Playing Gin Rummy with friends, family, and millions of players worldwide has never been easier! The objective is simple: Build a winning hand before your opponent. Match cards into sets of the same rank (7, 7, 7) or runs of consecutive cards in one suit (7, 8, 9). Thus, if the upcard is a five, the knocker must have 5 points or less. Face cards count 10. When an ace is the knock card, neither player may knock with a count of 1 point; instead, each must play for a gin hand. Play Gin-Rummy Online. Gin-Rummy Tournaments. Gin rummy is best played with only two players. But if you have a third person who wants to play, have one person act as the dealer without dealing themselves any cards. Then rotate this position around the table for each subsequent hand. For four players, play two separate games. How to Score Gin Rummy. Gin rummy is a classic card game that has been around for decades. This simple game is played by matching playing cards in 3 or 4 card sets and runs and by collecting points from your unmatched cards.

This is an archive copy of a page from the former website cardsanddominoes.com, with thanks to Howard Fosdick for permission to republish it here.

Gin Rummy, sometimes simply called “Gin”, is one of the most popular card games in the world. The rules of the Gin Rummy card game are part of its appeal, seemingly complex but easy to understand. As with other Rummy games, Gin Rummy is a game about building a winning hand by managing discards.

Gin Rummy or Gin is among the best two-handed card games. It features the simplicity of rummy combined with genuine strategic depth.

Gin was invented by Elwood T. Baker and played by his family back in 1910. Then it was forgotten. Baker’s son Graham was astonished to find the game being played at New York clubs in the 1930s. Somehow the game had survived or resurfaced after two decades! Gin became a fad in the early 1940s, probably because film stars adopted it as their favorite.

First we’ll summarize the rules for standard Gin Rummy, aka Oklahoma Gin. Then we give rules to a simple variant called Sequence Gin. Next come the rules to the high-end Skarney Gin. We wrap up with Colonel, a variant of Gin Rummy in which players lay non-scoring melds to the table.

Oklahoma Gin (aka Gin Rummy)

This is a game with a 52-card deck for two players. Cards rank A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K. The Ace is always the low card. Card values are--

The goal in a Hand is to be first to meld all the cards in your hand to go out (go gin). Or to meld enough cards such that the value of those left is less than or equal to the value of the turn-up card, and also less than the value of your opponent’s unmelded cards.

The goal for Game is to be the first player to 100 points across hands.

Valid melds are either--

1. 3 or 4 cards of the same rank
2. A sequence of 3 or more cards in the same suit

Deal each player 10 cards each. Turn one card face-up to start the discard pile. The remaining face-down cards become the draw pile.

In his turn, each player---

1. Takes one card into his hand. This may either be the top card of the discard pile, or the top card from the draw pile.
2. If he wants to or can, he goes out (thereby ending the hand).
3. Discards one card face-up on top of the discard pile. Unless mutually agreed otherwise, cards in the discard pile should be squared up so that only the single topmost card is visible.

There are two ways to go out--

1. Going gin, whereby all cards in the hand have been melded.
2. Melding all cards in hand but with remaining non-melded cards having a total value of less than or equal to that of the original turn-up card that started the discard pile. This is called knocking.

When a player goes gin, he scores a 20 point gin bonus, plus the total value of all unmelded cards in his opponent’s hand.

When a player knocks, he places his hand face-up on the table. His opponent then shows his own melds, and is allowed to meld any unmatched cards (if possible) on the melds of the player who knocked.

Total the remaining unmatched cards for each player. If the player who knocked has a total less than that of his opponent, he scores the total value of unmatched cards of his opponent. If the player who knocked has a total greater than or equal to that of his opponent, he has been under-knocked. The opponent scores a 20 point under-knocking bonus, plus the difference in value between the two hands.

When a player goes out, either by gin or by knocking, he optionally discards to conclude his hand.

Sequence Gin

In this variant of Gin Rummy invented by Howard Fosdick, players may only meld sequences (not 3 or 4 of a kind). Players score a 1 point per card bonus for each card in a long sequence of 6 or more cards. Score a 1 point per card bonus for each face card (K, Q, J) in sequences. These bonuses do not apply to whether one can knock or whether an under-knock occurs. They only apply when calculating the final hand scores.

All other rules are as per Oklahoma Gin above.

Skarney Gin

John Scarne was a magician who befriended Houdini, mobsters, and Presidents. Along the way he invented some classic card games. Scarne took standard Gin and enlivened it with more varied melds, a contract meld requirement, and direct interaction between opponents through new discard rules.

Skarney Gin adds an extra meld to Oklahoma Gin. The poker meld is a set of cards in sequence (they do not have to be in the same suit). So there are three kinds of melds in Skarney Gin--

1. Set (3 or 4 of a kind)
2. Sequence (3 or more cards in suit in sequence)
3. Poker Meld (3 or more cards in sequence, regardless of suits)

Aces can be either high or low in melds. So you can play A-2-3 or Q-K-A. You can not make “round the corner” melds with Aces, such as K-A-2.

