Next to a pair, two cards forming a fifteen, or two cards in sequence, are most likely to help the crib, and should therefore be preferred by the dealer, and eschewed by the non-dealer--the more so, if they chance to answer both conditions--_e.g._ a seven { 43} and eight. Next to cards in sequence come cards only one or two points apart, as the cards of the opposite player may fill up the gap, and convert them into sequence cards. Of single cards, a five is the most likely to score, inasmuch as there are sixteen tenth cards to four of any other denomination, and the chances of its forming part of one or more fifteens are therefore considerable. The cards which are least likely to make for crib are king and ace, inasmuch as nothing save queen, knave can convert a king into a sequence card, and nothing save a two and three can convert the ace into a sequence card. The best cards for the non-dealer to throw out are therefore a king or ace, and some second card so far removed from the first that the two cannot form part of the same sequence. King or queen, with nine, eight, seven, six, or ace, are good "baulking" cards; likewise two or ace, with seven, eight, nine, or ten. The non-dealer should never throw out a knave if he can help it, as the start may cause it to score a point for "nob." In like manner, the non-dealer should avoid laying out two cards of the same suit, as he thereby runs the risk of a flush in crib.
In the play of the hand the guiding principle should be to give to the adversary the fewest possible opportunities of scoring. Bearing this in mind, it will be seen that the best card to lead at the outset is an ace, two, three, or four, as the second player cannot make fifteen, and the chance of doing so will revert to the first player. A five, on the other hand, is a very bad lead, inasmuch as, from the greater number of tenth cards in the pack, it gives the second player the best possible opportunity of making fifteen. If the leader holds duplicates of { 44} ace, two, three, or four, one of them is a very good lead; for if the second player should pair, the leader will have the opportunity of making a pair-royal. Failing pairs, if the leader hold two cards which together make five, _i.e._ two and three, or ace and four, it is good to play one of them, when, if the adversary play a tenth card, the leader will be enabled to make fifteen. Likewise, if the leader hold a six and a three, a four and a seven, or a three and a nine, the first card of the couple is a safe lead, for if it is paired, the second will make fifteen. On the other hand, should the second player play a tenth card to the lead, the first player may pair it with perfect safety, for no pair-royal can be made without overpassing the limit, thirty-one.