Gin Rummy
Meld it. Knock. Go gin.
The two-player classic. Draw one card, discard one card, and build your ten cards into sets and runs, all in your hand, until your leftovers are low enough to knock, or there are none at all. Nothing is laid down until the hand ends. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
Gin RummyGot a room code?
- Players
- 2
- You need
- A standard deck
- Style
- Draw and meld
- Goal
- 100 points
What is Gin Rummy?
Make melds. Knock first.
Gin Rummy is a two-player card game about turning a messy hand into neat melds: sets of three or four of a rank, and runs of three or more in a suit. Every turn you draw one card and discard one. You keep your melds in your hand the whole time, and only show them when someone knocks.
The cards that don’t fit a meld are your deadwood. Get it down to 10 points or less and you can knock to end the hand. Get it to zero and that is gin, with a bonus on top.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the cards in your hand.
Play against one bot with our Classic rules. Your hand sorts itself into melds and deadwood, and the coach tells you what to draw, what to throw, and when to knock.
- The coach weighs every discard: the deadwood it leaves, the melds still in reach, and what the bot might want.
- Quick game plays to 50. Full game goes to 100.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
Scoring chart
| How the hand ends | Looks like | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Knock, and the knocker is lower | 4 against 19 | The difference: 15 |
| Gin: no deadwood at all | 0 against 23 | 23 + 20 bonus |
| Undercut: the other player ties or is lower | 8 against 5 | 3 + 10 bonus, to them |
| Void: two stock cards left, no knock | Nobody scores |
A little history
A rummy with a twist.
The usual story is that Gin Rummy was invented in New York in the early 1900s as a faster version of rummy, and named as a joke: gin, rather than rum. It became a craze in the 1930s and 40s, and was a favorite in Hollywood.
Families and clubs add their own rules for bonuses and for the first card. We teach one Classic version, from the long-standing rules at Pagat, and show it before every game.
Fun facts
- Aces count 1, number cards their value, and Jacks, Queens and Kings 10.
- Get your deadwood down to 10 or less and you can knock. Get it to zero and that is gin.
- Undercut: if the other player ties or beats the knocker’s deadwood, they score instead.
- Every turn you draw one card and discard one.
Why people love it
Two players. All tension.
Every discard is a decision.
Keep the card that might make a run, or throw it before it costs you? You decide ten times a hand.
You can read the table.
Every card your opponent takes from the pile, and every one they pass on, tells you something.
Knock or wait?
Knock now and take the points, or hold out for gin and risk being caught. The best players feel it.
Quick hands.
A hand takes a few minutes, so a full game to 100 fits in an evening with room to spare.
How to play
Draw. Discard. Knock.
Setup
- Players: two. Our practice table is you against one bot.
- Deck: one standard 52-card deck. Aces are low.
- Your hand: ten cards each.
- The pile: the next card is turned up to start the discard pile. The rest is the stock.
Winning
The lower deadwood scores each hand. The winner of a hand deals the next. First to 100 wins the game.
- 1
The first upcard
The non-dealer may take the turned-up card. If they pass, the dealer may. If both pass, the non-dealer draws from the stock.
- 2
Draw one
Take the top card of the stock, or the top card of the discard pile.
- 3
Discard one
Put one card face up on the discard pile. Not the card you just took from it.
- 4
Keep your melds in your hand
You never lay anything down while you play. Your sets and runs stay hidden in your hand until someone knocks or goes gin. That is different from Rummy.
- 5
Knock with 10 or less
If your deadwood after discarding is 10 or less, you may knock. Now lay out your melds and deadwood.
- 6
Lay off
The other player lays out their melds, then adds deadwood to the knocker’s melds where it fits: the fourth card of a set, or the next card at either end of a run. At the practice table, you pick the cards to lay off yourself. Not after gin.
- 7
Stock down to two
If only two stock cards are left and nobody knocks, the hand is void and the same dealer deals again.
These are our Classic rules, and they'll be shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
9 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Sets and runs
Which of these is a meld?
A
B
C
Scoring
Lowest deadwood wins.
Deadwood counts: Aces 1, number cards their value, Jacks, Queens and Kings 10. Compare the knocker’s deadwood with the other player’s, after laying off.
| How the hand ends | Looks like | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Knock, and the knocker is lower | 4 against 19 | The difference: 15 |
| Gin: no deadwood at all | 0 against 23 | 23 + 20 bonus |
| Undercut: the other player ties or is lower | 8 against 5 | 3 + 10 bonus, to them |
| Void: two stock cards left, no knock | Nobody scores |
Many tables add bonuses at the end of a game: 100 for winning it, and 20 for each hand won. Our practice table simply plays to the target.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Throw high cards early.
A King you can’t use is 10 points against you if the other player knocks. Get rid of it before they can.
Tip 2
Keep cards that are close.
A 6♥ next to a 7♥, or a pair of 9s, is one card from a meld. Between two equal cards, keep the connected one.
Tip 3
Take from the pile only to meld.
Taking a discard shows the other player what you want. Draw from the stock unless it makes a meld.
Tip 4
Knock early.
In two-player Gin, knocking as soon as you can usually beats waiting. The longer you wait, the lower their deadwood gets.
Tip 5
Watch what they take.
If they took the 8♠, don’t hand them the 7♠ or the 9♠. Throw what they have thrown before.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Gin Rummy puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Gin Rummy table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Gin Rummy? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Meld
- A set or a run. Cards in melds don’t count against you. You keep them in your hand until someone knocks.
- Set
- Three or four cards of the same rank.
- Run
- Three or more cards in a row in one suit. Aces are low.
- Deadwood
- Cards not in a meld. Aces 1, numbers their value, pictures 10.
- Stock
- The face-down pile you draw from.
- Upcard
- The first card turned up to start the discard pile.
- Knock
- End the hand with 10 or less deadwood after discarding.
- Gin
- Knocking with no deadwood at all. Worth a 20-point bonus.
- Lay off
- Add a card from your deadwood to the knocker’s melds after a knock: the fourth card of a set, or the next card at either end of a run.
- Undercut
- The other player ties or beats the knocker. They score the difference plus 10.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: the knock limit, the bonuses, the length of the game. We'll show you what Gin Rummy can do when it's ready.
In the Card Games pack
Gin Rummy is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which card games join the Card Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Gin Rummy is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Gin Rummy into the Card Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.