Facts about cribbage.

• The origins of cribbage are uncertain, but the game dates back almost five hundred years.

• The rules of cribbage are simple to learn, but can take a lifetime to master!

• The highest possible hand in cribbage is 29, the perfect cribbage hand.

• There are several 'impossible totals' - point counts which cannot be made with any hand. The lowest such total is 19 - hence the expression 'a nineteen hand', or 'I have nineteen', almost universally (perhaps sarcastically) used to describe a zero-point hand.

• Cribbage has given the English language a number of expressions which it is hard to imagine doing without, including "level pegging", "what a turn-up/a turn-up for the books", "streets ahead", and "pegged out".

• The fact that the crib alternates with the deal means that on average, the lead should also change hands with each deal - which means it ain't over till it's over!

• The biggest possible improvement in your score from the cut is 20 points, when you hold 4-4-6-6 and cut a 5.

• The first dealer in a game wins 55% to 60% of the time.