What Is Pegging in Cribbage?
Pegging in cribbage means two things. It is the play phase, where the pone (the non-dealer) leads and players alternate cards to a running count that can never pass 31, scoring points as they happen. It is also the act of scoring itself: every point in cribbage is recorded by moving a peg along the board.
How does the play phase work?
The play phase begins once both players have discarded to the crib and the starter card is turned. The pone leads the first card, and the players then alternate, each card adding its value to a running count that may never pass 31.
Points are pegged the moment they happen. Bringing the count exactly to 15 pegs 2, and matching the rank of the previous card pegs 2 for a pair. Three or more consecutive ranks peg a run at one point per card, even when the cards fall out of order. When neither player can stay at 31 or under, the count resets and a new sequence begins. The full sequence rules, including the go and the 2 points for landing exactly on 31, live on the go and 31 rules page.
How does the two-peg system work?
Each player scores with two pegs in a single lane of the board. The front peg marks your current score. To record new points, you pull the back peg out and leapfrog it past the front one by the number of points scored. The two pegs swap roles with every score.
The back peg is the board's built-in audit trail, because it always preserves your previous score. If a count is pegged wrong, the table can walk the move back to the peg left behind. That matters under the overpegging rule: a player caught taking more points than they earned has the peg set back, and the opponent receives the difference.
Why does pegging also mean scoring in general?
Because the board records everything, players say "pegging" for any scoring, not just for points made during the play. The points from the show are pegged too, in a fixed order: the pone's hand first, then the dealer's hand, then the crib.
The word even reaches the finish line. "Pegging out" means moving your front peg into hole 121, the game hole, which wins the game on the spot. The first player to reach 121 wins immediately, in any phase, so a game can end in the middle of the play just as easily as at the show.
By the Nobs Cribbage team Last reviewed 2026-08-01