The first meld a player makes in each hand must be his contract meld. The contract meld consists of exactly three 3-card melds. The melds may be any combination of 3-of-a-kind sets, 3-card same-suit sequences, or 3-card poker melds. After a player lays down his contract meld, in subsequent turns he may lay off either one or two cards on each of his melds on the table. He can not lay off cards on his opponent’s melds. Of course, the player can also lay down any new melds he likes (each consisting of three or more cards).

Play differs from regular Gin in that there is no “discard pile.” (After dealing cards to each player, you do not turn up a card to start the discard pile.) Instead of discarding, a player holds up one card from his hand and offers it to his opponent. The opponent may say “I’ll take it,” and put it into his hand. If the opponent rejects the card, the player must put it back into his own hand.

A player can not offer to his opponent the same card he just accepted from his opponent in the prior turn. If the pro-offered discard is an Ace, and the player accepts it, that player loses his draw from the draw pile on his next turn.

Whether the second player accepts the discard (and puts it into his hand) or not, he still always starts his turn by drawing the top card from the stock pile. The single exception is if he accepted the offered discard from his opponent and that card was an Ace.

When a player has only 1 card left in his hand, he does not offer a potential discard to his opponent. Instead, he just says “last card” and keeps that card in his hand.

Scoring differs from regular Gin in that Aces are worth 15 points (instead of 1 point). A player who goes gin receives the total value of all cards in his opponent’s hand (regardless of whether they are meldable or not). The player who goes out does not receive any points for cards his opponent has already melded to the table.

Going gin also scores a gin bonus of 20 points. This doubles to 40 points if the opponent has not yet put his required contract meld to the table.

Since Skarney Gin does not have a discard pile, you must go out by melding all cards in your hand without a discard.

There is no knocking in Skarney Gin. The hand ends by a gin. If players draw all the way through the deck (with the exception of the last two cards, which are never drawn), the hand ends without the last player offering a potential discard. The player holding the lower total value for unmelded cards in his hand scores the difference in the unmelded point totals.

A Game is 200 points or more across hands.

Strategy

As you’ve probably guessed, this game is way different from standard Gin!

The number of cards in a player’s hand varies during a hand. There is no knocking, only gin (or else the hand ends when the draw pile is exhausted). And there is the presence of a third meld, the poker straight in which cards are in sequence but not in suit.

Poker straights are often easier to extend than sets or sequences in one suit.

You’ll have to think very carefully about when to lay down your contract meld. Too early and you could end up stuck with a single card in hand and little flexibility. Too late, and your opponent may gin and catch you with all cards in hand. Remember that all cards in hand count against you if your opponent gins (whether matched or not). And, only cards in hand count in the scoring (cards melded to the table are not part of the score).

Enhanced Rules

We’ve simplified by leaving out Scarne’s system for scoring Games for the purposes of settling.

More Information

See John Scarne’s Encyclopedia of Card Games, one of the classic card game compendiums. The book has a chapter on Skarney Gin and its rummy relative, Skarney.

Also Try

If you like Skarney Gin, you might also try Scarne’s partnership scoring rummy, Skarney.

Colonel

Colonel is a variation of standard Gin Rummy in which the two players lay melds on the table. This adds interest to the game as the melds progressively yield more information as the game evolves. This is a fast, fun, simple card game for two.

As in standard Gin Rummy, this the two players use one 52-card deck. Cards rank from Ace (high) to 2 (low). The Ace is always played as high card in sequences (A-K-Q-J...), never as the low card (A-2-3...).

The goal is to win the hand by being first to go out of cards. Like Gin Rummy, the only scoring is done at the end of the hand.

The allowable melds are:

Gin Rummy Hands

1. Sets of 3 or 4 cards of the same rank
2. Sequences of 3 or more cards in the same suit

Dealer starts the hand by dealing each player 10 cards face-down, one at a time. He turns one card face-up to start the Discard Pile, and the remaining cards remain face-down and become the drawing Stock.

In his turn each player:

1. Either draws the top card from the Stock or takes the face up card from the top of the Discard Pile
2. Optionally melds as many sets and sequences as he or she can.
   The player may also optionally add one or more cards to any set or sequence already on the table, regardless of who originally placed that meld on the table. Thus one can play cards on the opponent’s melds.
3. Discards one card to the top of the Discard Pile. This should cover up all previous cards in the pile.

The first player to play all cards from his hand wins the hand. You can either go out on a discard or solely through melding.

Scoring

The player who rummies (goes out) scores 10 points for each Ace, King, Queen and Jack remaining in his opponent’s hand. All other cards score their pip value.

If the game ends by the exhaustion of the Stock, players each total the points in their hands. The player with the lower total wins the hand. He scores points by subtracting his remaining point total from his opponent’s.

