Gin Rummy

History

Gin Rummy was invented in 1909 by Elwood Baker, a whist teacher from New York City. It was based off of earlier rummy games such as knock rummy and conquian. Gin Rummy became a fad in the United States in the 1940s, and has remained culturally prevalent ever since. Many variations have developed since then, with the most notable differences being in the scoring. This is just one version of the game.

Setup

Gin Rummy is a game for two players, with a standard 52-card deck (jokers removed). The first dealer gives each player a ten-card hand, and sets the rest of the deck on the table to form the stock. The dealer sets the top card from the stock face-up next to the stock to begin the discard pile.

Objective

The goal of gin rummy is to form melds within your hand. Acceptable melds are runs and sets. Runs consist of at least three cards of the same suit in sequence (A-2-3 of diamonds, etc.). Aces are considered low, and runs cannot wrap "around the corner" (K-A-2 is not acceptable). Sets consist of at least 3 cards of the same rank (J-J-J, etc). Melds are not played on the table be are kept in the hand until a player can "go out" (see below).

Gameplay

A turn consists of drawing, either from the top of the stock or the top of the discard pile, and then discarding. On their first turn, the non-dealer must either draw from the top of the discard pile or pass the turn. If they pass, the dealer is given the same choice. If the dealer also passes, then the non-dealer can draw from the stock or the discard pile like normal.

Going Out and Scoring

Unmelded cards within a player's hand are known as "deadwood." When the total value of a player's deadwood is ten points or less, they may "go out." A player goes out immediately after drawing, and they lay their hand down on the table, separating the melds and the deadwood. They may discard one card if they wish. If that player has no deadwood, they are said to have gone "gin," and get a scoring bonus. If they went gin and did not discard, then they went "big gin" for an even bigger bonus. The opponent then lays all of their cards on the table, separating the melds from the deadwood. The opponent can "lay off" cards onto their opponent's melds. For example, a 5 may be added to 5-5-5, or a 6 of hearts may be added to 7-8-9-10 of hearts. The player who went out then subtracts the value of their deadwood from their opponents deadwood, and adds any bonuses for their score for the hand. If they ended up with more deadwood than their opponent, the opponent gets the points and a 15-point bonus for "undercutting."

The non-dealer becomes the dealer and begins a new round. The first player to reach 100 points wins.