Basic Gin Rummy Strategy

• Upcard or stock: Don’t pick up the upcard unless it’s the last card you need to form a meld or unless it adds to a meld already in your hand. You don’t want to add deadwood to your hand in hopes of chasing a meld that’s still 2–3 draws away.
• Discard high unmatched cards early: You don’t want to get stuck with high-value deadwood cards, since your opponent could knock at any moment.
• Knock as quickly as you can: Once you’re eligible to knock, you should knock. Gin hands often last only 5–6 turns, and it’s generally better to be the player who knocks early rather than waiting and hoping that you can even further lower your score. This advice is among the most commonly ignored by beginning players.
• Don’t try too hard to go for gin: Go for gin only if you’re dealt an extremely good hand or if you have a few lucky draws early that make your hand. The promise of going gin and the accompanying big bonus can seem appealing, but it’s probable that your opponent will knock before you can achieve it.
• Don’t discard cards that may help your opponent: Based on your opponent’s draws and discards, you can get a sense of which cards he is looking for to complete melds. For example, if you see your opponent pick up an 8 and you’re holding an 8 in your hand, try not to discard it.