Dealing and Playing Gin Rummy As with most card games a dealer is selected, and either alternates between rounds or on a winner deals/loser deals basis. Each player is dealt ten cards, starting from the non-dealing player and alternating between the two.

After each player has their ten cards, the dealer places the top card of the remaining deck, or stockpile, face up on a separate pile called the discard pile. That constitutes the dealers turn, and the focus now shifts to the alternate player, or in a clockwise direction in multiplayer games.

The player in the spotlight must either choose to pick up the face up card for use in a possible meld, or take a chance on the unknown card at the top of the stockpile. Once the player has picked up a card, he or she needs to discard one card face up on the discard pile. This signifies the end that the turn. This system is very similar to traditional rummy and several forms of poker.

Melds, Knocking and Deadwood A meld is a group of cards that you assemble in either sets or runs. Sets are comprised of a minimum of three to a maximum of four cards with the same value and different suits. For instance three Sevens or four Kings. Runs are a group of three or more cards of any suit that are in sequential order. A good example of a run would be a three of hearts, four of diamonds and a five of clubs.

Once a player has formed melds with the majority of his or her cards they perform the 'knock'. This signifies the end of the current round, although it needs to be strategically implemented.

Whatever non-meld cards remain in both players hands are given a value and added up to reach a final score. These remaining cards are called 'deadwood'.

Scoring at the End of a Round, and Tallying at the End of a Game The object of gin rummy is to score as many points after each round to win the eventual game. Scoring comes into play during after a player has knocked, or once there are only two cards left in the stockpile. Face cards, or picture cards, are counted as ten points each. In home games it's best to keep a pen and a piece of paper handy for scoring purposes.

Once a player has knocked, they receive a score based on the difference between their deadwood and the opponent's deadwood. For example, if the knocking player has a six and the defending opponent has a king, the difference of four points will be awarded to the knocking player. These are called Knock Points, and are only awarded if the defending player has a higher deadwood.

An Undercut Score is awarded to the defending player has a lower deadwood than the knocking player. Usually the difference would go to the 'knocker', but no it is awarded to the 'underknocker', plus a bonus of 25 points.

If a player is able to knock without having any deadwood in his or her hand (every card is used in melds), the player is awarded a gin bonus of 25 points, plus the total of the opponent's deadwood.

At the end of a game of gin rummy, a line bonus of 25 points for every round won is added to the scores of the players. This is an important element of the game, and needs to be considered from start to end.

The Final Curtain The game ends when enough rounds have been played for one player to reach the 100 point mark (or other prearranged total), and could go into a series of games, depending on the game style, similar to a tennis match.

Strategies Under Fire Keep you hand organized, but not enough to let your opponent see the capacity of your melds. Try to keep your hand grouped without putting them in obvious divisions. It's also handy to not reveal where in your hand the card that you discard came from.

It's better to discard the higher cards, which are not used in melds, rather than the lower cards. Remember that your opponent could knock at any time, and it is better to have the smallest deadwood total possible.

Keep your options open. Although the game has a large luck element, with a bit of skill you can create possibilities. For example, if you have two fives and a six, try to discard one of your other cards as either a four, five, or seven will create a future meld of either a run or a set. If you discard the six and pursue a set with the two fives, Murphy may just grant you that four you could have used. Remember that it isn't pleasant being undercut, but sometimes it can be the best defense against being "ginned". Be aware of the remaining stockpile. Keep in mind that the games enters a forced ending once the third last card is removed from the top of the stockpile, and your opponent will be more likely to knock during the time leading up to the remnants of the stockpile.

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The end of the game is signalled by a 'knock' from one of the players. A player is able to knock once the value of his 'deadwood' cards is ten or less, where 'deadwood' refers to the cards that are not used in the player's sets. Points are calculated using the face value of the cards, with an Ace being one point and 10, jack, queen and king all worth ten points each. A score of zero, i.e. having no deadwood cards, is called a 'Gin', and is the ideal outcome for the player.

Once someone has knocked to end the game, both players are obliged to show their cards, and the player with the lowest value of deadwood cards wins the hand. If the player who totalled the lowest score was not the player who knocked, then they are said to have 'undercut' their opponent.

Gin Rummy Formats

There are three main ways to play gin rummy - first-to-knock, matchplay and moneyplay. First-to-knock is extremely simple, in that the first player who reduces their deadwood cards to ten points or less can knock and win the game, as well as the money at stake. This is the fastest version of gin rummy, and relies far more on luck than the other two versions, although it can be an excellent introduction to the game itself.

Matchplay requires several hands of cards, and adopts a scoring system in order to determine the winner. Points are calculated as the difference between the winner's deadwood points and the loser's deadwood points, with the scores accumulated each hand until one of the players reaches an agreed number of points, usually 50. Bonuses of 25 points are awarded for winning with a zero-deadwood hand, as well as winning by undercutting your opponent. The winner takes the money staked at the beginning of the game, but no more.

