Rules of the Game
How to Play Gin Rummy: Rules, Knocking, and Scoring
Gin Rummy was devised in 1909 by Elwood T. Baker, a whist teacher from Brooklyn, and his son Charles, who would go on to write for the movies. The family connection proved prophetic: by the 1930s and 40s the game ruled Hollywood's sound stages, played between takes by stars and studio crews alike. It remains what it was then: the sharpest two-player game a standard deck has to offer.
The aim of the game
Each hand, you arrange your ten cards into melds and reduce your unmatched cards, the deadwood, as quickly as possible. When your deadwood is low enough, you knock to end the hand and score the difference against your opponent. Hands accumulate until one player reaches 100 points and wins the game.
Card values
Suits do not matter for counting; only ranks do. The ace is always low.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| King, Queen, Jack | 10 |
| Ten to Two | Face value |
| Ace | 1 |
Melds: sets and runs
A meld takes one of two forms, and each card may belong to only one meld at a time:
- A set: three or four cards of the same rank, such as 7♠ 7♥ 7♦.
- A run: three or more consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 4♣ 5♣ 6♣.
The ace sits below the two: A-2-3 is a valid run, Q-K-A is not.
The deal
- Draw for first deal: lowest card deals. Afterwards, the loser of each hand deals the next.
- Deal ten cards to each player, one at a time.
- Turn the next card face up: this is the upcard, which starts the discard pile. The rest of the deck goes face down beside it as the stock.
How a turn works
The first turn follows a small ritual: the non-dealer may take the upcard or pass; if they pass, the dealer gets the same choice; if both pass, the non-dealer draws from the stock and play begins. From then on, every turn is identical:
- Draw one card, either the top of the stock (unseen) or the top of the discard pile (seen by both players).
- Discard one card face up onto the pile. You may not discard the card you just took from the pile.
If the stock is reduced to two cards and nobody has knocked, the hand is void: throw it in and redeal.
Knocking and going gin
You may end the hand on any turn where, after discarding, your deadwood totals 10 points or fewer. Discard face down to signal the knock, then lay your melds on the table with your deadwood beside them.
- Your opponent lays down their own melds, then may lay off their deadwood onto yours: a fourth seven onto your set, a 7♣ onto your 4-5-6 of clubs.
- Going gin: knocking with zero deadwood. It earns a bonus, and denies your opponent the right to lay off anything.
- The undercut: if the defender's deadwood is equal to or lower than the knocker's, the defender wins the hand and takes a bonus. Knocking early is a calculated risk, not a formality.
Scoring
Count each player's remaining deadwood after lay-offs. The winner of the hand scores the difference, plus any bonus.
| Result | Score |
|---|---|
| Knock | Difference between the two deadwood counts |
| Gin | Difference + 25 bonus |
| Undercut | Defender scores the difference + 25 bonus |
First to 100 points wins the game. Traditional scorekeeping then adds a 25-point box for every hand won and 100 points for the game itself; agree before playing whether you count them.
Three tips to sharpen your game
Watch every discard. The pile tells you which melds your opponent is building; feeding it is how hands are lost.
Knock early. Waiting for gin feels elegant, but against a fast knocker it mostly means losing the hand you had already won.
Keep your deadwood cheap. Between two useless cards, always throw the king and keep the three: an ace in hand costs one point, a court card costs ten.