Many people have emailed requesting how to interpret rules and why was a rule they use is not on my page. The only answer to that is you need to understand the multitude of variations of cribbage that exist. The ACC adopted a standard set of rules to ease conflicts that were happening at the tournaments. What you might not see on the page could be a variation that was not adopted as part of the standardization. Most all of the questions I have received have been what I would term a "regional" variation of the rules.Below are a series of questions that have been email to me and a brief answer. I cannot claim to know everything so please feel free to email me and let me know what you think. I do enjoy corresponding with all cribbage enthusiasts.
(A) Knobs counts in both your hand and your crib, 1 point for getting either. Knibs counts as 2 points because it amounts to a right jack in BOTH your hand and crib. You can win a game in tournament cribbage by cutting a Jack.
(A) You are not obligated to get as close to 31 as you can. It is up to your discretion whether you play the 4 or the 5. I.E. play the 4 if you think your opponent will lead a 10 next round, or play the 5 to avoid a "5 trap" and limit your opponent's pegging. You are only required to play any card in your hand that can be played without the count going over 31. In tournament play you can be assessed a 2 point penalty for EACH card in your hand that could have been INDIVIDUALLY played below a 31. In your example, if you said "GO" you would be penalized 4 points for having the 4 and 5 in your hand because either one was playable.
(A) No, a 31 for two is actually a 31 for 1 and a point for the "GO", it has been shortened in the 400 years of cribbage to just be a 31 for 2. Since you are not allowed to score both a "GO" and a "LAST CARD" you are only awarded 2 points for a "Last Card" 31.
(A) There are 4 hands below the maximum of 29 points, 19, 25, 26, and 27, that are impossible to score with a correct deck of cards. A useless hand has become a 19 via the tradition of confusing a new cribbage player by announcing a "19" when there is obviously nothing there.
(A) Muggins is a rule used occasionally in tournament play where the opponent can "Mugg" the other player for points missed.
(A) Not in tournament cribbage, the ACC requires that a cut occur before every deal.
(A) The Skunk hole is hole 90 or 31 from the end. The Stink hole is hole 120 or 1 from the end.
(A) It is required that you have all 4 cards in your hand be the same suit to score a hand flush for 4, if the starter card happens to match then you are awarded an extra point. In the crib ALL 5 cards, crib and starter, MUST be the same suit to get the flush points.
(A) The run of cards can be in any order, ASSUMING the first card in your example is played by the pone, as you have them above 5-4-6-3 is a run of 3 for the pone and a run of 4 for the dealer. 5-4-6-5 is a run of 3 for both the pone and then the dealer.
Just for fun, 3-2-4-5-A-6-3-2, would be a run of 3 for the pone, a run of 4 for the dealer, a run of 5 and a 15 for the pone, a run of 6 for the dealer, a run of 6 for the pone, a run of 6 and the last card for the dealer.
3-2-4-5-A-6-2-3, would be a run of 3 for the pone, a run of 4 for the dealer, a run of 5 and a 15 for the pone, a run of 6 for the dealer, nothing for the pone, and a run of 6 and the last card for the dealer.
(A) This is a regional variation that I have heard about before. We don't have a rule that says you can't win a game by pegging, scoring a go or last card or by cutting a Jack. We don't put that kind of a limit on the game. The ACC must have believed that a way to score a point the rest of the game should still apply at the end of the game. I was raised with the idea that anyway to legally score a point at the end of the game counts.
Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have. I do enjoy corresponding with all cribbage enthusiasts.