Nobs and His Heels in Cribbage

His heels: 2 points for the dealer

After both players have discarded to the crib, the non-dealer cuts the deck and the dealer turns up the top card as the starter. If that card is a Jack of any suit, the dealer pegs 2 points straight away, announcing "two for his heels". It does not matter what either player holds. It is a small reward for dealing, and a Jack turns up about one deal in thirteen, since 4 of the 52 cards are Jacks.

Because the points are pegged before a single card is played, his heels can end the game. A dealer sitting on 119 or 120 who turns a Jack pegs out on the spot: 119 + 2 = 121. At a real table the points have to be claimed promptly; the usual tournament rule is that the dealer must take them before playing a card, or they are lost.

The starter Jack then behaves like any other starter. It counts 10 toward fifteens and can complete pairs and runs for both hands and the crib. Say the dealer holds 5♠ 5♦ 10♥ Q♣ and the starter is the J♦. The dealer pegs 2 for his heels at the cut. Later, in the show, the hand counts six fifteens (each 5 with the 10, the Jack and the Queen) for 12, the pair of 5s for 2, and the run 10-J-Q for 3: 12 + 2 + 3 = 17. The heels points are on top of that, already on the board.

Nobs: 1 point for the matching Jack

Nobs is scored in the show. If the four cards you are counting, in your hand or in the crib, include the Jack of the same suit as the starter, add 1 point. The traditional call is "one for his nob", and it is counted last, after fifteens, pairs, runs and any flush.

Example: you hold J♥ 5♣ K♦ 9♠ and the starter is the 6♥. Fifteens: J+5, K+5 and 9+6 make three fifteens for 6. There are no pairs and no runs. The Jack of hearts matches the heart starter, so add 1 for nobs: 6 + 1 = 7. Had the starter been the 6♠ instead, the same hand would count 6.

Only one Jack can match the starter's suit, so nobs is scored at most once per deal: by one of the two hands or by the crib. It is also the point that turns a 28 hand into the perfect 29 hand, and the point players forget most often, which matters if you play the muggins rule.

Why you can never score both

Nobs needs a Jack in your hand that matches the starter's suit. When the starter is itself a Jack, say the J♣, the only Jack of clubs in the deck is lying on top of it. Nobody can hold it, so nobody scores nobs on that deal. A different Jack in your hand, the J♦ for example, is the wrong suit and earns nothing extra, although it does pair with the starter for 2.

So each deal has at most one Jack bonus: 2 for his heels if the starter is a Jack, or 1 for nobs if someone holds the matching Jack, or nothing at all.

Nobs, nibs and the muddle of names

The names vary from table to table. "His nobs" and "his nob" are the same 1-point rule. "Nibs" is a common name for the 2-point his heels, though some groups use nibs and nobs the other way round. The points never change: 2 for a Jack starter, 1 for the matching Jack in hand. If a new opponent uses a word you do not expect, ask which of the two they mean.

What the Jack rules mean for your discards

A Jack in your hand picks up nobs a little less than one time in four, because just under a quarter of the cards you cannot see share its suit. That is a small edge, worth remembering when two discards are otherwise equal: keep the Jack, or put it in your own crib rather than your opponent's. It is never a reason to break up a good hand. The discard strategy guide covers the bigger decisions.

How CardCouch handles both rules

On CardCouch you play two-player Cribbage against the computer to 121, and both Jack rules are applied for you. When the cut turns a Jack, the dealer, whether that is you or the computer, gets 2 points immediately, before the first card is played. The score log lists them as Nibs. If those 2 points take the dealer to 121, the game ends right there.

Nobs is part of the automatic count. When a hand or crib holds the Jack of the starter's suit, the breakdown shows a separate Nobs: 1 line next to the fifteens, pairs and runs. A Jack that is the starter is never counted as nobs.