both players may use when counting the points in their hand (after the pegging round). Note: If the dealer flips a Jack (J) this is referred to as nobs. Nobs is worth two points for the dealer and is pegged immediately. 

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"Cut it Deep, and Make em Weep": When the cards are cut "deep" toward the bottom of the deck. Conversely, the phrase "thinner for winner" refers to a "thin" cut (toward the top of the deck). Neither phrase is relevant to the game.

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The Dealer: The dealer alternates after each round. In 3 or 4 player cribbage the deal goes clockwise. The player who deals first is chosen prior to the game. Both players cut the deck and the player with the lowest card deals first. Note: Remember, Aces are low in cribbage (1).

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The Deck: Refers to the deck of cards. A standard 52 card deck is used in cribbage. 

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Discard: Term to describe the cards that each player throws into the dealer's crib. 

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Doubles: Refers to four player cribbage. Four player cribbage consists of two teams of two with play flowing clockwise and teammates playing every other card during the pegging round.  In Doubles, each player is dealt 5 cards and discards one into the crib. 

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Double Run: A double run consists of a run of three and another card that pairs one of the three cards (ex: 10, J, J, Q) and is worth 8 points. A double run with a run of four cards (ex: 10, J, J, Q, K is worth 10 points. 

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Double Skunk: Beating an opponent by 60 points or more. When gambling, the amount due to the winner equals four times (4x) the amount due.

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"Feed the Kitty": What the dealer may say to the pone prior to throwing cards into the crib.

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First Count: This is the player that pegs first and counts the cards in their hand first. This is always the pone in two player cribbage, with the dealer pegging or counting last. 

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"Go": During the pegging round, a player says "go" if they cannot play a card that is 31 or less (cumlative of all cards played). The other player plays a card (that's 31 or less) or if they cannot, they also say "go" and the first player to say "go" pegs one point. The pegging tally then resets back to zero and play continues until both players are out of cards.

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"Hit the Deck": Something the dealer may say to the pone indicating they need to cut the deck so the dealer can flip the cut card (community card).

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Hole 121: The winning hole. The first player to peg 121 points (or more) wins. 

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"Jack Squat": What the dealer may say when they get no points in the crib.

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"Last Card": When pegging, if neither player gets 31, the player with the last card gets one point and the pegging score resets to "0".

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Leapfrog: Same thing as pegging, where a player leapfrogs one peg past another to count points.

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Magic 11: Term for cards that total 11. 11's are statistically favorable when pegging, both offensively and defensively. Cards that equal 11 are especially valuable toward the end of a close game, as they can be used on defence to prevent the other player from getting pegging points. 

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Misdeal ("Pay a Quarter"): Something a player may say when the dealer deals a card that falls of the table or flips to the upside. In most cases, the dealer doesn't actually have to pay a quarter, but they can be charged two points (to the other player) in some versions of the game. 

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Muggins (Cutthroat, Stealing Points): In this version of the game players can take any points that their opponent misses when counting.

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"Nineteen Hand": Refers to a hand worth 0 points. Since it's impossible to get a hand worth 19 points a player may say this to be ironical. 

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Nibs (knibs): When the dealer flips a jack. It's worth two pegging points. Also known as Heels.

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Nobs (knobs): Nobs occurs when a player has a Jack in their hand that is the same suite as the community cut card. So if the cut card is a 3 of spades, and a player has the jack of spades in their hand, that player gets one point for nobs. 

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Pegging: Whoah, eaasy tiger... cribbage is a gentleman's game. In cribbage, each player has a track, or lane, of pegging holes that go around the board.  Each player has two pegs and they use them to count and track their score. Pegging is the process of "leap-frogging" one peg over another the number of holes equal to the number of points they have scored.  This is done in both the pegging round and after each player counts points in their hand. The first player to get 121 points wins the game.  

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Peg Out: A player who wins the game by pegging to hole 121 would say... "I've pegged out." They may then start talking smack.

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"Polish Run": When the cards in a player's hand are all even - 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 - with no pairs. There are no points scored for a Polish Run. 

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Pone: The name of the non-dealer, or the dealer's opponent in cribbage (for two player games). Players alternate between the dealer and pone after each round. 

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The Promise Land (29 Point Hand): Phrase describing when a player gets a 29 hand, the highest hand possible in cribbage. This hand consists of a 5 as the cut card, and the remaining three 5's and a jack in the player hand. To get 29, the jack must be the same suite as the 5 cut card. Odds of getting this hand are 1 in 216,580.

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Raggedy Andy: Term for a hand that consists of 8-7-6-A-A. Believed to be called this because doesn't look like a high scoring hand but scores 13 points. 

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"See one, play one": A verse that a player may say when he plays his first pegging card that is the same suite as the "Cut Card". It has no relevance to actual play.

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Skunk: The term for beating the opponent by 30 points or more in cribbage. The player who skunks his opponent gets double the bragging rights or double the stakes wagered. When gambling, the amount due to the winner is doubled. (see also double skunk).

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The Skunk Line: A line at the 90 points mark, typically different than the other 5 point marker lines, that indicates where players must pass to avoid being skunked.  

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Stinkhole: This is the 120th home in cribbage. It takes 121 points to win so this is the last position on the cribbage board.

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"Thinner for Winner": Phrase used to describe the pone cutting towards the top of the deck.

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"This Sucklings": Something a player may say when not having a good game. It refers to Sir John Suckling, an English poet who invented the game of cribbage in the 1600s.

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Three Player Cribbage: Can be played on boards with three pegging tracks. The deal rotates clockwise with each player getting 5 cards. The dealer places one card from the deck in the crib and each player puts one card in the crib.

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Tracks: This refers to the lanes that each player uses to peg. Boards typically have 2 or three tracks (or pegging lanes).

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"Two... and the rest don't do": A phrase a player may say when counting his/her points in the hand. It refers to the total points they have in their hand and is followed by pegging that amount of points. It has no relevance to play.

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"Two, four... and there is no more": A phrase a player may say when counting his/her points in the hand. It refers to the total points they have in their hand and is followed by pegging that amount of points. It has no relevance to play.

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"Two, four, six... in the mix": A phrase a player may say when counting his/her points in the hand. It refers to the total points they have in their hand and is followed by pegging that amount of points. It has no relevance to play.

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"Two, four, six, eight.... is great": A phrase a player may say when counting his/her points in the hand. It refers to the total points they have in their hand and is followed by pegging that amount of points. It has no relevance to play.

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Trips: Three-of-a-kind. It counts as a pair x3 and is worth 6 points.

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Triple Run: A run of three cards with one of those cards being 3-of-a-kind. This is counted as a run of three x3 plus trips. A Triple Run is worth 15 points (not including any combinations of 15s). Example: 2, 2, 2, 3, 4 = 15 points.

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"Your Welcome": Often said when the pone discards cards in the crib that combine to equal points.

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More cribbage lingo and terms can be found at the American Cribbage Congress website (click here).

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