Gin Rummy

Gin Rummy

Gin Rummy is a two-player draw-and-discard card game. Players draw and discard to build melds (sets and runs) in their hand, aiming to reduce unmatched card value (deadwood) to zero or low enough to knock. The game was created by Elwood T. Baker and his son C. Graham Baker in 1909.

Deal

Deal 10 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face-down as the stock. Turn the top card face-up to start the discard pile.

Card Values (for deadwood)

• Ace: 1 point
• Number cards (2–10): Face value
• Face cards (J, Q, K): 10 points

Melds

A meld is a matched set of cards that score no deadwood:

• Set: Three or four cards of the same rank (e.g., 7♥ 7♦ 7♣).
• Run (Sequence): Three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive rank order (e.g., 4♥ 5♥ 6♥). Ace is always low (A–2–3 is valid; Q–K–A is not).

A card may belong to only one meld. Unmelded cards are deadwood.

Taking a Turn

On each turn, a player must:

1. Draw: Take the top card from either the stock or the discard pile.
2. Discard: Place one card face-up on top of the discard pile (may be the card just drawn from stock, but not the card drawn from the discard pile on the same turn).

First turn exception: The non-dealer may take the face-up card or pass. If they pass, the dealer may take it or pass. If both pass, the non-dealer draws from stock and the game begins normally.

Knocking

After drawing (but before discarding), a player may knock if their deadwood totals 10 points or less. They discard one card face-down (the knock card) and lay all their melds face-up.

The opponent then lays off any cards from their hand onto the knocker’s melds (to reduce their own deadwood), then reveals their remaining deadwood.

Scoring the knock:

• If the knocker’s deadwood < opponent’s deadwood after layoffs: Knocker scores the difference.
• If the knocker’s deadwood ≥ opponent’s deadwood after layoffs: Undercut. Opponent scores the difference plus a 25-point undercut bonus.

Going Gin

If a player knocks with zero deadwood (all 10 cards in melds), they have gone Gin. The opponent may not lay off cards. The Gin player scores the opponent’s full deadwood plus a 25-point Gin bonus.

Big Gin

If a player can meld all 11 cards in hand (after drawing, before discarding) — i.e., all 11 form valid melds — they may declare Big Gin without discarding. Score: opponent’s deadwood + 31 points.

End of Stock

If the stock reaches 2 cards and neither player has knocked, the hand ends in a draw with no points scored. The same dealer deals the next hand.

Game Scoring

Play continues hand by hand until one player reaches 100 or more points.

End-of-game bonuses:

Final score = game points + box bonuses + shutout bonus (if applicable). The player with more total points wins.

Attribution

Gin Rummy. Created by Elwood T. Baker and C. Graham Baker, 1909. Public domain. Standard rules confirmed from Pagat.com.