Cribbage for Beginners

Someone slides a board full of tiny holes across the table, deals six cards each and says fifteen-two, fifteen-four, and a pair is six. You nod, and understand none of it. Why are you throwing two cards away? What is the crib, and why does the dealer get it? What are those pegs for, and why did your opponent just score points while you were still playing cards? Cribbage for Beginners is a friendly, step-by-step first course in the classic card and pegboard game. It starts with the board, the deck and the flow of a hand, then teaches counting in small steps: fifteens first, then pairs, runs, flushes and nobs, with many worked example hands until counting becomes automatic. Separate chapters explain pegging during play, the show, and the common counting mistakes that cost points and start arguments. Where most guides give you a page of rules and leave you to fend for yourself, this one adds strategy chapters on what to throw to your own crib and your opponents, pegging tactics, defensive play and playing to the score, plus honest chapters on three- and four-player games, popular variations, tournament manners and playing online.