How to play the classic card game - Gin Rummy. It's fun for all ages and only requires a standard deck of cards to play. Learn how to play Online Gin Rummy with the official rules. Play Gin Rummy with thousands of other users.
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The gin rummy is a classic card that isn’t so demanding regarding requirements. All you need is a 52 card deck and at least an opponent.
But if you wish you can play the game with even six players.
Although there are many variations on how to play the game, here is the basic concept of the gin rummy game;
Choosing a dealer
You need a dealer for the card game to begin.
So to choose one, spread the cards on the table and let each of the two players pick a card.
Whoever picks the highest card becomes the dealer.
The dealer after shuffling the cards deals the cards to the players in the following manner;
• In the case of two players then each player receives ten cards
• If 3 or four players, each accepts seven cards
• If the players are 5 or six, then they each receive six cards
The remaining cards form the draw pile and are set at the center of the table face down.
Next, you pick the topmost card from the draw pile and turn it face up. It becomes the discard pile place it next to the draw pile.
The objective of the game
Right from the beginning of the game, a player’s target is to be the first to meld his cards and retain the least possible number of unmatched cards.
That is to be the first to hand the cards that he can combine into sets or sequence, and the remaining unmatched cards bearing a low face value.
• A set means three or four cards belonging to the same rank. For instance diamond 7, heart 7, spade7
• A run (sequence) consists of at least three cards of the same suit. For example club4, club 5, club 6. However, the Ace must be treated as a low card.
The Gameplay
The player who never dealt the cards becomes the first to begin the game.
As a player, you have to pick the topmost card from either the draw pile or the discard pile. The discard pile has the card face up while the draw pile has the uppermost card face down.
When you pick from the draw pile, you must not show it to your opponent.
After picking a card, if you wish you can play a meld of cards or lay off a card in your opponent‘s meld.
After picking a card, you must then return one card to the discard pile.
However, it’s illegal to pick a card from the discard pile and return the same card in the same round.
The only exception for discarding a card is when you had melded all your cards.
Definition of Terms
Laying off
You can either lay off a card or cards.
It’s the process of playing a card from your hand that combines with the meld already on the table. The card combination may form either a set or a sequence
Going out
It means to play the last card you had in your hand. That can be through melding, discarding or laying off
Going rummy
A player is said to have gone rummy if he can play all his cards in one turn, having played no other cards before in that same turn.
In such a case, he gets double points for pulling such a move.
So how do you score points?
The gin rummy game follows the rule the winner takes it all!
When a player goes out in a round, he earns points. However, he gets points proportional to the cards in the opponent’s hand;
• Each face point means 10 points
• Each Ace means a point
• Number cards earn points, equivalent to their face value
What if the draw pile is exhausted?
If the draw pile is depleted before the end of the game, then all the cards from the discard pile are taken to form the new draw pile except the topmost card.
Buy you will have to shuffle them first.
But if you deplete the draw pile twice, then the game ends in a stalemate.
What marks the end of the game?
Before the start of the game, the players must agree on the winning points.
For example in the case of two players, the winning points can be 100. So the first player to reach that target becomes the winner, and the game ends.
Alternatively, you can set the target for the games you would wish to play. When you hit that target, the player with the highest points emerges the winner.
A player can also end a game through knocking. To knock your opponent means to finish a play discarding a card, melding some, and then remaining with unmatched cards with 10 points or less.
Conclusion
The above rules present the basics of gin rummy game. Variations otherwise exist on how to play the game or earn points in case of a knock. Nevertheless, it a thrilling game worth trying!
Gin Rummy Terms & Concepts
| Set | 3 or 4 cards of the same rank, e.g. KKK666 |
| Run | a sequence of 3 or more cards in the same suit. Ace & King do not count as consecutive, but Ace and 2 count, e.g. 345 |
| Meld | A common term for both Sets and Runs. You may have 3 melds of which two are sets and one is a run. Each card can only be part of one set or run, for example if you have a 4, it cannot be a part of both 4,4,4 and 3,4,5. |
| Stock | A deck of closed (face-down) cards in the middle of the table. Players draw one card from the Stock or from Discard (below) on every move. |
| Discard pile | A pile of face-up cards next to the Stock. Players discard one card onto the Discard pile on every move. |
| Deadwood | Any cards in a hand that are not parts of a meld. |
| Knocking | Ending the round by placing a last discarded card face-up on top of the Stock pile. |
| Gin | Knocking when all 10 cards in your hand are parts of melds with no Deadwood. |
| Lay off | Adding your deadwood cards to an opponents' meld when opponent knocked without Gin. |
| Upcard | The very first face-up card next to the closed Deck pile. |
Gin Rummy Variations
In all 3 Gin Rummy variations below, picture cards count as 10, Aces as 1 and other cards count as their numeric values.- Standard Gin Rummy: A main gin rummy variation where knocking is allowed when the value of deadwood points is 10 points or less.
