Gin Rummy, an exciting game, full of twists and turns
Gin Rummy is one of the most popular card games among Americans, but in recent years it has also become quite popular in Romania. It’s a dynamic, fun game that’s great for the whole family.
Gin Rummy
How to play
Gin Rummy is played in pairs, using a deck of 52 cards. Each player is dealt 10 cards face down, one player at a time, starting with the player who doesn’t deal. The remainder of the deck, face down, forms the stock, the last card of which is turned face up and placed next to the stock. The dealer may take the first card from the discard pile or decline; if he declines, the dealer has the same option. If one of the two players accepts to take the card from the stock, it means that one of his cards must be discarded and the stock of cards to be discarded is formed. If they both refuse, the first player can now take the top card from the deck by discarding another. After that, each player, in turn, takes a card from the deck of cards and then throws a card face up onto the discard pile. The game continues with each player in turn taking the first card from the deck of cards or from the discard pile, and then discarding a card that is of no use to him, but which may not be the same card he has just taken from the discard pile.
What is the objective of the game
The objective of the game is for each player to use their hand to form combinations of three or more cards to get more than the 100 points needed to win the game before their opponent.
How to keep score. Card values. How to win
The object of the game is to form rummy-like combinations – either sequences of three or more cards of the same suit (ace, 2, 3, 4, etc., say), or sets of three or more cards of the same rank (Queen of Clubs, Queen of Clubs, Queen of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds, for example). When a player is nearing the end, having managed to find combinations for almost all of the cards he has left in his hand, except for one card to be discarded (which he has nowhere to match) he can “knock” (by physically hitting the playing surface – knock or by a verbal declaration) announcing that he is almost ready to end the game. Face cards (Jack, Queen, Jack) are worth 10 points each, Aces 1 point each, and all other cards the value of their index. If he manages to match the last card drawn in his hand at any point during the draws, he discards the 11th card and says “Gin”, winning the game.
The player who calls Gin shows his cards to the other player, and the opponent can do the same, with the option of discarding the mismatched cards and combining the cards with those exposed by the player who beat or called Gin.
When a player announces Gin, he wins the partial game, while if a player knocks, either that player or the opposing player can win it. The player wins if the value of his mismatched cards is less than the value of his opponent’s mismatched cards, and the opponent wins if the value of his mismatched cards is equal to or less than the value of the knocker’s.
End game. Score
A game ends when enough partial games have been played to allow a player to score 100 or more points.
The player making Gin scores 20 points plus the value of the opponent’s mismatched cards. If the player making Gin wins the game, he scores the difference between the value of his mismatched cards and his opponent’s, while if his opponent wins, he scores 10 points plus the difference between the value of the mismatched cards between both players. If there is no difference, the 10-point bonus is not awarded.
After the game is over, players score the following bonuses: 100 points for winning a game, 20 points for each partial game won, and 100 points for winning all rounds of a game without the opponent winning any.
Gin rummy is a great game to play on chilly winter evenings.
Sources: bicyclecards.com, britannica.com
