Gin Rummy rules: the complete guide

Gin Rummy at a glance

If you only remember one thing, remember this: the hand is decided by deadwood — the cards you can’t put into a meld. Every decision in Gin Rummy, from what you pick up to when you knock, comes down to keeping that number low while your opponent’s stays high.

Setting up the game

Gin Rummy needs nothing but a single deck and a pencil and paper for the score. Take out the Jokers. Cut for the first deal, or just agree on who starts; many tables alternate the deal after that, and BieGames does too.

Dealing

The dealer shuffles, lets the other player cut, and deals ten cards to each player, one at a time, starting with the non-dealer. The 21st card is turned face up beside the deck. That card is the up-card and starts the discard pile. The rest of the deck goes face down as the stock.

The up-card

The first turn is a little different from every other turn:

1. The non-dealer may take the up-card or pass.
2. If they pass, the dealer gets the same choice.
3. If both players pass, the non-dealer draws the top card of the stock, and normal play begins.

Whoever takes the up-card discards a card in return, just like any other turn.

Melds, deadwood and card values

A meld is a group of cards that scores nothing against you. There are two kinds:

• Sets (also called groups or books): three or four cards of the same rank, such as 8♠ 8♥ 8♦.
• Runs (also called sequences): three or more cards in a row in the same suit, such as 4♣ 5♣ 6♣ 7♣.

Aces are low only. A-2-3 of hearts is a run, but Q-K-A is not, and neither is K-A-2.

Each card can belong to only one meld at a time. If you hold 7♠ 7♥ 7♦ and 5♠ 6♠, the 7♠ can finish the run 5♠ 6♠ 7♠ or the set of sevens — not both. You pick whichever arrangement leaves you the least deadwood.

Every card that isn’t in a meld is deadwood, and it counts against you:

This is why high cards are dangerous in Gin. A stray King costs as much as a 4, a 3, a 2 and an Ace put together.

Playing a turn

After the up-card is settled, players take turns. Each turn has exactly two steps:

1. Draw one card — either the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
2. Discard one card face up on the discard pile.

You always end a turn with ten cards. One rule catches newcomers: you may not discard the card you just picked up from the discard pile. (Discarding a card you drew from the stock is fine.)

There is no laying down melds during the hand, as there is in Rummy 500 or basic rummy. Your melds stay in your hand, hidden, until someone ends the hand by knocking.

Example. You hold 3♠ 4♠ 5♠, 9♥ 9♣, K♦ K♣, 7♥, 2♦ and Q♠. Your only meld is the spade run, so your deadwood is 9 + 9 + 10 + 10 + 7 + 2 + 10 = 57. The 9♦ is on top of the discard pile. You take it, which turns your two nines into a set, and you throw the Q♠. Your deadwood drops to K♦ K♣ 7♥ 2♦ = 29 in a single turn. Notice that your opponent now knows you collect nines — that’s the price of drawing from the open pile.

Knocking

You end a hand by knocking. After you draw, if your deadwood will be 10 points or less once you discard, you may knock:

1. Place your discard face down on the discard pile. (That’s the signal that you are knocking, not just discarding.)
2. Spread your hand face up, arranged into melds and deadwood.
3. Your opponent spreads their hand too, with their own melds.
4. Your opponent may then lay off — add their deadwood cards to your melds.
5. Both deadwood totals are compared, and the hand is scored.

You never have to knock. With 10 or less you may keep playing, hoping for a lower count or gin.

Laying off

Laying off is the defender’s only way to fight back after a knock. A card can be laid off if it would extend one of the knocker’s melds: the fourth card of a set, or the next card at either end of a run. Cards can be laid off one after another, so if you knock with 5♥ 6♥ 7♥, your opponent may add the 8♥ and then the 9♥.

Only the defender lays off. The knocker can’t add cards to the defender’s melds.

Example. You draw and now hold 3♠ 4♠ 5♠ 6♠, 9♥ 9♣ 9♦, 2♦, A♣, 4♥ and K♣. You throw the K♣ face down and knock with 2 + 1 + 4 = 7 deadwood. Hank spreads Q♥ Q♦ Q♠ as a set, with 7♠, 9♠, J♦, 10♦, 8♥, 5♥ and 3♣ left over — 52 points. He lays off the 7♠ on your spade run and the 9♠ on your nines, leaving J♦ 10♦ 8♥ 5♥ 3♣ = 36. His 5♥ can’t go on your 4♥, because your 4♥ is deadwood, not a meld.

Going gin

If all ten cards are in melds after your discard, you have gin. You knock as usual, but two things change: you score a bonus, and your opponent may not lay off any cards. Their whole deadwood counts.

Some players also allow big gin: right after drawing, all eleven cards in your hand form melds. You knock without discarding at all and score a larger bonus.

Scoring

Only one player scores in each hand.

Notice the tie rule: if the deadwood totals are equal, the defender wins the undercut. A knocker has to be strictly lower to score.

