Printable Gin Rummy rules

Gin Rummy in one page

2 players · 1 deck · pencil and paper

Each player is dealt 10 cards. On your turn you draw one card from the stock or the discard pile, then discard one, trying to arrange your hand into sets and runs. When your unmatched cards (deadwood) total 10 points or less you may knock to end the hand, and you score the difference between your deadwood and your opponent's; the first player to 100 points wins the game.

In brief

• Deal 10 each; 21st card is the upcard
• First upcard: non-dealer, then dealer may take it
• Turn: draw 1 (stock or discard), discard 1
• Melds: 3–4 of a kind, or 3+ in suit sequence; ace low only
• Deadwood: face cards 10, ace 1, others pip value
• Knock with 10 or less deadwood; discard face down
• Opponent lays off on knocker's melds (not after gin)
• Knocker wins: difference in deadwood
• Undercut (tie or lower): opponent scores difference + 10
• Gin: 20 + opponent's deadwood
• Stock at 2 cards with no knock: hand cancelled
• Game 100: +100 game, +20 per hand won; shutout 200

Setup

1. Use one standard 52-card deck without jokers. Cut for the first deal; many players have the low card deal.
2. The dealer deals 10 cards to each player, one at a time, face down.
3. Turn the 21st card face up to start the discard pile (this is the upcard). The rest of the deck goes face down beside it as the stock.
4. First-turn upcard: the non-dealer may take the upcard or pass. If the non-dealer passes, the dealer may take it or pass. If both pass, the non-dealer starts normal play by drawing the top card of the stock.
5. Keep a score sheet with a column for each player. You record each hand's points and a running total.

On your turn

1. Draw one card: either the top card of the stock (face down) or the top card of the discard pile (face up).
2. Discard one card face up onto the discard pile. You always end your turn with 10 cards in hand.
3. If your deadwood, not counting the card you discard, is 10 points or less, you may knock instead of making a normal discard. Discard one card face down and lay your hand face up, arranged into melds and deadwood. You may knock on any turn, including your first.
4. If all 10 cards form melds, you go gin: discard and lay down your hand. Going gin earns a bonus and your opponent cannot lay off.
5. After a knock (but not after gin), your opponent lays out their own melds and then may lay off deadwood cards by adding them to the knocker's sets and runs. The knocker never lays off on the opponent's melds.

Scoring

Winning

Keep playing hands until one player's running total reaches 100 or more. That player gets a 100-point game bonus, and each player then adds 20 points for every hand they won (the line or box bonus). If the loser never scored at all, the winner's game bonus is 200 instead of 100. The player with the higher final total wins, which is nearly always the player who reached 100 first.