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His heels and his nobs

Two rules about jacks that beginners mix up.

1 min readChecked 12 Oct 2026Every count on this page is engine-checked
On this page 3 sections
  1. His heels: the starter is a jack
  2. His nobs: a jack in the starter’s suit
  3. Questions

His heels: the starter is a jack

When the card turned up as the starter is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 at once ACC r.6.3.a. If those points reach 121, the dealer wins on the spot ACC r.6.3.b. Some players call it his nibs.

+2
The dealer pegs 2at once, whoever cut the pack
His heels. The starter is a jack: 2 to the dealer, before a card is played.

His nobs: a jack in the starter’s suit

The jack of the same suit as the starter scores 1. It counts in the show, in a hand or in the crib ACC r.1.6. Here the jack of hearts matches the heart starter:

 starter
3points as a hand
Fifteen49222
NobsJ13
His nobs. “Fifteen two, and nobs is three.” Count it yourself.

A quick way to keep them apart: heels is the dealer’s, scored the moment the jack turns up. Nobs belongs to whoever holds the matching jack, scored when the hands are counted.

Questions

What is the difference between nobs and heels?
His heels: the starter is a jack, and the dealer pegs 2 at once. His nobs: a jack in your hand or crib of the starter's suit, worth 1 in the show.

Learn it by playing a hand.

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