What's the highest score that can be achieved by pegging?

Question

Nearly every cribbage player knows that 29 is the highest-scoring hand that one can achieve, and that 19 and some others are impossible to score.

However, I'm curious to know what is the highest score one can achieve during the play of the cards (also known as "pegging"? What cards would need to be played, in what order, and what would your opponent's pegged score be? This question is meant to exclude the final count of points in one's hand.

I'm sure the answer probably differs between 2, 3, and 4-player games because there are more cards available when there are more players. My question is focused on the two player game. If anyone happens to have answers for the others as well though, those would be interesting to know.

Answer 1

If you scroll down to "Pegging Maximal Score", they outline how the dealer can peg 30 points.

I found that page from an answer to the question that you linked above... not sure how you missed that!

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Added:

Joe O'Brien showed, that dealer can score 30 points (not 26 points as we stated before with a dealer's hand 4,4,4,7, pone's hand 4,8,10,K, and the jack as a starter).

In Joe's example Dealer hand 7,7,4,4 ; Pone hand 7,7,4,4. Sequence of play is as follows:

Pone 7 7 4 4

Dealer 7 7 4 4

Dealer Points 2 13 2 13

Dealer Totals 2 15 17 30

This example of dealer maximal cribbage hands is in the article based on the letter of Joe O'Brien.

Update - Joe O'Brien showed that there is a hand that will give the pone a total of 24 in pegging. The Pone holding 5 5 4 4, and the Dealer holding 5 4 4 (na/). The Pone hits both the fifteen and the thirty-one, picking up a triple at the 15 mark and a pair and four of a kind on the way to the thirty-one mark. Kyle Graham showed, that pone can score 22 points (in opposite to other articles, that states max pone score is 18 points). Pone's hand: A, A, 3, 3; Dealer's hand A, 3, 3, NA. The sequence of play is A, A, A, 3, 3, 3, 3, NA; Pone gets 6+2+14 = 22 points. Later our player Kenneth Anderson showed, that the maximum cribbage scoring for Pone pegging is 23. Pone's hand: 5 (or 6) 4 4 4; Dealer's hand: 5 (or 6) 4 9 9 (9 9 could be any cards worth 9 or above). Total Pone points: 5+6+12 = 23 . More examples of pone maximal cribbage hands are in the article based on the letters of Joe O'Brien, Kyle Graham and Kenneth Anderson.

Answer 2

The Cribbage Statistics page answers this question, 78 for the dealer (hand + pegged + crib)

The maximum number of points that can be scored in a single deal by the dealer in a two player game is 78 (pegging + hand + crib):

Non-dealer is dealt 3 3 4 4 5 J and Dealer is dealt 3 3 4 4 5 5.

Non-dealer discards J 5 to the crib (as ill-advised as this may be).

Dealer discards 5 5 to the crib. Note that the J is suited to the remaining 5. The remaining 5 is cut.

Play is 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 go. The dealer scores 29 total peg points.

The dealer's hand is 3 3 4 4 5 = 20

The dealer's crib is J(nobs) 5 5 5 5 = 29

The total score for the dealer is 29 + 20 + 29 = 78.

The maximum number of points that can be scored in a single deal by the non-dealer in a two player game is 48 (pegging + hand), with the following example :

Non-dealer is dealt 5 5 4 4 crib crib and Dealer is dealt 4 4 5 9 crib crib. Cut card is a 6.

Play is 5 5 5 4 4 4 4, with the Non-dealer pegging 24. The Non-dealer scores 24 in the hand for a total of 48 points.

Combining this hand with the highest dealer hand, a standard 121 point game can be completed in just two deals.

Answer 3

Another possibility for 32 points is if both players hold 6 6 7 7 and you are the dealer. First player plays 7, you play 7 for 2, they play 7 for 6, you play 7 for 12 and a go. 15. Then all the 6s get played for another 15 points. The extra 2 points being if a jack is flipped.

Answer 4

I pegged 26 points in a three hand game. I kept ace ace 2 2. I led ace, then ace, ace, ace, for 12, then king, 9, I played 2, then 2, 2, 2 for 14.

Answer 5

Answer is thirty two. Each player is dealt two sevens and two sixes. Any jack is turned over. First card played is a seven. You can figure it out from there.