How to play Gin Rummy

What Gin Rummy is

Gin Rummy is a card game for two players with a 52-card deck. Each player gets ten cards; every turn you draw one and throw one away, trying to arrange your hand into melds: sets of one rank and runs in one suit. Cards that do not fit are deadwood, and whoever gets their deadwood low first can end the hand and score.

Playing Gin Rummy on AllFun

In AllFun Gin Rummy you play against a computer opponent at Easy, Medium or Hard, for a single hand or a match to 50, 100 or 250 points. The Daily challenge is one hand against the Hard computer, with the same deal for everyone that day. Play Online finds you an opponent, and Play a friend gives you a room code; online, each turn has a 40-second clock.

Your hand sorts itself: melds lift up over a coloured line, and your deadwood count is always shown. Draw from the stock or the pile, then discard by tapping a card twice or dragging it to the pile. When your deadwood is low enough, tap Knock to end the hand. In the options you can turn off the Big Gin bonus and the match bonuses.

The rules

The deal and the first card

Each player is dealt ten cards. One card is turned face up to start the discard pile, and the rest form the stock. On the first turn, the player who did not deal may take that face-up card or pass; if both pass, the first player draws from the stock.

A turn

• Draw one card: the top of the stock, or the top of the discard pile.
• Discard one card face up. A card you have just taken from the discard pile cannot be thrown back the same turn.

Melds and deadwood

• A set is three or four cards of the same rank, such as three 8s.
• A run is three or more cards in a row in one suit, such as 4-5-6 of hearts. Aces are low: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A is not.
• Deadwood is every card outside a meld: Aces count 1, number cards their value, and Jacks, Queens and Kings 10 each.

Knocking, Gin and layoffs

When your deadwood is 10 or less after your discard, you may knock to end the hand. Both players show their melds, and the other player may then lay off their own deadwood cards by adding them to the knocker's melds. If the knocker has less deadwood, they score the difference. If the other player has the same or less, it is an undercut: they score the difference plus 25.

Knocking with no deadwood at all is Gin: a 25-point bonus, and no layoffs are allowed. With Big Gin, all eleven cards melded after drawing, the bonus is 31. If the stock runs down to its last two cards and nobody has knocked, the hand is a draw and the same dealer deals again.

The match

Hands add up until someone reaches the target. Match bonuses give the winner 100 more and each player 25 per hand won; a shutout doubles the 100.

Five tips for Gin Rummy

1. Throw high cards early. Unmelded Kings and Queens cost 10 points each if the hand ends suddenly.
2. Keep cards that work two ways. A 7 of hearts next to an 8 of hearts and another 7 can grow into a run or a set.
3. Watch what your opponent picks up. If they take a 9 from the pile, do not feed them another 9 or its neighbours in that suit.
4. Knock early when you can. Waiting for Gin is tempting, but an early knock often wins before your opponent is ready.
5. Beware the undercut. Late in a hand, your opponent's deadwood may already be low. Knock with as little deadwood as you can.

A short history

Gin Rummy is a twentieth-century member of the large rummy family of drawing-and-melding games. Its speed made it a favourite game for two, and its name is usually explained as a playful nod to the drink.

Gin Rummy FAQ