Optional Rule

At any time a player may challenge his opponent. The opponent may either accept or reject the Challenge. If he accepts the Challenge, both players total the points in their hands, and the player with the lower point total wins the hand. He scores the total points in his opponent’s hand -- without deducting his own remaining point total.

If the player rejects the Challenge, play of the hand continues as per usual.

Strategy

Tension in this game centers on when to play your melds to the table. Doing so early reduces your chance of being stuck with lots of cards in hand, should your opponent rummy. However, this also exposes your sets and sequences so that your opponent can play his cards on them to reduce his hand.

A player who is having trouble melding might stock up his hand with low point total cards, then challenge his opponent. The large hand with a deceptively low point total will often succeed in a Challenge.

More Information

Colonel is described in George F. Hervey’s compendium of card games, published in the UK several times by Hamlyn since 1973. I know of no other published source for this game.

How to Play Gin Rummy: Feeling bored on a Sunday evening? Not feeling like going out? You can enjoy a game of Gin rummy with your family member or friends at home only. Get some snacks and music together and start out a fun evening. And if you have any doubts about this game then we will tell you that how to play gin rummy perfectly.

Gin Rummy was originally created as a substitute to the original rummy as it is a faster process. You can see a lot of rules and process similar to the original rummy game. However, you would find the version of gin rummy even more interesting and engaging.

Gin Rummy is generally played by two players but you can get to know about its variations and rules once you know that how to play gin rummy. You can easily change some of the rule through house rules and regulations and it will make the game even more interesting.

Recently I shared How to Play Rummy Card Game – Complete Guide for Beginners.

Here is a complete process and some of the terminologies through which you can understand that how you can end up playing this game perfectly and easily.

Deal

This can be called one of the basic of the game of gin rummy. If you want to know that how to play gin rummy then you must know that how to start this game.

• The dealer is chosen by the common and easy process. Cards are dealt to each player and the one who gets the lowest card gets to deal.
• For the next deal, the loser of the previous hand would be the dealer and the process goes on.
• No matter how many number of players are playing, each player would be dealt 10 cards and that too in a pattern of one at a time.
• Suppose, there are two players then the 21^st card would be kept on the remaining pile by facing up. This card is used as the beginning of the discarded pile.

Object of the Game

You can never learn how to play gin rummy if you do not even know its object. You must have acknowledgement that what you need to do in the game and how can you win it. You can learn this process through these steps-

• You must keep in mind that whatever cards are there in your hand, you must combine them in such a way that it makes sets and runs out of them. The point value of the last card remaining should be as low as possible.
• A run or sequence is termed as the set of three or more than three cards of the same suit which must be arranged in the consecutive order. For example – 4, 5, 6 of spade.
• A set or group is known as three or four cards of the same rank. For example 7 of spade, diamond, hearts.
• You cannot use the same cards for more than one run or set. Only a single sequence or single set can be formed by a single card. For example – if you have 7 of spade, hearts and diamond and 8, 9 of hearts then you can use the 7 of hearts either for 7, 7, 7 or for 7, 8, 9 of hearts.

Gin Rummy Winning Hands

How to Play Gin Rummy

This is the most important section to learn how to play gin rummy. Here are some steps given through which you can understand that how to play this game.

• There are basically two things that need to be done on a single turn by each player.
• First part is to draw. You must have to begin the game by taking out one card from either the stock pile or the discarded pile. It does sound like the simple rummy but it has some different rules too.
• Second part is to discard. To complete one turn you would have to discard a single card from your hand and place it on the top of the discarded pile. If you took the card from the discarded pile then you cannot discard the same.

Rules

The rules of gin rummy can be understood by some terminologies. These terms are important to understand how to play gin rummy.

• Knocking- You can end the game at any point if you think you have made enough sets or sequence from your cards. Make sure that the cards which are not used in making any set, their value must not exceed 10 points. You can end the game by discarding a card on the discarded pile facing down. This is called knocking.
• Gin- After knocking, if you have no unmatched card in your hands other than the set or sequence then this process is called going gin. It earns a special bonus for you.

Scoring

There is a certain way according to which the scoring is done. This is-

• Just like the simple rummy, each player count the value of the unmatched cards. If the value of knocker’s card is lower then, the difference of the value of two players is his score.
• The player who goes gin, earns extra 20 points as bonus.
• If the knocker does not go gin and the counts are equal or knocker’s count is greater then, knocker’s opponent scores the difference between the two counts plus 10 point bonus plus the difference of the counts.
• The game keeps on going until the score reached a target of 100 points or points set by the players.
• After the final scores, whoever lose he gets to pay the winner an amount proportional to the difference between their scores.

Conclusion

I hope this information would prove to be beneficial for you if you want to know that how to play gin rummy. Especially, if you are just a beginner then you can learn the process easily by the step by step tutorials.

There are also some examples mentioned through which you can get to know the process even better. So, gather some of your friends and give it a try to these types of indoor card games. It would surely be a change for you to move over those video games.