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Gin Rummy Game Guide

1. Game Overview

Gin Rummy is a two-player card game played with a standard deck of 52 cards.

• Card Rankings (High to Low): K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A
• Aces are always low and cannot form a run with a King (e.g., Ace-2-3 is valid, but Queen-King-Ace is not).

Card Deal

1. Each player is dealt 10 face-down cards.
2. The next card is placed face-up to form the discard pile.
3. The remaining deck is placed face-down as the draw pile.
4. The winner of each round deals the next round.

2. Gameplay

① Forming Melds

Players organize their hands into two types of melds:

• Sets: Three or four cards of the same rank (e.g., 7-7-7).
• Runs: Three or more consecutive cards of the same suit (e.g., 5-6-7♠).

② Turn Progression

1. The non-dealer starts first.
2. The player decides whether to take the top card from the discard pile or pass.
   • If they pass, the opponent can choose to pick up the card.
   • If both players pass, the first player draws a card from the draw pile.
3. The player evaluates if the new card helps form a meld.
4. One unwanted card is discarded face-up onto the discard pile.
5. At the end of every turn, each player must have exactly 10 cards in hand.
6. The goal is to reduce the deadwood score by forming melds.

3. Deadwood

Deadwood refers to any cards in a player’s hand that are not part of a meld.

• Aces = 1 point
• Jacks, Queens, and Kings = 10 points
• 2-10 = Face value
• Melded cards do not count as deadwood

A player can knock when their deadwood score is 10 or less, or they can win instantly by forming Gin (zero deadwood).

4. Knocking, Gin, and Lay Off

① Knocking

• A player can knock if their deadwood score is 10 or less.
• When knocking, both players reveal their hands.

② Gin

• A player who has all 10 cards in melds (0 deadwood) declares Gin.
• The player wins the round and earns all of their opponent’s deadwood points + 25 bonus points.
• If a player wins with Gin, the opponent cannot lay off cards.

③ Lay Off

• After a player knocks, their opponent can lay off deadwood cards by adding them to the knocking player’s melds.
  • Example: If the knocking player has three 6s (6-6-6), the opponent can add a 6.
  • For a run of 5-6-7♠, the opponent can lay off a 4♠, 8♠, or even 3♠-4♠ and 8♠-9♠.
• The knocking player cannot lay off additional cards.

5. Scoring

1. Scoring after a Knock
   • Each player’s deadwood points are compared.
   • The knocking player earns points equal to the difference between the two scores.
   • Example: If the opponent has 20 deadwood points and the knocking player has 6, the knocking player earns 14 points.
2. Gin Bonus
   • If a player wins with Gin, they receive their opponent’s full deadwood points + 25 bonus points.
3. Undercut (Penalty for Knocking Player)
   • If the opponent’s deadwood score is equal to or lower than the knocking player’s, the opponent wins the round.
   • In this case, the opponent earns the difference in deadwood points + a 25-point undercut bonus.
4. Game End
   • The game continues until one player reaches the pre-set target score (e.g., 100 or 200 points).
   • The player with the highest total score wins the game.

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