Gin Rummy guide

Goal

Arrange your hand into melds and end the hand before your opponent does.

Melds

• A set is three or four cards of the same rank.
• A run is three or more cards in sequence in one suit.
• Cards that belong to no meld are deadwood, and their pip values count against you.

The turn

• Draw either the top of the stock or the top of the discard pile, then discard one card - never the card you just took from the discard pile.
• Knock when your deadwood is at or under the knock threshold, normally ten, laying down your hand to end the play.
• Going gin means no deadwood at all, and scores a bonus.

Oklahoma rules

A host option. With it on, the first upcard sets that hand’s knock threshold instead of the standard ten: a four means you can only knock at four or less, and an Ace means gin only. The live threshold sits beside your deadwood total, so check it before planning a knock.

Scoring

• The knocker scores the difference between the two deadwood totals.
• If the opponent’s deadwood is equal or lower, they undercut the knocker and score the difference plus twenty-five instead.
• After a knock the opponent may lay off deadwood onto the knocker’s melds, which is what makes a marginal knock risky.
• Gin is worth twenty-five, and big gin - all eleven cards melded before discarding - is worth thirty-one.
• Hands keep dealing until someone reaches the target score - 50, 100 or 150, set in the lobby.