Straight Gin
No knock. Go all the way.
Straight Gin is the two-player meld race where low deadwood is not enough. Keep drawing, keep discarding, and try to fit every card into a set or run before your opponent does.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
Straight GinGot a room code?
- Players
- 2
- You need
- A standard deck
- Style
- Draw and meld
- Goal
- 100 points
What is Straight Gin?
No settling. Finish the hand.
Straight Gin shares Gin Rummy’s sets, runs, and draw-one-discard-one turns. The big difference is the finish: there is no knock. You keep playing until a player discards and has all ten cards in melds.
A gin scores 20 bonus points plus the deadwood still in the opponent’s hand. If the stock runs down to two cards first, the hand is void and nobody scores.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the cards in your hand.
Play the no-knock version against a bot. The coach helps you choose what to take and what to discard as you work toward melding every card.
- The coach weighs deadwood, meld chances, and the cards your opponent may 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gin | 10 cards melded | 20 bonus + opponent’s deadwood |
| Aces and number cards | A = 1, 2 = 2 | Face value |
| Jacks, Queens, Kings | J, Q, K | 10 each |
| Void hand | 2 stock cards left | Nobody scores |
A little history
Gin Rummy, played straight.
Straight Gin is a no-knock variation of Gin Rummy. Both games use a standard deck, ten-card hands, and the same sets and same-suit runs.
Without a knock, there is no early finish for a low deadwood count. Plan your melds, remember what has been picked up, and keep your opponent from completing the last card they need.
Fun facts
- A set is three or four cards of one rank.
- A run is three or more consecutive cards in one suit.
- The hand winner deals the next hand; a void hand repeats the same dealer.
Why people love it
One goal. Every card matters.
Keep your plan moving.
A pair is close to a set; two suited neighbors are close to a run. Keep the cards that can finish a meld.
Read every pickup.
The card your opponent takes gives you a clue. Avoid feeding them its rank or its neighbors in the same suit.
No early exit.
A hand with only a few deadwood points is still in play. Keep improving until you can go gin.
Go all the way.
Every card in your hand must belong to a meld before you can win the hand.
How to play
Draw. Discard. Go gin.
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: one card turns up to start the discard pile. The rest is the stock.
Winning
Be the first to discard and leave all ten cards in sets and runs. That is gin. First to 50 in Quick game or 100 in Full game wins.
- 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. You cannot throw back the card you just took from that pile.
- 4
Build melds
Make a set of three or four of a rank, or a run of three or more in the same suit. Aces are low.
- 5
Go gin
After discarding, if all ten cards left in your hand are melded, the hand ends and you score.
- 6
Stock down to two
If only two stock cards remain and nobody has gone gin, the hand is void. Nobody scores and the same dealer deals again.
These are our Classic Straight Gin rules, and they are shown in the practice table. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
5 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Make sets and runs
Which hand is a run?
Scoring
All melded. Twenty plus.
A player only scores by going gin. Add the 20-point gin bonus to the deadwood value of the opponent’s hand.
| How the hand ends | Looks like | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Gin | 10 cards melded | 20 bonus + opponent’s deadwood |
| Aces and number cards | A = 1, 2 = 2 | Face value |
| Jacks, Queens, Kings | J, Q, K | 10 each |
| Void hand | 2 stock cards left | Nobody scores |
The practice game has no separate box or match bonus. First to the selected score wins.
Strategy
Keep the melds. Read the table.
Tip 1
Keep connected cards.
A 6♥ beside a 7♥ can become a run. A pair of 9s can become a set. Keep cards with several ways to fit.
Tip 2
Watch what they take.
If the bot takes the 8♠, the 7♠ and 9♠ may help it. Prefer a safer discard when you have one.
Tip 3
Use the discards carefully.
Take from the discard pile when the card advances a meld. Drawing from stock keeps your hand less visible.
Tip 4
Do not count a low hand as a win.
Without a knock, you cannot end the hand with deadwood. Keep improving until all ten cards are melded.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Straight Gin 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 Straight Gin table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Straight Gin? 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 run. Every card in a gin hand belongs to a meld.
- Set
- Three or four cards of the same rank.
- Run
- Three or more consecutive cards 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.
- Gin
- Ending the hand after a discard with no deadwood. Worth 20 points plus the opponent’s deadwood.
- Void hand
- The stock reaches two cards before either player goes gin. Nobody scores.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules and makes them their own.
In the Card Games pack
Straight Gin is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which card games join the Card Games pack. Owning the pack means every game 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.
Straight Gin is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Straight Gin into the Card Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.