Gin Rummy

Gin Rummy is a super fun and easy card game for two players. When you kick off a game, each player gets dealt 10 cards. Then, one card goes face up to start the discard pile, while the rest stay face down as the stock pile.

How to Play Gin Rummy

The first player starts by picking up a card from either the discard pile or the stock pile. After that, they discard one card from their hand to the discard pile. Then it’s the next player’s turn, and this continues back and forth.

Melds and Deadwood Explained

Your cards can form two types: melds and deadwoods. Melds consist of either 3 or 4 cards of the same rank or 3 or more cards in a sequence of the same suit. Remember, no overlapping allowed – a card can’t belong to two melds at once!

The leftover cards are called deadwood cards. Each of these has points: Aces are worth 1 point, number cards are worth their face value (like 2 is worth 2 points), while Jacks, Queens, and Kings are all worth 10 points.

Aim for Low Deadwood Points

The goal is to reduce your deadwood points! After discarding a card, if your deadwood points are 10 or less, you can knock. This gives your opponent a chance to lay off any of their deadwood cards by forming melds with yours.

If your deadwood points are lower than your opponent's after knocking, you score based on the difference in points. But if they have fewer points than you do? They get an extra bonus of 25 plus that difference!

Special Scoring Rules

If you knock and have zero deadwood points, your opponent can't lay off any cards! You also score an extra 25 points for that move! And if all eleven of your cards create valid melds before discarding? You can knock early for an added bonus of six points!

The End Game Situation

If there are only two cards left in the stock pile when someone knocks or plays their last turn, then it ends in a draw. The whole match wraps up when one player reaches a total of 100 points!

Ready to Play?

If you're itching to try out Gin Rummy, gather some friends or family members! It’s bound to be hours of fun!