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How to Play Gin Rummy
The basic rules of gin rummy are as follows.
Number of Players
Gin rummy is played by two people.
Cards
Gin is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. Aces always count as low in gin.
Point Values of Cards in Gin
Each card in gin is assigned a point value as follows:
- Face cards: 10 points
-
Numbered cards: Equal to the number on the face
(for example,
is worth 5 points) - Aces: 1 point
The number of points that you hold in your hand is important both during and at the end of each round of play, as the rest of this guide explains.
Melds
As you move through the rounds of play, your goal is to create melds, groupings of 3–4 cards, by drawing and keeping cards that will help to form melds, and discarding cards that do not. There are two types of melds, called sets and runs.
-
Set: A group of 3–4 of the same ranked cards in different suits (for example,
) -
Run: Sometimes called a sequence, a collection of three or more continuous cards within the same suit (for example,
)
As an example, take the following hand:
This player has a run of diamonds (
) and a set of 3s (
). The final three cards (
), which aren’t matched with any melds, are called the deadwood.
) and a set of 3s (). The final three cards (), which aren’t matched with any melds, are called the deadwood.The Deal
To determine who deals, players draw cards from the deck. The player who draws the highest card may choose to deal or may pass the deal to the other player. The drawn cards are returned to the deck, and the deck is reshuffled.
Dealing alternately to the other player and himself, the dealer gives 10 cards to each player. The remaining cards are placed in a pile between the two players. This pile is called the stock. Finally, the dealer turns over the top card and places it face up next to the stock. This card—known as the upcard—becomes the first card in the discard pile.
Play
A round of gin rummy begins with the nondealer, who has the option to pick up the upcard and add it to his hand. If the nondealer chooses not to take the upcard, then the dealer has the option to take the card. If the dealer also refuses the upcard, then the nondealer draws the top (face-down) card from the stock and adds it to his hand without showing it to the other player. After drawing, he must now discard one card from his hand, which he puts face up on the discard pile. (If you draw a card from the stock on a given turn, you may discard that card on the same turn. However, if you draw a card from the discard pile, you may not discard that card on the same turn.)
After this first draw, play continues as the two players alternate turns. Each turn involves the following:
- Draw: The player draws either the upcard from the discard pile or the top face-down card from the stock.
- Discard: The player then discards a card from his hand and places it face up in the discard pile. That card is the new upcard.
Play continues back and forth as each player takes his turn until the round ends.
Ending the Round
Play in a round of gin rummy can end in one of two ways:
- When the stock has only two cards left (in this case, the game is a draw, and the same player redeals)
- When one player chooses to knock (see below)
The vast majority of gin rummy rounds end with one player choosing to knock.
Knocking
If you’re familiar with regular rummy, you may be accustomed to laying down sets or runs as you create them in your hand. In gin rummy, however, you do not lay down your cards right away. Instead, you hold them in your hand until you’re ready and able to knock.
When You Can Knock
One rule governs whether you are allowed to knock:
- Your deadwood cards must equal 10 points or less.
For instance, if you held the sample hand shown earlier with the deadwood cards of , you wouldn’t be allowed to knock because your deadwood cards add up to 16 (10 for the king, plus 2 and 4 for the other cards). But if on your next turn you drew an ace, you could discard your king, and the point total of your deadwood cards would now be only 7 (2, 4, and 1 for the ace). Now you could knock.
, you wouldn’t be allowed to knock because your deadwood cards add up to 16 (10 for the king, plus 2 and 4 for the other cards). But if on your next turn you drew an ace, you could discard your king, and the point total of your deadwood cards would now be only 7 (2, 4, and 1 for the ace). Now you could knock. But just because you can knock doesn’t mean you have to knock. Instead, you can choose whether or not to knock once you’ve reached this point total. For instance, rather than knock once your deadwood cards are worth 10 points, you may prefer to wait until you have an even lower point total before knocking, which will increase your chances for better scoring (for more on knocking strategies, see Basic Gin Rummy Strategy).
How to Knock
It’s important to note that you knock at the end of your final turn. On the turn in which you decide to knock, you pick up one last card—either from the stock or the discard pile—and then you discard from your hand. Typically, it’s good form to turn the final card you discard face down to indicate that you’re knocking.
When you knock, you must show your hand to the other player. When showing your hand, lay it down on the table with the your hand separated into its various sets, runs, and deadwood cards.
Laying Off
The player who didn’t knock then shows his own hand and is given the opportunity to lay off any of his deadwood cards by adding them to your sets and runs. For example, if you knocked with the hand shown earlier, and your opponent held an unmatched
, he could add it to your run of diamonds, thereby reducing his deadwood point total. The player who knocks, however, is not allowed to lay off cards on his opponent’s hand.
, he could add it to your run of diamonds, thereby reducing his deadwood point total. The player who knocks, however, is not allowed to lay off cards on his opponent’s hand.Scoring a Round of Gin Rummy
Once a player has knocked and the other player has had the opportunity to lay off, the round is finished, and the players add up the values of their deadwood cards to get their point totals. Consider the following sample hands after the knock and layoff:
The round is then scored based on the following rules:
- If the knocker has a lower point total than his opponent: He scores the difference between the two point totals. In the example, you knocked with 7 points while your opponent, after laying off, had 19 points. You score 12 points for the round.
- If the knocker has no points (has no deadwood cards): This is called going gin. The opponent is not given the opportunity to lay off any cards, and the knocker scores the total points of his opponent’s deadwood cards plus a 20-point bonus.
- If the knocker’s point total is actually higher than his opponent’s: Then the knocker is said to have been undercut, and the opponent scores the difference, plus a 10-point bonus score.
Scoring a Game of Gin Rummy
Standard gin rummy rules dictate that the first player to reach 100 points is the winner.
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