GIN RUMMY

RULES

GLOSSARY

1. Melds: There are two kinds of melds. 1) Sets: three or four cards of the same rank, for example three sevens. 2) Runs: three or more cards of the same suit in sequence, for example the eight, nine and ten of clubs.
2. Deadwood: The cards that are not part of any melds.
3. Gin: ‘Gin’ means that all ten cards are melded and there is no deadwood. There is a bonus for Gin.
4. Stock: The part of the deck that is face down. A player can take the first card, if she doesn’t want the upcard (see below).
5. Wastepile: The pile of discarded cards.
6. Upcard: Is the first card of the wastepile. A player can take it, when she thinks it helps to improve her hand.
7. Knocking: When the value of her deadwood is 10 or less, a player can ‘knock’ to resolve the hand.
8. LayOff: The cards in a player’s deadwood that are matching the cards of the player that knocked (see below).
9. Undercut: After a player has knocked (see below), the value of deadwood cards are compared. If the value of the knocker’s deadwood is higher than that of the other player, the other player receives a bonus of 25.

PLAY

Object of the Game
To be the first to knock and lay off as many of your cards in melds as possible.

Starting a Game
Gin Rummy is a two-player game, played with a full 52 card French deck. After dealing ten cards to each player, the next card is turned face up as the first card of the wastepile. The rest of the deck is stacked face down, this is called the stock.

Value of the Cards
Ace is 1, numerals have their face value and Jack, Queen and King are all 10.

Playing
The first turn is different from the rest of the play. The non-dealer can decide to take the upcard or pass. If she passes, the dealer gets the same option. If both pass, the non-dealer must take the first card of the deck and discard one of her cards face up to the wastepile. This card becomes the upcard. Thereafter each player in turn takes either the upcard or the first card from the stock and discards one of her cards to the wastepile.

Knocking
Play continues till one of the players knocks, or when only two cards are left in the stock. In such a rare case, the game is a draw, and no points are scored. A player may knock only when the total value of the deadwood in her hand is 10 or less. She discards a card face down to the wastepile and spreads the other ten cards face up, separated into melds and deadwood. The other player shows all her melds and lays off any of her deadwood cards that match the knocker’s melds, unless the knocker went out Gin, when it is not allowed to layoff.

Hand Score
The deadwood of the knocker is compared with the deadwood of the other player. The knocker adds the difference between the value of both deadwoods to her score, unless the value of the other player’s deadwood is lower. In that case the other player adds the difference of the values to her score, plus an additional bonus of 25 for ‘undercut’. When the knocker ‘goes Gin’ she gets a bonus of 25.

Game Score
The winner of the game is the first to reach or to exceed a total of 100, or the highest score after 12 hands. The winner scores an extra 100 for winning the game. This is called the ‘Game Bonus’. Both players then add 25 for each hand they won. This is called the ‘Line Bonus’. If the winner won all hands, she adds another 100 to her score. This is called the ‘Shutout Bonus’.

STRATEGY

1) Knock as quick as possible, don’t wait for Gin.

2) Remember the cards that have been picked up from and discarded to the wastepile.

3) Only take a card from the wastepile when it completes two matching cards into a meld.

4) Middle cards, like a 7, have a better ability to form melds than high and low cards

5) Don’t discard your high card couples early in a hand.