How to Play Gin Rummy: Rules, Deadwood, and Knocking

Gin Rummy is a two-player Rummy variant where you build your hand silently — no melding aloud during play — and end the hand by “knocking” when your unmelded cards total 10 points or fewer. The cleaner sibling to basic Rummy, it’s been played in American card rooms since the 1910s and remains the standard pickup two-player card game in the US. The rules are simple; the strategy is real. Here’s the full how-to.

What you need

One standard 52-card deck. No jokers. Two players sitting across from each other. A scoresheet. A flat surface. That’s the whole shopping list.

Card values: Ace = 1 point. Numbered cards = face value. Face cards (J, Q, K) = 10 points each. Aces are always low — A-2-3 is a valid run, Q-K-A is not.

The deal

Cut for first deal (high card deals). After the first hand, the loser of each hand deals the next. The dealer shuffles, the non-dealer cuts, and the dealer distributes 10 cards to each player, one at a time, alternating.

The 21st card is placed face up next to the deck — this is the start of the discard pile, called the “upcard.” The remaining 31 cards form the stock, face down.

The non-dealer has first option: take the upcard or pass. If they pass, the dealer has the same choice. If both pass, the non-dealer must draw from the stock and a normal round begins.

Melds and deadwood

Like all Rummy, Gin uses two kinds of melds:

• Set: Three or four cards of the same rank — three 7s, four Queens.
• Run: Three or more consecutive cards of the same suit — 5-6-7 of Hearts.

Cards not part of any meld are called “deadwood.” The point value of your deadwood is the running scorekeeping unit in Gin — your hand at any moment has a “deadwood count,” and the goal is to drive it as low as possible.

Critically: you don’t lay melds on the table during play. Both players hold their cards in hand, working silently. Melds are only revealed at the end of the hand when someone knocks.

A turn

Starting with the non-dealer (after the upcard option resolves), each turn proceeds:

1. Draw one card. Either the top of the stock (unseen) or the top of the discard pile (visible). You cannot decline to draw; you must take one.
2. Discard one card. Place one card from your hand face up on the discard pile. Your turn ends.
3. (Optional) Knock. Before or after discarding (rules vary; the most common convention is “after”), if your deadwood total is 10 or fewer, you may end the hand by knocking. See below.

You can’t pick up the discard you just placed — once you discard, it’s the opponent’s option. If they draw it, the cycle continues.

Knocking

Knocking is how the hand ends. You knock by stating “knock,” then placing your hand face up, sorted into melds with deadwood off to the side.

Your deadwood total must be 10 or fewer to knock. If it’s 0 (every card melded), you’ve knocked with “gin” — see scoring below.

Once you knock, the opponent reveals their hand. They sort their cards into melds and identify their deadwood. They may also “lay off” — adding cards from their deadwood onto your melds. (A 6 in their deadwood can be laid off onto your 7-8-9 run of the same suit, removing it from their deadwood count.) You cannot lay off if the knocker went gin — gin denies lay-offs.

Scoring

The scoring depends on who has less deadwood after lay-offs.

Standard knock

If the knocker’s deadwood is lower than the opponent’s, the knocker scores the difference. Knock with 5 deadwood against an opponent with 14 deadwood (after lay-offs), score 9 points.

Gin

Knocking with 0 deadwood. The knocker scores the opponent’s full deadwood total plus a “gin bonus” of 25 points. No lay-offs allowed against gin.

Undercut

If the opponent’s deadwood is equal to or lower than the knocker’s, the opponent has “undercut” the knocker. The opponent scores the difference (or 0 if equal) plus a 25-point “undercut bonus.” A risky knock that gets undercut is the most painful possible outcome.

Game scoring

First to 100 points wins the game. Bonuses at game end: 100-point game bonus to the winner, 25 per hand won (box bonus), and a doubled total if the loser scored 0 across the entire game (skunk).

If the stock runs low

If only two cards remain in the stock and neither player has knocked, the hand ends in a “wash” — scored 0 for both, or redealt depending on house rule.

Strategy basics

Knock or wait? Knocking early (deadwood 5-10) scores small but locks in the hand. Waiting for gin scores big but risks getting knocked on first. Standard advice: hold for gin in the first few turns, knock as soon as you can in the middle, and knock immediately late in the hand — undercut risk increases as opponents set up.

Track the discards. Every card you and your opponent discard is information. If your opponent discards a 9 of Diamonds, they likely don’t need 9s and probably don’t need adjacent Diamonds. Don’t discard cards likely to help them — if they picked up the 7 of Hearts last turn, avoid 6 or 8 of Hearts. Higher-value cards (face cards) are riskier to discard early because they’re useful to anyone collecting sets.

Manage your deadwood actively. Even before knocking is on the table, prefer to discard cards that don’t fit any obvious meld direction. Pick a direction (sets or runs in a suit) and trim the rest.

Common variants

• Oklahoma Gin: The maximum knock is determined by the value of the first upcard. If the upcard is a 7, you can only knock with deadwood of 7 or fewer.
• Hollywood Gin: Three concurrent games scored together — each hand counts toward whichever games haven’t been won yet.
• Straight Gin: You must go gin to win. No standard-knock allowed.
• Round-the-Corner Gin: Allows Q-K-A runs (Ace can be high or low in a run).

Where to play Gin Rummy online

Trickster Cards offers free Gin against humans or bots. Cardzmania and Gin Rummy Plus are popular mobile apps with desktop browser versions. There are dozens of free standalone web ports if you just want a quick game.

If you’re working on basic Rummy first, our Rummy tutorial covers the broader Rummy family and the variants Gin descends from. For a 30-second reflex break between hands, the Chrome Dino game at the top of this site is the no-thinking palate cleanser.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between Gin Rummy and Rummy?

Gin Rummy is a specific two-player variant of Rummy with different rules. Key differences: Gin is silent (no melding during play), uses a fixed 10-card deal, requires deadwood ≤ 10 to knock, and has the gin / undercut bonus system. Basic Rummy supports 2-6 players, allows visible melding, and has simpler scoring.

Can you knock without going gin?

Yes. The standard knock requires only that your deadwood total is 10 or fewer. Going gin (0 deadwood) is a bonus condition that scores extra, but knocking with low deadwood is the more common winning play.

What is “deadwood” in Gin Rummy?

Deadwood is the total point value of cards in your hand that are not part of any meld. The deadwood count is the central metric of Gin Rummy — knocking is gated by it, and scoring is determined by it.

What happens if I’m undercut?

The opponent (the player who didn’t knock) scores the difference between their deadwood and yours — which is zero or positive in their favor — plus a 25-point undercut bonus. Undercut is the worst case for a knocker and a reason to knock conservatively.

How long does a game of Gin Rummy take?

A single hand takes 5-10 minutes. A full game to 100 points typically lasts 30-60 minutes, depending on how many hands it takes for one player to reach 100.

The bottom line

Gin Rummy is the two-player card game to know. Quick to learn, real strategy to discover, and absolutely standard in American casual card play. The knock-or-wait decision is the heart of it; the score-tracking and discard reading is everything around it. A pack of cards and a willing opponent gives you a perfectly good hour any evening of the week.