- Gin-Only: A popular gin rummy variation where only knocking without any deadwood is allowed (Pure Gin).
- Oklahoma: A popular gin rummy variation where a maximum allowed knocking value is determined by the value of the first open card. For example, you will only be able to knock with deadwood value of 2 and below if the initial upcard is 2. If an nitial Ace is an upcard, the knocking can only be with 0 points in deadwood - Pure Gin.
Objective
The goal in Gin Rummy is to collect cards into melds and have as little deadwood as possible at the end of each hand (aka round). A game usually consists of several hands, and each hand is scored separately depending on how much deadwood opponents have at the end of a hand. The hand ends with one opponent knocking, ginning or with a draw. The full game ends when one player reaches an agreed-upon number of total points (e.g. 100 points).
Gameplay
For every hand, each player gets 10 cards. The remaining deck is placed on the table between the players face-down, and one card (sometimes called upcard) is put face-up next to the deck as the 1st card of the discard pile.
On each player's turn, that player must draw one card - either the top card from the deck or the top card from the discard pile. Unless drawing from a discard pile helps in creating own melds, it is usually advisable to draw the top card from the closed deck.
After drawing one card, a player must either knock or discard one card by putting it face-up on top of the discard pile. A top card drawn from the discard pile cannot be discarded on the same turn.
The game continues like above with every player drawing 1 card and discarding 1 cardand one-card, while players build sets and runs in their hands. The hand ends when one player knocks, by discarding a card and placing it face-up on the closed deck. After knocking, all cards for both players are open and deadwood is counted. The opponent of the knocker is allowed to lay-off any of own deadwood cards onto the knocker's melds if can be a part of the same meld. For example, if the knocker had a meld, 2 3 4 and the opponent has 5 as part of deadwood, the non-knocker can add that 5 to the knocker's meld, and then this card will not count as deadwood for non-knocker. If the knocker has Gin then the opponent is not allowed to lay off any cards.
In Standard Gin Rummy, you may only knock if you end up with 10 or fewer points in deadwood (picture cards count as 10, aces as 1 and other cards their numeric values). The card you knock with is not considered deadwood. So, if you have just drawn and you have 2,6,9 in deadwood you would be allowed to knock with the 9, and then you'd end up with 2+6=8 points in deadwood.
In Oklahoma variation of Gin Rummy, what you can knock with depends on what the first upcard was. For example, if the first upcard was 6, you may only knock if you end up with 6 or fewer points in deadwood. If the first upcard was Ace, then you will only be allowed to knock with Pure Gin (zero deadwood).
Gin Rummy Point Rules
Knocking with no deadwood, i.e. all 10 card in you hands forming melds is called going Gin.
The game also ends if neither player has knocked and there are only two cards left in the deck. In that case the hand is a draw, and neither player gets points.
Scoring
- Knock points: After knocking and lay-offs, the knocker scores the difference between own deadwood and the opponent's deadwood. For example, if the knocker has 8 points in deadwood, and the opponent has 20 points in deadwood, then the knocker scores 20-8=12 points.
- Gin Bonus: If a knocker has no deadwood, it is Gin, and the knocker gets extra 25 extra points added to the knock points.
- Undercut: If a player knocks but the opponent has less or equal deadwood points, then the non-knocker gets extra 25 points plus the difference in deadwood points, and the knocker gets 0 points.
Gin Rummy Point Rules Rummy
Also seeGin Rummy Point Rules Card Game
Selecting melds at knockingWhen playing online and knocking, by default only the meld with the minimum points gets auto-selected. If this behavior is undesirable, then in Game table / Preferences you can select the setting 'Knocker Selects All Melds'. Melds will be shown as straight vertical or horizontal lines drawn on cards unless the option 'Don't Mark Melds' is used. In the picture below, the possible melds intersect and the optimal meld is selected. You can use the 'Next' in the dialog to change the selection of melds.End of the hand and the 50-th card ruleModern Tournament Gin Rummy rules add an extra twist to an element of skill: in a relatively rare gin rummy endgame, it is the case when the stock pile is reduced to only the last 2 cards. This is called the fiftieth card rule. When the 50th card is drawn from the stock pile before any player knocked or ginned, leaving twoand just 2 cards remain in the stock pile, the 50-th card rule states that says that both players may have action on the 50th card.What it means in practice is the following: |