What Does Go Mean in Cribbage?

The Go rule step by step

In the play (pegging), the two players take turns laying a card and announcing the running total. Aces count 1, court cards 10, and the total may never go above 31.

1. On your turn, if any card in your hand keeps the count at 31 or under, you must play one. Go is never a choice.
2. If every card you hold would pass 31, or you have no cards left, you say "Go".
3. Your opponent must now play every card they can without passing 31, one after another, scoring any pairs, runs or fifteens they make on the way.
4. When they are stuck too, the player who laid the last card pegs 1 for the go. If that last card made exactly 31 they peg 2 instead.
5. The cards played are turned over, the count restarts at 0, and the player who did not play the last card leads the new count.

This repeats until all eight cards are out. The very last card of the hand earns 1 point for "last card", which is simply the go of the final count.

Example 1: a plain go, then last card

You are the non-dealer with K 7 3 8. The dealer holds Q 5 8 9.

Note who led the second count. You played the last card of the first count (the 3), so the dealer led the next one. The player who takes the go point does not get the lead as well, unless the other player has run out of cards.

Example 2: thirty-one for two

You lead an 8 (count 8). Your opponent plays a 7 for 15 and pegs 2 for the fifteen. You play a 9 for 24 and peg 3, because 7-8-9 is a run even though the cards came out as 8-7-9. Your opponent now plays another 7: 24 + 7 = 31, for 2 points.

That is all they get. The 2 for 31 already includes the go, so nobody says Go and nobody adds a third point. The count restarts at 0 and you lead, because your opponent played the last card.

Example 3: scoring after the Go

A Go does not freeze the scoring. You lead a 9, your opponent plays a Jack (19) and you play a 6 (25). Your opponent holds 7, 8 and King, which would make 32, 33 and 35, so they say Go. You still hold 3 3. You must play on: the first 3 makes 28, the second makes 31. That second card scores 2 for the pair and 2 for the 31, 4 points in all.

This is why low cards are worth saving for the end of a count. The pegging strategy guide shows how to set these endings up and how to avoid handing them to your opponent.

Common mistakes with Go

• Pegging 3 for a 31. It is 2, never 2 plus 1.
• Letting the wrong player lead. After a go or a 31, the player who did not lay the last card leads, even though the other player just scored.
• Saying Go with a playable card. If you can play, you must, even when it sets up your opponent.
• Stopping after one card. After your opponent says Go you keep playing until you cannot, and each card can score.
• Forgetting the go point. It is only 1, but if you play the muggins rule your opponent will happily take it for you.

How Go works on CardCouch

CardCouch plays two-player Cribbage against the computer to 121 with exactly these rules. Only cards that keep the count at 31 or under can be played. When you still hold cards but none of them fits, a Go button appears. When you have no cards left at all, the game says Go for you, so you are not clicking after every card the computer plays.

The points are pegged automatically: 1 for a go, 2 for a 31, and 1 for the last card of the hand unless that card made 31. After a go the player who did not play the last card leads the new count; if that player is out of cards, the other one continues. The score log labels these points Go, 31 and Last. For the rest of the play, see the full Cribbage rules.