Card Games guide
How to play Gin Rummy: rules, knocking and scoring
Gin Rummy is a card game for two. Each player has ten cards and takes turns drawing one and discarding one, trying to arrange the hand into sets (three or four of a kind) and runs (three or more in a row in one suit). When the cards left over, your deadwood, total 10 points or less you may knock to end the hand and score the difference. The first to 100 points wins.
What you need
Two players and a standard 52-card pack. Card values: court cards (King, Queen, Jack) are 10 each, the ace is 1, and other cards are worth their number. The ace is always low: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A is not.
The deal
Deal ten cards each. Turn the next card face up beside the pack: this upcard starts the discard pile, and the rest of the pack is the stock.
The hand opens with a special first turn. The non-dealer may take the upcard or pass. If they pass, the dealer may take it or pass. If both pass, the non-dealer draws from the stock and play carries on normally.
A turn
- Draw. Take the top card of the discard pile (you can see it) or the top card of the stock (you can't).
- Discard. Put one card face up on the discard pile. If you took the top discard this turn, you can't throw the same card straight back.
You keep your melds in your hand; nothing is laid on the table until someone knocks.
Melds and deadwood
- A set is three or four cards of the same rank, such as 8♠ 8♥ 8♣.
- A run is three or more cards in sequence in the same suit, such as 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 7♥.
- A card can be in only one meld. With 7♠ 7♥ 7♦ 8♦ 9♦ the 7♦ makes the set or the run, not both.
- Deadwood is every card that is not part of a meld.
Knocking, gin and laying off
On your turn, after drawing, you may knock if discarding one card would leave you with 10 points of deadwood or less. Discard, then lay your hand down in melds and deadwood.
The other player then lays down their melds and may lay off loose cards by adding them to the knocker's melds: a fourth card on a set, or a card on either end of a run.
If you have no deadwood at all you have gin, and the other player may not lay off.
Worked example
You knock holding 5♣ 5♦ 5♠, 9♥ 10♥ J♥ Q♥ and loose cards A♦ 2♠ 4♣: 7 deadwood. The other player has two melds and loose K♥, 5♥, 9♣. They lay the K♥ on your heart run and the 5♥ on your fives, leaving 9. You score 9 − 7 = 2.
Scoring
| Result | Who scores | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Knock, and the knocker has less deadwood | Knocker | The difference |
| Gin | Knocker | The other player's deadwood + 25 |
| Undercut: the other player has the same or less after laying off | The other player | The difference + 25 |
| Stock down to two cards, no knock | Nobody | The hand is dealt again |
The first player to reach 100 wins the game. Older books give 20 for gin and 10 for an undercut; 25 for each is the modern standard and is what Yuzool plays. In the full pencil-and-paper game the winner then adds a 100-point game bonus and 25 for each hand won; those bonuses matter for a running stake but not for who wins, so they are not scored here.
Strategy for beginners
- Shed high cards early. Unmatched Kings and Queens are 10 points each if you are caught. Keep them only as a pair, and not for long.
- Prefer cards with two chances. 7♠ 7♦ 8♦ can be finished by 7♥, 7♣, 6♦ or 9♦: four cards. A lone pair has two.
- Sevens are the most useful rank for runs; aces and kings can only extend one way.
- Take the discard only to make a meld. Picking it up tells the other player what you are collecting.
- Remember what has gone. A card that can no longer be made into a meld by anyone is a safe discard.
- Knock as soon as you can early on. Late in a hand, a knock with 9 or 10 risks an undercut.
- Holding on for gin when a knock would win the hand now.
- Throwing a card next to one the other player just picked up.
- Breaking up a low pair to keep a high one.
Variations
| Variation | What changes |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma gin | The value of the first upcard is the most deadwood you may knock with. If it is an ace you must go gin. |
| Big gin | Eleven cards all in melds, without discarding, scores a bigger bonus. (Not played here.) |
| Straight gin | No knocking: you must go gin. (Not played here.) |
Questions
How many cards do you get in Gin Rummy?
Ten each. After you draw you briefly hold eleven, then discard back to ten.
What is deadwood?
The cards in your hand that are not part of a set or run. Their values are added up: court cards 10, aces 1, others their number.
Can an ace be high in Gin Rummy?
No. The ace counts as 1 and only goes below the two, so A-2-3 is a run and Q-K-A is not.
What is an undercut?
When a player knocks but the other player ends up with the same or less deadwood after laying off. The other player wins the hand and scores the difference plus a 25-point bonus.