Gin Rummy is the classic two-player card game of building tidy combinations and getting out before your opponent. You draw and discard one card at a time, arranging your hand into melds and trimming the leftover deadwood until you can safely end the hand. This page is a complete reference to the rules. To learn by doing, you can play Gin Rummy right now against the computer.
What is Gin Rummy?
Gin Rummy is played by two people with a standard 52-card deck. Aces are low. The aim is to organise your hand into melds and reduce your unmatched cards to a low value, then end the hand on your terms. Hands are quick, and you play several of them, accumulating points until someone reaches the target of 100.
The deal
Each player is dealt 10 cards. The next card is turned face up to start the discard pile, and the rest form the face-down stock. On each turn you draw one card and discard one, so your hand is always 10 cards at the end of your turn.
The first turn
Traditional Gin opens with a small ritual around that first upcard: the non-dealer may take it; if they decline, the dealer may; and if both pass, the non-dealer draws from the stock instead. On CardHearth this is simplified — the non-dealer just takes a normal first turn, drawing from the stock or the discard pile like any other turn.
Melds: sets and runs
A meld is a valid group of cards. There are two kinds:
- Set: three or four cards of the same rank — for example, three Sevens or four Queens.
- Run: three or more cards of the same suit in sequence — for example, the 4-5-6 of hearts. Aces are low, so the lowest run is Ace-2-3; an ace does not wrap around to the King.
A single card can only belong to one meld at a time, so part of the skill is choosing the best arrangement.
Deadwood
Any card left over that isn't in a meld is deadwood. Each deadwood card scores its pip value: number cards are face value, face cards are 10, and aces are 1. Add them up and you have your deadwood total — the number you are always trying to push down.
Your turn: draw and discard
On your turn you do two things in order:
- Draw one card — either the top of the face-down stock (unknown) or the top of the discard pile (known, but it tells your opponent what you're collecting).
- Discard one card face up onto the discard pile.
Play alternates until someone ends the hand by knocking, or the stock runs too low to continue.
Knocking
When your deadwood total is 10 or fewer, you may knock to end the hand (you knock as you make your final discard). You lay down your melds and your deadwood. Your opponent then lays down their melds and may lay off their own deadwood cards onto your melds — extending your run or completing your set — to shrink their own count. Then you compare deadwood: if yours is lower, you score the difference.
Going gin
If you can meld all ten cards with zero deadwood, you go gin. This earns a 25-point bonus on top of your opponent's deadwood, and crucially the opponent cannot lay off any cards. Going gin is always a clean, safe way to win a hand.
The undercut
Knocking has a risk. After lay-offs, if your opponent's deadwood is equal to or less than yours, they have undercut you. Instead of you scoring, they score the difference plus a 25-point undercut bonus. That is why you don't knock the instant you're able to — a thin knock can hand the hand to a well-set opponent.
Scoring and winning
Points accumulate hand by hand: the knocker scores the deadwood difference, a gin adds 25, and an undercut gives the bonus to the defender. The first player to reach 100 points wins the game. If the stock runs too low to continue (only two cards left) before anyone knocks, the hand is a wash and no one scores. CardHearth plays without the Big Gin variant — going gin always pays the flat 25-point bonus.
Frequently asked questions
What is deadwood in Gin Rummy?
Deadwood is the cards in your hand that are not part of any meld (set or run). Each counts its pip value — face cards are 10, aces are 1 — and the total is your deadwood count. You can knock only when your deadwood is 10 or less.
What is the difference between knocking and going gin?
Knocking ends the hand with 10 or fewer deadwood points, after which your opponent can lay off cards onto your melds and you score the difference in deadwood. Going gin means all 10 cards form melds (zero deadwood); it earns a 25-point bonus and the opponent cannot lay off.
What is an undercut in Gin Rummy?
If you knock but your opponent’s deadwood (after laying off) is equal to or lower than yours, they "undercut" you. They score the difference plus a 25-point undercut bonus instead of you scoring anything.
Keep going
Now that you know the rules, play a hand of Gin Rummy against the computer. To knock smarter and read your opponent, read our Gin Rummy strategy guide, see how it differs from basic Rummy in Gin Rummy vs Rummy, compare all four in our best free card games roundup, or browse everything in our guides hub.