Pegging Fifteen

How to play

2 players, with the classic deck of 52 cards: clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades, the ace to the king. A card counts its number; the jack, queen and king count 10.

A deal

• Each player gets six cards and lays two of them face down in the crib. The crib scores for the dealer; the deal changes hands each deal.
• The top card of the rest is turned up: the starter. A jack there gives the dealer 2 points.

The play

• From the dealer's opponent, the players lay their cards one by one and add them up: the count may never pass 31. With no card that fits, say go: the other lays on as long as they can.
• A card scores 2 when the count reaches 15 or 31; 2 for a pair with the card just before, 6 for three alike, 12 for four; for a run of three or more among the last cards laid, in any order, 1 point a card.
• When nobody can lay, the last card laid scores 1 (unless the count is 31) and the count starts again at 0.

The show

The dealer's opponent scores their four cards with the starter first, then the dealer, then the dealer's crib: 2 for each set of cards adding up to 15; 2 for each pair; 1 a card for each run of three or more; 4 for four cards of one suit in the hand (5 with the starter; the crib only counts five of a suit); 1 for the jack of the starter's suit.

Winning

The first player to reach the target, 61 or 121 points, wins at once, even in the middle of a deal. A player who leaves loses.