GIN RUMMY — Rummy card game rules
Gin Rummy
Other names for Gin Rummy: Gin, Gin Poker, Knock Poker, Poker Gin, Celebes Rummy and Indian Rummy.
Number of players
2
Deck used
Fifty-two cards without Jokers. Cards used are Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen and King.
Value of cards
| Cards |
A |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
J |
Q |
K |
| Value |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
Face cards (Jack, Queen and King) = 10 points
Ace = 1 point
Number cards are worth their face value: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10
Play
Clockwise
Object of the game
To score more points than your opponent. This can be done by:
- Good game strategies
- Improving one’s hand
- Forming melds
- Eliminating deadwood
Melds
There are two kinds of melds, Sets and runs.
Sets are 3 or 4 cards that are of the same rank, for example:
  
Runs are 3 or more cards of the same suite, for example:
   
The Ace is always low in Gin Rummy. A-2-3 is valid but A-K-Q, is not.
Intersecting melds are not valid. A 3 card run and a 3 card set cannot share a common card. Two cards must be counted as deadwood.
The diagram above shows the run and set share an illegal common card:
The Deal
After shuffling, the dealer is usually determined by cutting the deck, where the low card deals. The dealers alternates from round-to-round. The dealer deals a 10 card hand to his opponent and to himself. The 21st. card is called the upcard and is placed face up in a central location and is the start of the discard pile. The cards that remain are positioned face down next to the discard pile and is called the stock pile.
Ordering your hand
You should try to organize your hand so that you can easily identify sets and runs.
Play
A turn consists of two mandatory actions, a draw and a discard. A player may draw one card from the top of the stack or, a card from the top of the discard pile. To finalize a turn, the player must discard one card from his hand face up on the discard pile. The player may not discard the same card drawn from the discard pile during the same turn. A different card must be discarded.
After the draw and before the discard a player may optionally meld.
Knocking
After drawing a card a player can Knock or end play if the player can form sufficient cards into valid sets and runs. This is done by discarding one card face down on the discard pile and showing your entire hand arranged into sets and runs. Cards that cannot be formed into sets and runs are designated deadwood or unmatched cards. The deadwood cards should be clearly indicated. The combined value of the deadwood must be 10 points or less. Knocking with no unmatched cards is called Going Gin.
A player with not more than 10 points of deadwood can knock on any turn. Knocking is optional and a player may continue in the game if he wishes to obtain a higher score.
The opponent must spread his cards face up and arrange them into sets and runs if possible. They can then lay off nonmatching cards by using them to extend the runs and sets of the knocker. If a player goes gin, the opponent is not allowed to lay off his cards. A knocker may not lay off cards on the opponent's sets or runs.
Play can also end if the stock pile only has two card. The player who draws the last card discards without knocking. If this happens the hand is cancelled and there is no score. Cards are then dealt again by the same dealer.
Scoring
Knock Points - Players count the total amount of the unmatched cards. If the knocker's count is lower, he scores the difference between the two counts.
Gin Bonus - The player who is able to go gin obtains a 25 point bonus as well as the count of deadwood of their opponent's hand. There is no lay off when going gin.
Game Bonus - When a player acquires 100 points or another agreed sum, the match is over. That player receives a game bonus of 100 points.
Line Bonus - A bonus of 25 points for every hand won during the match.
Shutout Bonus - If the entire match is completed with the winner having won every hand. The score for each hand is doubled before applying the Line Bonus.
Variations
There are variations to the above rules in Gin Rummy itself and the games offshoots such as: Hollywood Gin, Oklahoma Gin, Single Match and Multi-match.
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