How Do You Peg Out to Win in Cribbage?
The first player to reach or pass 121 points wins a cribbage game on the spot, in any phase: the play, the cut, or the show. No exact count is needed, so pegging 2 from hole 120 still wins. Pegging out means pegging into the game hole, hole 121.
What ends a cribbage game?
Any score that carries a peg to 121 ends the game the instant it is pegged, whatever phase it arrives in:
| The score | The phase | At 121 |
|---|---|---|
| Any pegging score: a fifteen, pair, run, go, or 31 | The play | Wins instantly |
| Two for his heels when a jack is cut as starter | The cut | Wins instantly |
| A hand or crib count | The show | Wins instantly |
| A muggins claim on points an opponent missed | The play or show | Wins instantly |
The muggins row is derived from the standard rules rather than stated as a rule of its own: a muggins claim is pegged by the claimant, and any pegged point can end the game. Muggins itself is an optional rule, so this route exists only at tables that play it.
What happens when a peg reaches 121?
- The game is over immediately. The moment either player's peg reaches or passes hole 121 on the cribbage board, nothing that would have happened afterward matters.
- Everything left is dead. Remaining cards are not played out, and any hand or crib still waiting its turn at the show is never counted.
- The loser's final hole sets the stakes. A loser at 61 to 90 is skunked, and one at 60 or fewer is double skunked. Tables commonly value a skunk at double stakes and a double skunk at triple or quadruple.
A worked example
Say the pone (the non-dealer) sits at 116 and counts an 8-point hand at the show. Since 116 plus 8 makes 124, the pone passes 121 and wins on the spot. The exact landing hole is irrelevant, and the dealer's 16-point hand and crib are never counted at all.
The show is not even needed. A player at 119 who pairs the previous card mid-play pegs 2, reaches 121 exactly, and wins before anyone counts a hand.
Do you need exactly 121 to win?
No. Under standard rules the first player to reach or pass 121 wins, and the exact landing hole never matters: a player at hole 120 who pegs 2 wins just as cleanly as one who pegs 1. If a table demands an exact count, that requirement comes from the table, not from the standard game.
Can you win on a go or the last card?
Yes. The single point for a go or for the last card of the play is a real score like any other, and pegging it from hole 120 wins the game. How those points work is covered on the go and 31 page.
Some tables reportedly ban finishing with a go or last card, but pagat lists that ban among the variations that are not part of the usual game.
Can you win on his heels?
Yes. The dealer pegs 2 the moment a jack turns up as the starter, and because the game ends immediately at 121 in any phase, those 2 points can win it. A dealer at 119 or 120 wins at the cut, before a single card is played.
Pagat also reports a companion house rule that bars scoring heels when the dealer is within 5 points of game, and it labels that rule, like the go ban, as outside the usual game.
Is there a rule about the stinkhole?
Not in the standard game. The stinkhole is hole 120, one short of the game hole, and the American Cribbage Congress glossary, Bicycle's rules, and pagat's rules place no restriction on scoring out of it. Any rule that limits how a player may finish from hole 120 is a house rule, so agree on it before the first deal.
By the Nobs Cribbage team Last reviewed 2026-08-02