How to play Pick Six
Two players and no hands are dealt. Instead the hands are built over six turns — the non-dealer goes first, then the dealer, and so on. On your turn you are shown the next card off the deck and choose: keep it in your hand, or throw it to your opponent’s hand. Whichever hand did not get that card is dealt the following card face down — nobody sees it, not even its owner, until the picks are done.
So every turn hands out two cards, one to each player, and you decide which one you get to see. Keep a five and you never know what your opponent was dealt; throw it and you never know what came to you. A card thrown to you lands face down too — you know only the three cards you were offered, and the rest of both hands stay a mystery until the sixth turn.
Then it is cribbage as usual: your six cards turn up, you discard two to the crib, the non-dealer cuts the starter, you peg, the hands are counted and the dealer takes the crib. First to 121 wins.
Keep anything that helps either hand — handing your opponent a five is worse than keeping one you can’t use. Throw only the junk, and remember the dealer’s crib is waiting for whatever you give them. The AI Hard bot weighs every card against both hands the same way.
Pick Six strategy tips
- Keep anything that helps either hand. Handing your opponent a five is worse than holding one you can’t use.
- Whatever you don’t take, the other hand gets a card nobody has seen. You only ever know the three cards you were offered.
- The dealer’s crib is waiting for two of the six, so a card thrown to the dealer may well end up scoring there.
Common questions
How are the hands built?
Over six turns, starting with the non-dealer. On your turn you see the next card and either keep it or throw it to your opponent; the hand that didn’t get it is dealt the following card face down.
What happens after the six turns?
Standard cribbage. Both six-card hands turn up, you each discard two to the crib, the starter is cut, you peg, and the hands and crib are counted.
Play Pick Six online
You can play Pick Six at eCribbage Plus in any browser, on a computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to download. Open a table in the lounge and another player can sit down with you, or look for one already waiting; a free account is all you need.
