Gin Rummy

Setup & Deal

• Deck: Standard 52 cards, no jokers.
• Ranking: K (high) to Ace (low). Ace is always low.
• Values: Face cards = 10. Number cards = face value. Ace = 1.
• Deal: 10 cards each. The 21st card is turned face up (the upcard). The rest form the stock.

Melds: Sets & Runs

• Sets: 3 or 4 cards of the same rank (e.g. 7-7-7).
• Runs: 3+ consecutive cards of the same suit (e.g. 4♥ 5♥ 6♥).
• A card can only belong to one meld.

Knocking & Ending

• Knock: End the hand with deadwood ≤ 10 (standard).
• Gin: Knock with zero deadwood. 25-point bonus.
• Undercut: If the defender has ≤ knocker's deadwood, defender wins + 25 bonus.

Oklahoma Gin

• The upcard rank sets the knock threshold.
• Ace upcard = must go Gin (zero deadwood).

Straight Gin

• No knocking. The only way to end is Gin (zero deadwood).

Beginner Shed High Weight

Discard face cards early if they don't form melds. They cost 10 points each.

Beginner Prefer Runs over Sets

Runs can be extended at both ends; sets are capped at four cards.

Intermediate Card Tracking

Memorise every discard and pickup. Reconstruct your opponent's hand over time.

Intermediate Defensive Discarding

Never discard cards adjacent to an opponent's known pickup in rank or suit.

Expert The Safety Factor

Aces and Kings have a safety value of 4. Middle cards (3–J) have a value of 6 — most dangerous to discard.

Expert When to Knock

As John Crawford advised: "When in doubt, knock." The maths favour ending the hand over waiting for perfection.

Deadwood — Unmatched cards that count against you.

Meld — A set or run of cards.

Undercut — When the defender has ≤ the knocker's deadwood.

Gin — A hand with zero deadwood.

Big Gin — All 11 cards form melds (no discard needed).

Schneider — Winning when the opponent scored zero.