What you need
A standard 52-card deck, no jokers, and two players. Serious players use two decks so one can be shuffled while the other is dealt. You also need a score sheet: Gin Rummy is scored over several hands to 100 points, with bonuses added at the end. Our printable sheet has columns for hands, boxes and bonuses.
Cards rank from ace (low) to king (high). For scoring, face cards count 10, aces 1 and number cards their face value.
Setup
Draw cards to pick the first dealer (lower card deals; afterwards the winner of each hand deals). Deal 10 cards each, one at a time. Turn the 21st card face up as the first discard and put the rest face down as the stock.
How to play
The aim is to arrange your hand into melds and keep the leftover cards (“deadwood”) as low as possible. A meld is either a run (three or more cards of one suit in sequence, like 5-6-7 of clubs) or a set (three or four cards of the same rank). A card can only belong to one meld. The ace is always low: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A is not.
The first turn
The non-dealer may take the face-up card or pass. If they pass, the dealer may take it. If both pass, the non-dealer draws from the stock. Whoever takes a card then discards one, and the game continues normally.
A normal turn
- Draw the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
- Discard one card face up. You may not discard the card you just took from the discard pile.
Knocking
If, after drawing, your deadwood totals 10 points or less, you may end the hand by knocking: discard one card face down and lay out your melds and your deadwood. You are never forced to knock.
Knocking with zero deadwood is going gin.
Your opponent then lays out their melds. If you knocked (but did not go gin), they may also lay off deadwood onto your melds: a fourth 9 on your set of 9s, the 4 of clubs on your 5-6-7 of clubs. You cannot lay off on the knocker’s deadwood, and the knocker never lays off on the opponent’s melds. If you went gin, no laying off is allowed.
If only two cards remain in the stock and the player who drew the third-last card discards without knocking, the hand is void and the same dealer deals again.
Scoring and winning
- Knock and win. Your deadwood is lower than your opponent’s: score the difference.
- Undercut. Your opponent’s deadwood is equal to or lower than yours: they score the difference plus a 10-point bonus.
- Gin. Score 20 points plus all of your opponent’s deadwood. A gin hand can never be undercut.
The first player to reach 100 points wins the game. Then add the bonuses: 100 points for winning (200 if the loser scored nothing, a “shutout”), and a 20-point box for each hand won. Boxes do not count toward the 100-point target.
Common variants
- Oklahoma Gin. The first face-up card sets the maximum deadwood for knocking that hand (a 6 means knock at 6 or less; a face card means 10; an ace often means gin only). If the card is a spade, the hand’s score is doubled. Game is usually 150.
- Bigger bonuses. Many groups use 25 for gin and 20 or 25 for an undercut.
- Eleven-card start. The non-dealer gets 11 cards, no card is turned up, and their first turn is simply a discard.
- Three players. The dealer sits out and deals to the other two; the loser deals next.
- Four players. Two partnerships, each player playing a separate game against one opponent; team scores are combined and the target is 125.
Tips for first games
- Knock early in the first few hands. Waiting for gin is tempting, but an opponent who knocks first with low deadwood can undercut you.
- Your opponent’s discards tell you what they are not collecting; the cards they pick up tell you what they are.
- Middle cards (5 to 9) make the most runs. Throw kings and queens early unless they are already paired.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards do you get in Gin Rummy? Ten each, with the 21st card turned face up to start the discard pile.
What is deadwood? Any card in your hand that is not part of a run or set. The total value of your deadwood decides whether you can knock.
Can you knock on the first turn? Yes, if your deadwood after drawing is 10 or less.
Is the ace high or low? Low only. A-2-3 is a valid run; Q-K-A is not.
What is the difference between Gin Rummy and Rummy? In Gin Rummy you keep your melds in hand until someone knocks, you play with exactly two players, and scoring rewards low deadwood. In basic Rummy melds go on the table as you make them and the winner is simply the first to empty their hand.
