Cribbage flush rules
A flush in cribbage scores 4 points when all four cards in your hand share a suit, or 5 when the starter card shares it too. The crib follows a different rule: a flush there scores only when all five cards, the four crib cards and the starter, are the same suit, for 5 points. Four crib cards of one suit score nothing at all. That single difference between hand and crib is the most commonly misplayed rule in the game.
The rule, in both places it applies
| Where | Cards sharing a suit | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | All four hand cards | 4 |
| Hand | All four hand cards and the starter | 5 |
| Crib | All four crib cards but not the starter | 0 |
| Crib | All four crib cards and the starter | 5 |
| During the play | Any number | 0 |
The flush in your hand
Four hearts in your hand is 4 points, and it counts whatever the starter turns out to be. If the starter is also a heart, the flush becomes five cards and scores 5. There is no larger flush in cribbage, because a hand plus the starter is five cards.
Three cards of a suit plus a matching starter scores nothing. The flush has to be complete in the four cards you are holding before the starter is considered, which is why a hand of three hearts and a spade never becomes a flush no matter what is cut.
The flush in the crib, and why it is different
The crib will not pay a four-card flush. All five cards have to match, the four discarded cards and the starter, and that pays 5. Four crib cards of one suit with a starter of another suit is worth zero.
The reason is balance. The crib belongs to the dealer and is already an advantage, since both players feed it. Two players each throwing two cards of the same suit would produce four-card crib flushes far more often than a single player produces them in hand, and paying them would widen the dealer’s edge further. Requiring the starter to match makes a crib flush roughly a once-a-session event.
It follows that discarding two cards of your own suit to the crib is close to worthless as a flush attempt. As the dealer it needs your opponent to have thrown the same suit and the cut to match it as well. As the non-dealer it is worse than worthless, because the points would be your opponent’s.
Flushes do not score during the play
Suits are ignored entirely during the pegging phase. Laying four cards of one suit in a row scores nothing for the suit, though the cards may of course score for fifteens, thirty-one, pairs or runs as normal. Flushes exist only in the show, when hands and the crib are counted.
Flush questions
Does a 4 card flush count in the crib?
- No. A flush in the crib scores only when all five cards share a suit, meaning the four crib cards and the starter, and that is worth 5 points. Four crib cards of one suit with a different starter score nothing. In a player hand, by contrast, four cards of one suit score 4.
How many points is a flush in cribbage?
- Four points for four hand cards of the same suit, or five if the starter matches as well. In the crib the only flush that scores is a five-card one, also worth 5.
Does the starter card count towards a flush?
- It can extend a flush but it cannot create one. Four hand cards of a suit score 4, and a matching starter takes that to 5. Three hand cards of a suit plus a matching starter is not a flush and scores nothing.
Can you score a flush during pegging?
- No. Suits are ignored during the play. Only fifteens, thirty-ones, pairs, runs, goes and last card score there. Flushes are counted in the show.
What is the highest flush in cribbage?
- Five points, from five cards of one suit. That is the ceiling in both the hand and the crib, because a hand and the starter come to five cards in total.
Should you discard two cards of the same suit to the crib?
- Not for the flush alone. Even as the dealer it needs your opponent to discard the same suit and the starter to match it, which is rare enough that it should never drive the discard. Choose your discard on fifteens, pairs and runs instead, and treat any crib flush that appears as a bonus.