How to Play Gin Rummy
Many people have fond memories of playing cards with their parents or grandparents. A childhood should always be filled with fun family activities and what is better than a friendly card game? I’m sure your grandparents will be able to teach you how to play several popular card games. For some of you who are far away from them, we’re going to be teaching you how to play Gin Rummy.
According to Wikipedia, this game originated in the United States in 1909. It evolved from a 19th century game called Whiskey Poker, thus explaining its alternative name, Gin Poker, or simply Gin. This game is similar to regular Rummy, so if you know the rules to that this should be an easy concept for you to practice. Don’t worry if you’ve never played Rummy – we’ve got your back! Just follow these simple steps below in our Gin Rummy game tutorial, and you’ll be able to give Grandpa a run for his money.
Gin Rummy Requirements
You will need 2 to 4 players and a regular sized deck of 52 cards, with the Jokers removed. You will also need a notepad and a pen in order to keep score, as this game is played in several rounds. You will also need to decide on a number up to which you will be playing. This number is usually a 100, but you can alter it anyway you want.
Gin Rummy Playing Time
15 minutes on average
How to Play Gin Rummy
- Each player is dealt 10 cards – this will be your own personal mini deck. The remaining cards are then placed face-down in a stock pile. Draw one card and place it facing upwards next to the pile.
- Turns will be taken from the left. The player whose turn it is will either take a card from the deck or toss a card from his own hand out, or he will take a card from the discarded pile and toss a card from his own hand out. The point here is to keep 10 cards in your hands during play.
- Players must play until they have melds of a run or a set in their hands. A run is a sequence of cards from the same suit (like a 5, 6, 7, 8 of hearts), or a set, which is a set of at least 3 cards of the same number, but different suits (5 of clubs, 5 of hearts, 5 of spades).
- The round ends when players have enough melds in order for the rest of the cards in their hands to total to less than 10. These cards are called ‘deadwood’. Points of these cards are determined by the value where an ace will be 1 and face-cards will be 10.
- If a player ends the round without any deadwood cards adding up to 10, he places the last card on the discarded pile and declares ‘Gin’. This will give him a bonus of 25.
- When a player declares Gin, the other players lay down their melds and score the deadwood points. The round ends, and a new round starts. The player who reaches 100 first is the winner.
Gin Rummy Video Tutorial
