Gin Rummy Knock Rules
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- How To Score Gin Rummy Knock
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- Rules For Knock Gin Rummy
- Gin Rummy Knock Rules
- Gin Rummy Knock Rules Game
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Gin Rummy Rules
Rules of Gin Rummy. A complet set of rules for the most popular rummy game in the USA. Play the classic card game Gin Rummy online for free, against the computer or your friends! No download required. Gin rummy for Android, Apple, phones and tablets or the web. Play for free or play for $prizes.
Gin Rummy is probably the best-known Rummy game. It is a two-player game that reached its peak of popularity during World War II, when it became a national fad, famous as the game for movie stars and Hollywood players. (See also: Gin Rummy Glossary.)
Number of Players: 2 (for more than 2 players, see Gin Rummy for Three Players and Partnership Gin Rummy)
How To Score Gin Rummy Knock
Gin Rummy Knock Rules Card Game
Number of Cards: 52 (standard deck of cards, with no jokers)
Rank of Cards: K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-A (king is high, ace is low)
Value of Cards: Face cards (K-Q-J) count 10 point each; ace counts 1 point; all other cards count their face value (e.g. a six of diamonds counts for 6 points).
Starting a Match: To determine who deals first, the deck is shuffled, and each player draws a card. The player drawing the highest card (for purposes of the draw, suits rank spades high, hearts, diamonds, and clubs) has the choice of seats, and decides who deals first.
Shuffling & Cutting the Deck: Either player may shuffle the deck, but the dealer has the right of last shuffle. The non-dealer must cut the pack.
Dealing: The dealer distributes the cards, one at a time, face down, first to his opponent and then to himself, until each player has ten cards. The next card, called the upcard, is placed face-up in the center of the table. The remainder of the deck if placed face-down next to the upcard, and forms the stock.
Object of the Game: The object of the game is to form melds (or matched sets), which are three or four cards of a single rank (5-5-5, for example), or a run of three or more cards of consecutive rank in the same suit (4-5-6 of clubs, for example).
Gameplay: On the first upcard, the non-dealer must decide whether or not to take the exposed card. If the non-dealer does not want the card, he must say as much, and the dealer then has the opportunity to take the upcard. If he passes on it as well, then the non-dealer draws the top card of the stock, and play proceeds.
Each player's turn begins by drawing a card, either the upcard (the top of the discard pile, or the top card of the stock.
Each player's turn ends by discarding one card (placed face-up on the discard pile). If a player draws the upcard, he may not discard it during the same turn.
Knocking: When a player will hold less than than 10 points of deadwood (cards not part of a meld) after discarding, he may knock (though he is not required to knock). Knocking signals the end of a hand. For example, a player holding the following hand may knock:
In this example,the player holds two melds (the 7-7-7, and the J-Q-K of spades), along with 13 points of un-melded cards. If he discards the 5 of spades, he'll have 8 points of deadwood, and may therefore knock.
Rules For Knock Gin Rummy
When knocking, a player places his final card face-down on the discard pile, then spreads his hand, arranged into melds and deadwood.
His opponent then lays down his own hand, laying off any melds, as well as any cards that connect with the knocker's melds. For example, if the opponent holds the following cards:
The opponent would have one meld (the K-K-K), would be able to lay off the 10 of spades (which connect to the knocker's J-Q-K of spades, and have 32 points of deadwood (10+8+6+5+2+1).
Scoring: Scoring for each hand is based on the deadwood difference between the two hands. In the example above, the knocker has 8 points of deadwood, and his opponent has 32 points of deadwood. Therefore the knocker scores 24 points.
If, however, the opponent had more melds, and had been able to lay off more points, he may have ended up with fewer points of deadwood than the knocker. This is referred to as an undercut, and earns the undercutter a bonus. For example, if the opponent had ended up with 6 points of deadwood, he would have earned the difference in the two hands (2 points), plus an undercut bonus of 25 points, for a total of 27 points.
The knocker may also earn a bonus. If the knocker ends up with zero points of deadwood, he has gin, for which he earns a 25 point bonus.
A running score is kept for each player. In addition the winner of each hand is designated by drawing a lines beneath his score.
The winner of a hand deals the next hand.
Game: A game (consisting of a number of hands) is played to 100 points. The player who first reaches 100 or more points wins the game, and scores a 100 point game bonus for doing so. If his opponent has not won any hands during the game, he scores an additional 100 point shutout bonus. Each player is then given 25 points for each hand they won during the game (this is called the box bonus or line bonus).
Each player's total score is then calculated (games points plus game and shutout bonuses, plus line bonuses). The winner earns the difference between his total scoreand that of his opponent.
Match: Gin Rummy is often played as a match, consisting of a number of games. A match is typically played to 500 points, though the match total may be any mutually agreed-upon number.
