What Is a Run in Cribbage?
A run in cribbage is three or more cards of consecutive rank, and it scores one point per card. Suits are irrelevant: 4♦ 5♣ 6♥ is a run of three, worth 3 points. Runs count both during the play (pegging) and at the show, where the starter card can join in.
How many points is a run worth?
A run scores one point per card, and three cards is the minimum. Two consecutive cards, like a 7 and an 8, score nothing as a run, though together they do make a fifteen worth 2. Suits never enter into it: in cribbage, suits matter only for the flush and for nobs, so runs are counted purely by rank.
| Run | Example | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Run of three | 3-4-5 | 3 |
| Run of four | 3-4-5-6 | 4 |
| Run of five | 3-4-5-6-7 | 5 |
At the show, the starter counts as a fifth card in every hand and in the crib, so a starter of the right rank can extend a run you were dealt.
Does Q-K-A count as a run?
No. The ace is always low in cribbage, so A-2-3 is a legal run but Q-K-A is not; runs never wrap around from king back to ace. That makes J-Q-K the highest run of three you can hold.
The face cards cause a second confusion. Jacks, queens, and kings each count ten when you are adding toward a fifteen, but for runs they keep their own rank order. So 9-10-J is a run of three even though the 10 and the jack are both worth ten in the count.
Do runs count out of order during pegging?
Yes, and this is the rule that surprises new players. During the play, the cards of a run do not need to fall in sequence order; they only need to be consecutive ranks with no outside card played in between. Say your opponent plays a 4, you answer with a 6, and your opponent follows with a 5. That 5 completes a run of three, and your opponent pegs 3 points for it.
If an unrelated card lands in the middle, the run is broken. A run can also never reach across a count reset. Once a go or 31 sends the count back to zero, cards played before the reset cannot extend a run made after it.
What happens when a run contains a pair?
When one rank inside a run is paired, each copy of the paired rank forms its own separate run, and the pair itself scores its usual 2 points on top. A hand like 4-4-5-6 holds two distinct runs of three, one through each 4, plus the pair.
That pattern has its own name, the double run, and its own fixed point values, which is where runs stop being simple addition. The double run page covers the whole family, including runs of four with a pair and runs with two paired ranks.
By the Nobs Cribbage team Last reviewed 2026-08-01