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HOW TO PLAY GIN RUMMY CARD GAME

Gin is one of the best and also one of the most popular of the Rummy games. Number of Players: 2. Cards: A regular deck of 52. The ranking is:

(Highest) KQJ10 98765432A (Lowest)

The Deal: Each player receives 10 cards dealt one at a time. The rest of the deck is placed face down in the middle of the table to form the stock. The top card of the stock is turned over beside it. This so-called upcard starts the discard pile. The Play: To begin his turn, a player must draw one card—the top of the stock or the top of the discard pile. Then he must discard one card face up on the discard pile. Non-dealer plays first. If he wants the upcard, he may take it, but if he does not want it, he must say so without drawing. Then the dealer may take the upcard if he wishes. After he has taken or refused it, non-dealer continues with his turn. After that, the turn alternates and there are no further complications. Object of Play: To reduce the count of one's unmatched cards. A "matched set" in Gin is the same as a "meld" in Basic Rummy—three or four cards of the same rank, or three or more cards in sequence in the same suit. For example, 6-6-6 is a matched set and so is Q-J-10 of diamonds. In Gin, Aces rank lowest, so that 3-2-A is a sequence but A-K-Q is not. The point values are: Ace 1, face card 10, each other card, its pip value. Knocking: There is no melding. Matched sets are kept in the hand, until some player brings matters to a halt by laying down all his 10 cards. This act is called "knocking." You are entitled to knock only if the total count of your unmatched cards is 10 or less. You may knock only in your turn to play, after drawing and before discarding. You should make your final discard face dawn, as a matter of habit, thereby indicating your intention to knock. (If you should discard face up, intending then to lay down your hand, you could be stopped, for by rule the face-up discard ended your turn.)

The knocker must arrange his cards in matched sets with the unmatched cards to one side. It is customary to announce the total count of unmatched cards, as by saying "I go down for five." The opponent then exposes his hand, arranged by matched sets and unmatched cards. He is entitled to lay off cards on the knocker's sets, provided that it is not a gin hand —all 10 cards matched. For example, if the knocker lays down three Jacks and the 9-8-7 of hearts (with four low unmatched cards), the opponent can lay off the fourth Jack, the 10 or 6 of hearts, if he has any of these cards. Scoring: Opponent of the knocker counts his remaining unmatched cards, after laying off what he can. If this count is higher than the knocker's, the knocker wins the difference. If the opponent has the same or lower count, he scores the difference (if any) plus 25 points for undercutting the knocker. If the knocker lays down a gin hand, the opponent may not lay off any cards. The knocker wins the opponent's count, plus 25. This bonus of 25 for gin can be won only by a knocker. For example, suppose you play 'possum with a gin hand until your opponent knocks with 1 or more. You win his count, plus 25 for undercut, but you don't get the bonus for a gin hand. Game: Keep score with pencil and paper. Enter the net result of a hand in the column under the winner's name, draw a line below the item, then write the total. The lines are important, to keep track of how many hands were won by each player. The player who first reaches a total of 100 or more wins a game. He scores a bonus of 100 for winning, and an additional 100 for shutout (also called "whitewash," "skunk," "Schneider," "goose-egg," etc.) if his opponent has not scored a single point. Then each player is credited with 25 points for each hand he has won. This is called the line or box score. The winner then carries forward the difference between his own grand total and opponent's grand total.

Related terms include skip bo card game and naruto collectible card game.