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How To Play Gin Rummy
How To Play Gin Rummy
Learning how to play Gin Rummy is simple, but developing an effective winning strategy requires time. The game is usually played between 2 players. 1 standard deck is used without Jokers or wild cards. The rules focus on each player drawing and discarding cards, and melding on the way to reaching a target score. The target score is usually 100 points, but can be any score agreed upon by the players.
Dealing And Melding
Each player receives 10 cards. The rest of the deck (called the stock) is placed between the 2 players, facing downward. The dealer turns over the first card from the stock to start the discard pile. The first player (i.e. non-dealer) can choose to retrieve the discarded card. If he decides not to, the dealer can retrieve it if he wishes, discarding another from his hand. Both players alternate turns by drawing a card from the stock or the discard pile, and then discarding a card.
The objective of Gin Rummy is to form melds by drawing and replacing cards in order to form melds. Melds can be formed by grouping 3 or 4 cards of the same rank (for example, 4-4-4-4), or by forming sequences of 3 or more consecutive cards in the same suit (for example, 4-5-6 of hearts). Unlike traditional Rummy, a player cannot lay off melds during his turn. Instead, the melds must be held within his hand until he is ready to “knock” or “go gin.”
Knocking, Deadwood, And Scoring
If a player is able to use all of his cards to form melds, he can “go gin” and earn a bonus of 25 points. Otherwise, he choose to “knock” (i.e. end the hand) as long as his unmelded cards add up to less than 11 points of “deadwood.” Knocking allows his opponent to play any melds within his hand. He can also build upon the knocker’s melds (for example, adding a Queen to the knocker’s Q-Q-Q meld). If the knocker’s deadwood is less than his opponent’s, he scores the difference. If the knocker’s deadwood is equal to or greater than his opponent’s, his opponent earns the difference, plus a 25-point bonus.
Aces are always played low (i.e. they cannot be played in a Q-K-A sequence) and are counted as 1 point. Face cards are 10 points and all other cards are scored at face value. Most people find that learning how to play Gin Rummy is easy, but are surprised by the complexity of the game’s strategy.
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