what is a nineteen hand in cribbage

Sound impressive, doesn’t it? What is a nineteen hand in cribbage? Actually it is quite the opposite. A player is usually quite upset if he receives this hand. Nineteen is the only total that all the cards can’t add up to in cribbage.

If a player says their total is 19 then it is a miscount and they should recheck their cards. Hence the term has come to indicate in humour or disgust a score of zero. If you get no points in your hand you say “I have nineteen” because it is impossible to score that.