Example, continued. You knocked with 7 and Hank finished with 36 after laying off. You score 36 − 7 = 29. If Hank had managed to lay off enough to get down to 6, he would have undercut you and scored 7 − 6 + 25 = 26 instead, and you would get nothing. Had you gone gin, Hank couldn’t lay off at all: you’d score his full 52 + 25 = 77.

Winning the game

Scores carry over from hand to hand. When a player reaches 100 points, the game ends and bonuses are added:

• Game bonus: 100 points to the player who reached 100.
• Line bonus (also called a box bonus): 25 points to each player for every hand they won.
• Shutout (also called a blitz or schneider): if the loser didn’t score a single point, the winner’s total is doubled.

Example. You reach 112 points after winning five hands; Hank has 64 from three. Your final total is 112 + 100 + (5 × 25) = 337. Hank’s is 64 + (3 × 25) = 139. You win by 198. Had Hank scored nothing all game, your 337 would have doubled to 674.

When the stock runs low

The last two cards of the stock are never drawn. If a player discards and only two cards are left in the stock, and nobody has knocked, the hand is a draw. Nobody scores, and the same dealer deals again.

Edge cases and rule disputes

Can you knock on your very first turn? Yes. If the up-card (or your first draw) leaves you with 10 or less after discarding, you may knock right away. It’s rare, but it’s legal.

Can the knocker rearrange melds to block layoffs? Yes. If your cards can be grouped more than one way with the same deadwood, you choose how to spread them. A sharp knocker picks the arrangement that gives the defender the fewest places to lay off.

Can a card be counted in two melds? No. A card belongs to one meld only, even if it fits two.

Can the defender lay off on their own melds? That’s not laying off — the defender simply arranges their own melds when they spread. Laying off means adding to the knocker’s melds.

What if you knock with too much deadwood? At a real table, a false knock is usually corrected by putting the hand back and continuing, sometimes with a penalty. Online, the game won’t let you knock until your count is low enough.

Is it an undercut if the defender ties? Yes. Ties go to the defender.

Can you take the up-card and then knock? Yes. Taking the up-card counts as your draw for that turn.

Common variations and house rules

• Oklahoma gin. The first up-card of each hand sets the knock limit: its value is the most deadwood you may knock with, so a 4 means you need 4 or less. Face cards mean the usual 10. In many versions an Ace means you must go gin, and a spade up-card doubles every score in that hand.
• Classic bonuses. Older rule books give 20 for gin and 10 for an undercut instead of 25 and 25. The undercut bonus in particular varies a lot from table to table.
• Straight gin. No knocking at all. The only way to end a hand is to go gin.
• Hollywood gin. A scoring system that runs three games at once. A player’s first winning hand scores in game one only, their second in games one and two, and from their third on in all three. It makes a session longer and more swingy.
• Longer games. Some groups play to 150 or 250 instead of 100, which is common with Oklahoma gin.
• Big gin bonus. It’s 31 in many homes, but 50 is also popular, and some tables don’t play big gin at all.

On BieGames you can choose standard or Oklahoma gin, the 25 & 25 or 20 & 10 gin and undercut bonuses, a big gin bonus of 31, 50 or off, and a game to 100, 150 or 250 points — all in Settings, along with Easy, Normal or Hard for Hank, the computer player.

Gin Rummy terms

• Deadwood — cards not in any meld; their total is your count.
• Meld — a set or run.
• Set — three or four cards of the same rank.
• Run — three or more cards in sequence in one suit.
• Stock — the face-down draw pile.
• Up-card — the card turned up after the deal to start the discard pile.
• Knock — end the hand with 10 or less deadwood.
• Gin — end the hand with no deadwood at all.
• Big gin — all eleven cards melded right after drawing.
• Lay off — the defender adds a card to the knocker’s meld.
• Undercut — the defender ties or beats the knocker’s count.
• Box or line — a hand won, worth 25 points at the end of the game.
• Shutout, blitz or schneider — winning while the loser scores nothing.

Quick questions about the rules

How many cards do you deal in Gin Rummy? Ten to each player. The 21st card is turned up to start the discard pile.

Is the Ace high in Gin Rummy? No. It’s always low and counts 1 point. Q-K-A is not a run.

Can you lay off when someone goes gin? No. Layoffs are only allowed after an ordinary knock.

Can three or four people play Gin Rummy? Yes, by keeping every hand a two-player game. With three, the dealer sits out each hand; with four, two partnerships play two games at once and combine their scores. Our guide to Gin Rummy with 3 or 4 players has the details.

Do you have to knock as soon as you can? No. Knocking is always optional. Waiting can lead to gin, but it also gives your opponent more time to get their count down.

What’s the difference between Gin Rummy and Rummy 500? In Gin you keep your melds hidden and race to knock; in Rummy 500 you lay melds on the table and score their value. Our Gin Rummy vs Rummy 500 guide covers it in detail, and the Rummy 500 rules explain the other game.

Where can I practice? You can play Gin Rummy free against Hank in your browser. Your melds are sorted automatically and your deadwood count is always shown above your hand, which makes it an easy way to learn the scoring. Looking for more two-player games? See our list of the best 2-player card games.