• How To Play Gin Rummy Easy

Some of the other rules of the game are as follows: The Basic Rummy Game Rules. To play rummy, you need a deck of 52 cards. The cards in the deck rank from low to high with the ace being the lowest and the king being the highest. A minimum of 2 and a maximum of 6 players can play the game. There are two important participants in rummy. Card Game Rules. Rummy or Rum is a traditional card matching game that requires 2-6 players and a standard 52 playing card deck with Kings high and Aces low. The objective of Rummy is to have the most points at the end of the game. For more Rummy type games, check out our guides for Gin Rummy and Canasta.

Gin Rummy is a card game played with 2 to 4 people . In a 2 player game each player is dealt 10 cards and in a 3 or 4 player game - each person is dealt 7 cards. The aim of the game is to arrange as many of the cards in your hand into sets of cards or runs.

For easy reading - we have based these rules on a 2 player game of Gin Rummy but the same concept applies in a 3 or 4 player game.

Gin Rummy Deck of Cards

Gin Rummy is played with a standard 52 card deck and the Aces are classed as low cards. Each card is worth points. An Ace is 1 point, A picture card is 10 points and all other cards are worth the points of the number of the card. i.e a 3 would be worth 3 points.

Dealing Gin Rummy Cards

The dealer is chosen randomly and changes in each round. 10 cards are dealt face down to each player . The last card - also known as the 'upcard' is placed face up in the middle of the table on the 'discard pile' . The rest of the cards which are known as 'the stock' are placed next to the discard pile.

Aim of the Gin Rummy Game

The aim of the game is to arrange as many cards in your hand into sets or runs of cards - 'melds' . A set consists of 3 or more cards of the same rank - i.e 3 7's or 4 Queens. A Run consists of 3 or more consecutive cards of the same suit - i.e 3,4 and 5 of clubs or 10, Jack, Queen, King of Diamonds. The general idea is to reduce your 'deadwood' cards as much as possible. i.e cards that don't fit in any where. You can not use the same card for 2 sets at the same time.

The Actual Game Play

The first player chooses to take an 'upcard' from the discard pile or takes a closed card from the 'stock pile' and discards one of his 'deadwood cards' onto the discard pile. Tip: The player would choose a card that he can see from the discard pile if it can fir into his hands - i.e to make a run or a set . If the card doesn't fit in, he would take his chances by choosing a card from the 'stock' pile. Play continues until the first player 'knocks'.

Gin Rummy Knocking and End of Game Play

The game ends when a player knocks. A Player can knock as soon as he likes as long as his 'deadwood' cards do not add up to more than 10 points. He then throws 1 card away and spreads out his remaining 10 cards to show the sets or runs. If he has managed to use up all his cards and has no 'deadwood' cards left - this is known as 'Going Gin' and he then receives 25 bonus points.

The players opponent must then spread their cards out face up and try and arrange them into sets and runs and add additional cards to the 'knockers' laid down hands to try and 'lay off ' as many cards as possible. However, if the other player had ended the game play by 'Going Gin' then the other player is not allowed to lay off any unmatched cards.

The end of play also comes if the 'stock pile' only has 2 cards left in it and the player who took the last card discards without knocking. The Game is then cancelled, no one gets a score and the same dealer deals again.

Asides from the 25 bonus points that a player gets when calls 'gin' - he also gets the points of the values of the opponent players 'deadwood' cards.

Gin Rummy

1. Be the first to knock
Try to put together two matched melds plus four or fewer unmatched low cards. There's often not enough time to make three melds.

2. Form triangles in your hand
A card triangle (for example 4 of hearts, 4 of spades and 5 of hearts) gives you the best possibility to form a meld in the future. Develop a hand consisting of melds, a triangle, and a knock cache (low cards) as early as possible.

3. Draw from discard only for melds
As a general rule, draw from the discard pile only to complete or add to a meld, rather than forming a combination (two cards that would create a meld in the future).

4. Middle cards are better
The most useful card in this game is the 7. It works in more combinations than any other card. The least useful cards are the Ace and King.

5. Don't wait for a card inside straight
Never try to fill an inside straight in Gin-Rummy. For example, if you have a 4 and a 5, you can add to this with either of two cards, a 3 or a 6. If you have a 4 and a 6, however, you're half as likely to pick up a 5.

6. Throw the big cards early
If you start with four (or more) unmatched 10-point cards in your hand, start discarding them immediately, regardless of the combination chances. It is good to keep one high-card triangle early on, but if it is still unfilled after six or seven draws, start discarding it safely. More points are lost more quickly by disregarding this rule than by any other failing.

7. Knock as soon as possible
Knock as soon as you can. You may not make Gin, but you're more likely to pick up points from your opponent's unmatched cards.

8. An undercut is better than getting ginned
If you are faced with the choice of the risk of an undercut on your knock or the risk of discarding a card that gives your opponent gin, knock. Your opponent is more likely to gin than they are to undercut, and the loss when they gin is much greater than the loss when they undercut.

How To Play Gin Rummy Easy