How to play Gin Rummy

1 player vs computer, or 2 online

Build your ten cards into sets and runs, and knock — end the deal — while your unmatched cards count ten or less. The lower count wins the difference; knocking with nothing unmatched at all is gin, and worth a bonus.

The rules, step by step

1. 1

   Each player gets ten cards, one card is turned face up beside the stock, and the non-dealer speaks first: take that upcard or pass. If both players pass it, the non-dealer draws from the stock instead.

2. 2

   On your turn, draw one card — the top of the face-down stock, or the top of the discard pile, which everyone can see.

3. 3

   Then discard one card face up. You may not throw back the card you just took from the discard pile.

4. 4

   A meld is three or four cards of one rank, or three or more cards of one suit in sequence — aces low, so ace-two-three melds and queen-king-ace does not.

5. 5

   Cards in no meld are deadwood: aces count one, pictures ten, everything else its number. When your deadwood is ten or less you may knock as you discard.

6. 6

   On a knock, your opponent lays off deadwood that fits your melds, then the counts are compared: you win the difference, they win it plus twenty-five if they match or beat your count. Gin — a knock with zero deadwood — earns twenty-five and allows no lay-offs.

Three tips that change how you play

• Draw from the stock unless the discard makes a meld. Every card you take from the pile tells your opponent exactly what you are collecting; a stock card tells them nothing — pay the information price only for real progress.
• Throw high cards early. A lone king is ten points of deadwood the moment somebody knocks, and early in the deal it is cheap to jettison; the longer you hold it hoping for a pair, the more it costs when the knock comes.
• Knock as soon as you can in the early game. A fast knock catches the opponent with a hand full of plans and deadwood; waiting for gin is a luxury for hands that are nearly there already.

Reading one draw all the way through

Your hand holds the five-six-seven of clubs melded, a pair of jacks, and loose cards counting twenty-two. The discard pile offers the eight of clubs; the stock is face down. Taking the eight extends your run to four cards — real progress, deadwood down by whatever you throw. But run the cost side too: taking it face up tells your opponent your clubs are working, so the nine of clubs they are holding will never be thrown to you, and every club they draw gets held hostage. Now check the other direction — what do you discard after taking it? If the answer is one of the jacks, you are breaking a pair that two live jacks could still complete. The stock draw keeps your plans hidden and your pair intact; the pile draw is a certain single point of progress paid for in information. Early in the deal, take the certainty; late, with a knock in sight, the secrecy is worth more.

Three mistakes that cost beginners the game

Collecting a pretty hand instead of a cheap one.

The deal is not won by the most melds — it is won by the lowest count when somebody knocks. Two melds and three tiny cards beats one meld and a handsome collection of face cards every time. Watch the number, not the shape.

Feeding the discard pile carelessly.

Your opponent's melds are built out of what you throw. If they took the seven of hearts from the pile, the sevens and the neighbouring hearts in your hand are no longer safe discards — throw wide of what they have shown you, even when it costs a little.

Holding a dead pair forever.

A pair is only a meld waiting to happen while its third card is still live. If you have seen both remaining sevens go by in the discards, your pair of sevens is fourteen points of pure deadwood — break it up and throw them while they are cheap.

Common questions about Gin Rummy