Irregularities:
The last two cards of the stock may not be drawn. If neither player is able to knock after the fiftieth card is drawn, the game ends in a draw (no score for either player), and the same dealer deals again.
Wrong Dealer - If the wrong player deals, the opponent may stop the deal if he catches it before the upcard is turned. If the upcard has been dealt, then the deal stands.
Faced Cards - If, before the upcard is turned, a face-up card is found in the deck, or if any card is exposed in dealing, there must be a new deal by the same dealer.
Irregular Hands - If either player ends up with an incorrect number of cards, and this is discovered before the player makes his first drawn, there must be a new deal. If the error is discovered after his first draw, and both players have incorrect hands, there must be a new deal. If one player's hand is correct and the other not,then the player holding the correct hand gets to decide whether ornot to demand a redeal. If he decides to continue playing, the player with the incorrect hand must correct his hand by drawing cards without discarding, or discarding without drawing. He may not knock during until his next turn.
If an incorrect number of cards is not discovered until a hand is completed, a player with too few cards is penalized 10 points for each missing card, and is not eligable for a gin or undercut bonus. If a player has too many cards, there is no point penalty, but the offender may not claim an undercut bonus, and may not win the hand
Premature Play - If a player draws a card out of turn - before his opponent discards, or before the dealer has refused a passed upcard - the play stands. There is no penalty, but the offender must accept the card he has drawn out of turn.
Illegally Seeing a Card - If a player drawing in turn sees any card to which he is not entitled, every such card must be placedface up next to the discard pile. The offender may not knock until his next turn to play, unless be is gin. The non-offender has the right to take any of the exposed cards until he draws from the stock; then the offender has the same right to take any of the exposed cards until he draws from the stock. Once each player has drawn from the stock, the exposed cards are placed in the discard pile.
If a player drawing out of turn sees a card to which he is not entitled, the rule given in the preceding paragraph applies,except that the offender may never take such cards, but may draw only his opponent’s discard or the top card of the stock in each turn.
Illegal Knock - If a player knocks with a count higher than the knock count (10 in standard Gin Rummy), but his opponent has not exposed any cards before the error is discovered, the offender must leave his band face up on the table until his opponent has completed his next play. However, If the knocker’s hand is illegal only with respect to the count of his unmatched cards, his opponent may accept the illegal knock aslegal (and undercut it).
If the knocker has more than 10 points, and the error is discovered after the opponent has exposed any of his own cardsbut before he has laid off any cards, the opponent may choose to either force the knocker to play the rest of the hand with all his cards exposed, or to permit the offender to pick up his hand, in which case the offender is not entitled to an undercut or gin bonus for that hand.
Looking at Discard - The general rule is that a player who looks back at a covered discard loses his right to his next draw.However, players may agree in advance that looking back at discards will be permitted.
Wrong Card Discarded - If a player discards the wrong card when knocking, he may not retrieve it. If the resulting knock is improper, see Illegal Knock.
Gin Rummy Variations
- Doubling Gin (Open Gin)
- Gin Rummy for Three Players (Cutthroat, Chouette, or Battle Royal)
Gin Rummy Strategy
Gin Rummy Knock Rules
- As a general rule, draw from the discard pile only to complete or add to a set, not to form a combination (two cards that may become a set).
- Try to put together two matched sets plus four or fewer unmatched low cards (you usually don't have time to make three sets).
- Knock as soon as you can! You won't make Gin, but you're more likely to pick up a ton of points from your opponent's unmatched cards.
- Success in Gin Rummy depends largely on keeping track of the discards. From this you'll know which of your own combinations are still 'alive' and you'll be able to guess which combinations your opponent is holding.
- According to leading Gin Rummy scientists, the most useful card in this game is the 7, as it figures in more combinations than any other card. The least useful are the ace and king.
- As in Poker, never try to 'fill an inside straight' in Gin Rummy. If for example 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 only half as likely to run across a 5.
Other Gin Rummy Rule Resources
- Gin Rummy Rules and Objectives by Robert Power
See Also: Play Gin Rummy Online
Additional Information
Gin Rummy Terms & Concepts
| Set | 3 or 4 cards of the same rank, e.g. KKK666 |
| Run | a sequence of 3 or more cards in the same suit. Ace & King do not count as consecutive, but Ace and 2 count, e.g. 345 |
| Meld | A common term for both Sets and Runs. You may have 3 melds of which two are sets and one is a run. Each card can only be part of one set or run, for example if you have a 4, it cannot be a part of both 4,4,4 and 3,4,5. |
| Stock | A deck of closed (face-down) cards in the middle of the table. Players draw one card from the Stock or from Discard (below) on every move. |
| Discard pile | A pile of face-up cards next to the Stock. Players discard one card onto the Discard pile on every move. |
| Deadwood | Any cards in a hand that are not parts of a meld. |
| Knocking | Ending the round by placing a last discarded card face-up on top of the Stock pile. |
| Gin | Knocking when all 10 cards in your hand are parts of melds with no Deadwood. |
| Lay off | Adding your deadwood cards to an opponents' meld when opponent knocked without Gin. |
| Upcard | The very first face-up card next to the closed Deck pile. |
Gin Rummy Variations
In all 3 Gin Rummy variations below, picture cards count as 10, Aces as 1 and other cards count as their numeric values.- Standard Gin Rummy: A main gin rummy variation where knocking is allowed when the value of deadwood points is 10 points or less.
