Playing gin rummy with a friend is a great way to spend some time together. The game is quite easy to learn and keeping score is so simple. Play gin rummy so that you can work on strategy along with spending time with a friend. It is the simple things that add the most to life’s great tapestry, and gin rummy is one of those great simple things. The classic card game where you can draw, knock or discard, form melds and eliminate deadwood!
Welcome to Online Rummy
The game of Rummy which has been around for some time, and especially played in homes for recreation purposes is by no means a hard game to muster. However in order to play professionally it is essential to listen to good advice from experienced players as well as observe the body language of your opponents and utilize other sources of information that can increase your chance of winning.
Each variation of Rummy has its own rules and strategies, the process of the game is similar in all the versions – each round is made up of Three main stages which is drawing a card, arranging the cards in series and discarding a card.
The main objective of all versions of Rummy is to be the first player who finishes all the cards in his/her hand obtaining cards either of the same denomination or in sequence in the same suit. Although this is a general rule, when playing with partners you would have to be vigilant as to your partners situation before going out as this could result in your demise should your partner have a heavy hand.
Rummy games are social skill-based card games which opens a window to online chat. Besides the intellectual challenge, a great part of the game's enthusiastic atmosphere is rooted in the players' interaction. In order to maximize your online Rummy experience, you will find a number of rules that will apply when in chat - these rules for accepted behavior makes everyone's life easy and enjoyable.
You may call these rules etiquette, protocol, manners, grooming, cross-cultural sensitivity or whatever else. Of course, each of them has a specific meaning and plays a specific part in a situation, but all of these words are related to acceptable, appreciable behavior - thus making everyones Rummy experience memorable.
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Gin Rummy is a member of the Rummy family of games. As with most games there are plenty of variations out there, so the game might not be exactly like you play it or have different points for some things. Below I'll explain the rules we use on this site. I'll start by explaining a few basic concepts, and then go over the gameplay and scoring of the game.
The objective of Gin Rummy is to collect cards into melds and have as little deadwood as possible at the end of a game. The game is scored based on how much deadwood you have at the end of each game. A game can span several rounds, it's over when one player reaches 100 points. At that point grand total for each player is calculated, with bonuses, and the player with the highest score wins the whole game.
Each player gets 10 cards. The remaining deck is put on the table between the players face down, and one card is put face up besides the deck to start the discard pile.
In each turn a player must start by drawing one card. He can either draw the top card from the deck or the top card from the discard pile. Generally you only draw the top card from the discard pile if you know that the card will help you create a meld with some of the other cards in your hand.
Note: In the first turn, the starting player must choose to either draw the face up card in the board or pass the turn. If the card is drawn, proceed normally. If the turn is passed, the other player gets to make the same choice. If they pass too, the first player takes their turn normally.
After the player has drawn a card he must discard one card by putting it face up on top of the discard pile. If the player has drawn the top card from the discard pile at the start of the turn he may not discard that card until his next turn (also, that wouldn't make any sense at all). He may however discard a card he has just drawn from the deck, or any other card he has in his hand.
The game continues like this, with players drawing and discard cards, while they try to build sets and runs in their hand. The round ends when one player knocks, by discarding a card and putting it face down on the discard pile. The player that knocked (the knocker) then shows his melds and his deadwood by putting it face up on the table. The opponent then shows his melds and deadwood. The opponent is allowed to lay off any of his deadwood cards onto the knocker's melds if he can. For example if the knocker had a meld, H1 H2 H3 and the opponent has a H4 as part of his deadwood he can add it to the knocker's meld, and then it won't count as deadwood anymore. The knocker cannot do the same, he can never lay off his deadwood. Additionally, if the knocker has Gin or Big Gin (no deadwood) then the opponent is not allowed to lay off any cards.
There are some rules for when you can knock. They vary between different versions, but this is how it's done on this site: You may only knock if you end up with 10 or fewer points of deadwood (human cards count as 10, aces as 1 and other cards their numeric values). The card you knock with (put facedown on the discard pile) is not included in that number. So, if you have just drawn and you have 3,5,9 as deadwood you would be allowed to knock with the 9, and then you'd end up with 3+5=8 points as deadwood.
Knocking with no deadwood, i.e. all 10 card in you hands forming melds is called going Gin. Going Big Gin is when you have 11 cards in melds, in which case you can say you have Big Gin and the game ends without you discarding the final card facedown.
The game also ends if neither player has knocked and there are only two cards left in the deck. In that case the hand is a tie, and neither player gets any points.
Scoring is based on deadwood and bonuses, the actual melds don't actually count for anything, they're only good to minimize your deadwood.
And that's it. I'm sure there are plenty of people who prefer other rules, but you can never please everyone and these are the rules I'm going with.