Does a Flush Count in the Crib?
Yes, but only as a five-card flush: all four crib cards and the starter card must share one suit, worth 5 points. Four suited crib cards without a matching starter score nothing, unlike the hand, where four cards of one suit score 4 on their own.
How is a crib flush different from a hand flush?
The crib is the dealer's extra four-card hand, built from each player's discards and counted last. Like the hands, it borrows the starter as a fifth card at the show, and it scores by the same rules with one exception: the flush.
| Cards in one suit | In the hand | In the crib |
|---|---|---|
| Four cards, starter a different suit | 4 points | 0 points |
| Four cards plus a matching starter | 5 points | 5 points |
| Three cards plus a matching starter | 0 points | 0 points |
Suits matter nowhere else in the count. Fifteens, pairs, and runs are decided by rank alone, so the flush and nobs are the only points that care what suit a card wears.
How do you check for a crib flush?
- Are all four crib cards the same suit? If not, the crib has no flush, and no smaller flush exists to fall back on.
- Does the starter match that suit too? If it does, the crib scores 5 for the flush. If it does not, the crib scores no flush at all, whereas a hand with the same four cards would still take its 4.
A worked example
Say the crib turns up 9♥ 4♥ Q♥ 7♥ and the starter is the 2♥. All five cards are hearts, so the flush scores 5. The 9, 4, and 2 add up to fifteen for 2 more, and nothing else combines: no pair, no run, no jack. The crib counts 7.
Now keep the same four hearts but make the starter the 2♠. The four-card flush does not drop to 4 the way a hand's would; the crib scores nothing for suit. Only the fifteen remains, and the crib counts 2.
Does a four-card flush in the crib score anything?
No. Four crib cards in one suit with a starter of another suit score zero flush points. The 4-point consolation the hand enjoys simply does not exist in the crib: a crib flush is all five cards or nothing. That single difference settles most crib-flush arguments before they start.
Does a flush ever score during pegging?
No. A flush counts only at the show, when hands and crib are laid out and counted with the starter. During the play phase, suits do nothing at all: laying four hearts in a row pegs no points for the suits, however tidy the pile looks. Only fifteens, pairs, runs, and the go points score in play.
Does nobs still count in the crib?
Yes. A jack in the crib that matches the starter's suit scores 1 point for nobs at the show, and the dealer pegs it along with the rest of the crib's count. Nobs is the crib's other suit-based point, and it is independent of the flush: a crib can score either one, both, or neither. See how to score a hand for where both fit in a full count.
Is a four-card crib flush ever a house rule?
None of the three authorities this site checks against (the American Cribbage Congress glossary, Bicycle's cribbage rules, and pagat's cribbage pages) recognizes a four-card crib flush. If a table awards 4 points for four suited crib cards, that is a purely local rule, not a recognized variant. Agree on it before the deal, and expect the five-card rule everywhere else.
By the Nobs Cribbage team Last reviewed 2026-08-02