- Gin-Only: A popular gin rummy variation where only knocking without any deadwood is allowed (Pure Gin).
- Oklahoma: A popular gin rummy variation where a maximum allowed knocking value is determined by the value of the first open card. For example, you will only be able to knock with deadwood value of 2 and below if the initial upcard is 2. If an nitial Ace is an upcard, the knocking can only be with 0 points in deadwood - Pure Gin.
Objective
The goal in Gin Rummy is to collect cards into melds and have as little deadwood as possible at the end of each hand (aka round). A game usually consists of several hands, and each hand is scored separately depending on how much deadwood opponents have at the end of a hand. The hand ends with one opponent knocking, ginning or with a draw. The full game ends when one player reaches an agreed-upon number of total points (e.g. 100 points).
Gameplay
For every hand, each player gets 10 cards. The remaining deck is placed on the table between the players face-down, and one card (sometimes called upcard) is put face-up next to the deck as the 1st card of the discard pile.
On each player's turn, that player must draw one card - either the top card from the deck or the top card from the discard pile. Unless drawing from a discard pile helps in creating own melds, it is usually advisable to draw the top card from the closed deck.
After drawing one card, a player must either knock or discard one card by putting it face-up on top of the discard pile. A top card drawn from the discard pile cannot be discarded on the same turn.
The game continues like above with every player drawing 1 card and discarding 1 cardand one-card, while players build sets and runs in their hands. The hand ends when one player knocks, by discarding a card and placing it face-up on the closed deck. After knocking, all cards for both players are open and deadwood is counted. The opponent of the knocker is allowed to lay-off any of own deadwood cards onto the knocker's melds if can be a part of the same meld. For example, if the knocker had a meld, 2 3 4 and the opponent has 5 as part of deadwood, the non-knocker can add that 5 to the knocker's meld, and then this card will not count as deadwood for non-knocker. If the knocker has Gin then the opponent is not allowed to lay off any cards.
In Standard Gin Rummy, you may only knock if you end up with 10 or fewer points in deadwood (picture cards count as 10, aces as 1 and other cards their numeric values). The card you knock with is not considered deadwood. So, if you have just drawn and you have 2,6,9 in deadwood you would be allowed to knock with the 9, and then you'd end up with 2+6=8 points in deadwood.
In Oklahoma variation of Gin Rummy, what you can knock with depends on what the first upcard was. For example, if the first upcard was 6, you may only knock if you end up with 6 or fewer points in deadwood. If the first upcard was Ace, then you will only be allowed to knock with Pure Gin (zero deadwood).
Gin Rummy Knock Rules Game
Knocking with no deadwood, i.e. all 10 card in you hands forming melds is called going Gin.
The game also ends if neither player has knocked and there are only two cards left in the deck. In that case the hand is a draw, and neither player gets points.
Scoring
- Knock points: After knocking and lay-offs, the knocker scores the difference between own deadwood and the opponent's deadwood. For example, if the knocker has 8 points in deadwood, and the opponent has 20 points in deadwood, then the knocker scores 20-8=12 points.
- Gin Bonus: If a knocker has no deadwood, it is Gin, and the knocker gets extra 25 extra points added to the knock points.
- Undercut: If a player knocks but the opponent has less or equal deadwood points, then the non-knocker gets extra 25 points plus the difference in deadwood points, and the knocker gets 0 points.
Gin Rummy Knock Rules Cheat
Also seeGin Rummy Knock Rules Free
Selecting melds at knockingWhen playing online and knocking, by default only the meld with the minimum points gets auto-selected. If this behavior is undesirable, then in Game table / Preferences you can select the setting 'Knocker Selects All Melds'. Melds will be shown as straight vertical or horizontal lines drawn on cards unless the option 'Don't Mark Melds' is used. In the picture below, the possible melds intersect and the optimal meld is selected. You can use the 'Next' in the dialog to change the selection of melds.End of the hand and the 50-th card ruleModern Tournament Gin Rummy rules add an extra twist to an element of skill: in a relatively rare gin rummy endgame, it is the case when the stock pile is reduced to only the last 2 cards. This is called the fiftieth card rule. When the 50th card is drawn from the stock pile before any player knocked or ginned, leaving twoand just 2 cards remain in the stock pile, the 50-th card rule states that says that both players may have action on the 50th card.What it means in practice is the following: |