What you need
- A standard 52-card deck without jokers
- Pencil and paper, or the free score keeper, for the score
Players and time
2 players. About 20 minutes a game.
The goal
Arrange your hand into sets and runs so that the cards left over (the deadwood) add up to as little as possible. You win a hand by ending it with lower deadwood than your opponent. The first player to reach 100 points wins the game.
Setup
- Cut or draw for the first dealer. In the following hands the winner of the last hand usually deals.
- Deal ten cards to each player, one at a time.
- Put the rest of the deck face down as the stock. Turn the top card of the stock face up beside it to start the discard pile.
- The player who did not deal decides first whether to take the turned-up card. If they decline, the dealer may take it. If both decline, the non-dealer starts by drawing from the stock.
A turn
- Draw one card, either the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
- Discard one card face up onto the discard pile. If you took the top discard, you may not discard that same card again in the same turn.
- If you want to end the hand, knock instead of a normal discard (see Knocking below).
- Play passes to the other player.
Special cards and combinations
- Card values and melds
- Kings, queens and jacks are worth 10 each. Aces are worth 1, and all other cards are worth their number. Ace is always low, so A-2-3 is a run but Q-K-A is not. A set is three or four cards of the same rank. A run is three or more cards in a row of the same suit. A card can only belong to one meld at a time.
- Deadwood
- Deadwood is the total value of the cards in your hand that are not part of any set or run. The lower the deadwood, the better.
- Knocking
- After you draw, you may knock if your deadwood is 10 points or less. To knock, discard one card face down and show your hand, arranged into melds, with the deadwood announced. Knocking is always your choice, and you can do it on any turn, including your first.
- Gin
- Gin means knocking with no deadwood at all: every card is in a meld, after the face-down discard. The opponent cannot lay off cards onto a gin hand.
- Layoffs
- After a knock (but not after gin), the other player lays out their own sets and runs. They may then lay off any of their leftover cards onto the knocker's melds: a fourth card of the same rank on a set of three, or a card that extends a run at either end. Layoffs reduce their deadwood. The knocker cannot lay off onto the other player's melds, and no card can be laid off onto deadwood.
- Undercut
- If you knock but the other player's deadwood (after layoffs) is equal to or lower than yours, you have been undercut. The other player wins the hand and gets an extra bonus.
- When the stock runs low
- If only two cards are left in the stock and the player who took the third-to-last card discards without knocking, the hand is cancelled. Nobody scores, and the same dealer deals again.
Scoring
Each hand has one winner, who scores the points described below. A player who wins a hand also gets a box (line) bonus at the end of the game, for each hand they won.
The game ends when one player's total from hands reaches 100 points. Box bonuses do not count toward the 100.
| Result of the hand | Who scores | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Knock, and the knocker's deadwood is lower | Knocker | Difference in deadwood |
| Gin (knocker has no deadwood) | Knocker | Opponent's deadwood + 20 gin bonus |
| Undercut (opponent's deadwood equal or lower) | Opponent | Difference in deadwood + 10 undercut bonus |
| Reaching 100 points | Game winner | 100 game bonus (200 if the loser won no hand) |
| Each hand won, added at the end of the game | Both players | 20 per hand won |
Worked example
Ann and Bo play to 100. Hand 1: Ann knocks with 6 and Bo has 15 after layoffs. Ann scores 15 - 6 = 9. Hand 2: Bo knocks with 8, but Ann has 5, so Ann undercuts: 3 + 10 = 13 points for Ann. Hand 3: Bo goes gin and Ann is left with 22, so Bo scores 22 + 20 = 42.
Hand 4: Ann knocks with 2, Bo has 21: Ann scores 19. Hand 5: Bo knocks with 7, Ann has 18: Bo scores 11. Hand 6: Ann knocks with 3, Bo has 35: Ann scores 32. Hand 7: Ann goes gin and Bo has 30: Ann scores 30 + 20 = 50.
Ann's hand totals are 9 + 13 + 19 + 32 + 50 = 123, which passes 100 and ends the game. Bo's are 42 + 11 = 53. Ann won five hands and Bo won two. Ann gets the 100 game bonus and 5 x 20 = 100 box bonus: 123 + 100 + 100 = 323. Bo gets 2 x 20 = 40: 53 + 40 = 93. Bo won a hand, so there is no shutout bonus.
Keep score with the Gin Rummy score keeper
How to win
The first player whose hand scores reach 100 points wins the game and adds the 100-point game bonus. If the loser did not win a single hand, the game bonus is doubled to 200.
Both players then add 20 points for each hand they won. These final totals are used if you want to settle a score difference between the two players.
Common house rules
These are house rules. They are not part of the official rules, so agree on them before you start.
- 25-point bonuses House rule
- Some players use 25 points for the gin bonus, the undercut bonus and the box bonus, or 25 for gin and 20 for undercut. These are common variations of the standard 20 / 10 / 20. The score keeper lets you change each bonus.
- Alternate dealing House rule
- The standard approach has the winner of the last hand deal. Some groups have the loser deal or take turns instead.
- Last-card rule for the stock House rule
- Some groups let the other player take the last discard when the stock is down to two cards, but only to knock or go gin. Otherwise the hand is cancelled as in the standard rules.
- Oklahoma gin House rule
- In this popular variation, the value of the first turned-up card sets the maximum deadwood you can knock with (a 7 means 7 or less, face cards count as 10). A spade as the first card doubles the hand's score. Games are often played to 150. The score keeper does not support Oklahoma rules.
Frequently asked questions
How many points do you need to knock in gin rummy?
Your deadwood must be 10 points or less. Face cards count as 10, aces as 1, and other cards at their number.
What is an undercut in gin rummy?
An undercut happens when you knock and the other player ends up with equal or lower deadwood after laying off cards. They win the hand and score the difference in deadwood plus a 10-point undercut bonus.
What is gin?
Gin is a knock with no deadwood. The knocker scores the opponent's deadwood plus a 20-point gin bonus, and the opponent is not allowed to lay off any cards.
Can you knock on your first turn?
Yes. You can knock on any turn after drawing, as long as your deadwood is 10 or less.
Can an ace be high in gin rummy?
No. Aces are always low, so A-2-3 is a valid run but Q-K-A is not. A king cannot connect to an ace.
What happens when the stock runs out?
If the stock is down to two cards and the player who took the third-to-last card discards without knocking, the hand is cancelled and the same dealer deals again. Nobody scores.
How many points do you play to in gin rummy?
The game ends when a player reaches 100 points from hand scores. That player also gets a 100-point game bonus. Many groups agree on a different target before the game, such as 150 for Oklahoma gin.
Sources
- Pagat.com, Gin Rummy (Deal, turn, knocking at 10 or less, layoffs, gin, undercut, 100-point game, bonuses, stock running low, and the variations.)
- Bicycle Cards, How to Play Gin Rummy (Checked for knocking, gin, scoring and the 100-point game and shutout bonuses. It does not cover the stock running low.)
- Wikipedia, Gin rummy (Cross-check only: a hand with two cards left in the stock ends as a draw with no score.)