Moneyplay is the most popular offline form of the game, and is generally played to 100 points, using the same scoring system as above. The difference is that the money is paid per point difference, opening up the possibility for some big wins. When a player reaches 100 points, they are awarded an extra 100 point 'target' bonus and a 25 point 'line bonus'. The winning player then takes the value of the difference in the points.

For example, say player A is leading player B by 90 to 84. The next hand is won by player A, with the total of his deadwood cards being 5, with player B registering 15. Player A takes the 10 point difference, which moves his score on to 100, meaning that he has won the game. Player A is then awarded the 100 point target bonus and 25 point line bonus, taking the difference in scores to 225 - 84 = 141. If the players have agreed to play $1 per point, then Player A receives $141, provided this amount doesn't exceed the buy-in, which is also agreed prior to the game.

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gin rummy


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/computers/games/this-improves-your-point-count-and-brings-you-closer-to-the-goal-of-knocking.html http://www.articletrader.com/computers/games/this-improves-your-point-count-and-brings-you-closer-to-the-goal-of-knocking.html Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500

1. Play to knock As quickly as possible, develop a hand consisting of melds, a triangle, and a knock cache. When you hit one of the four cards needed to create a meld from the triangle, you can knock. When playing Oklahoma, you should evaluate this rule based on the knock card; the closer to ten it is, the more applicable the rule.

2. If you're going to knock, knock! If you are not playing to gin, knock as soon as possible. Every delay gives your opponent a chance to beat you to the knock. This is the most commonly violated rule in gin rummy (as well as in life generally).

3. Always pick up a meld If your opponent's discard makes or increases a meld in your hand, pick it up. This improves your point count and brings you closer to the goal of knocking. Of course, you must weigh this rule appropriately if you have a possible draw-to-gin.

4. Don't pick up strays If your opponent's discard does not make or increase a meld in your hand, don't pick it up.Your odds are better picking from the stock.

5. Don't help your opponent If you know that a card will make or increase one of your opponent's melds, keep it in your hand. An exception occurs when the only choice is to give your opponent a new meld.

6. Don't try to help your opponent If you think that a card might make or increase a meld for your opponent, keep it in your hand. If you have a choice of discards, choose the one with the fewest number of hits.

7. Throw the big bombs early If you start with four (or more) unmatched 10-point cards in your hand, start discarding them immediately, regardless of the combination chances. It is good to keep one high-card triangle early on, but if it is still unfilled after six or seven draws, start discarding it safely. More points are lost more quickly by disregarding this rule than by any other failing.

8. Sweep the floor This is an extension of rules (1) and (3). If you consider your knock cache a meld, then it is prudent to pick up a discard to fill it.

9. A tie is better than a loss In the end game, thoughtful play is extremely valuable. You have more information about your opponent's hand, and can calculate the odds of any discard filling their needs. For the last few draws, your goal is to prevent your opponent from winning the hand. Win if you can, but play your discards completely safely.

10. An undercut is better than getting ginned If you are faced with the choice of the risk of an undercut on your knock or the risk of discarding a card that gives your opponent gin, knock. Your opponent is more likely to gin than they are to undercut, and the loss when they gin is much greater than the loss when they undercut.

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gin rummy


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/computers/games/although-the-rules-are-simple-gin-rummy-strategy-is-far-more-complex-to-learn-and-experienced-playe.html http://www.articletrader.com/computers/games/although-the-rules-are-simple-gin-rummy-strategy-is-far-more-complex-to-learn-and-experienced-playe.html Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500 Generally, a card should not be taken from the discard pile unless it completes a set or run. For example, although aces are generally desirable cards because of their low point count, taking one ace with only one in hand (called "speculating") warns the opponent not to discard any others. This makes establishing a set of aces virtually impossible except by the luck of the draw.

Middle cards are far more strategically important than low cards or face cards as they can be used in far more sets and runs. The 7 can be used in more combinations than any other value in the deck. Once again, aces, although they have a low point value, can only form a run with a 2-3 combination, whereas a 7 can be used with a 5-6, 6-8, or 8-9, as well as longer runs.

Constantly discarding "from the top" (i.e. from the king down) will soon teach the opponent to save pairs of high cards in the knowledge that the matching set of a run will soon be discarded. Although high cards count more, a good player varies the cards they discard in order to make the discards less predictable and give less of a clue to what they are saving.

A player with a "knock" usually should do so as soon as possible, and not attempt to work to a lower knock or gin. The player should beware the possibility that the opponent can knock lower and obtain an undercut, however. This is common if the game is coming down to the bottom of the pile. In the mid-game (when about half the cards in the draw pile have been used), the decision to knock or "go for gin" hinges on how many "free cards" (ones not yet seen by the player) could give the player gin on the next draw, which could range from zero (all possible gin cards are known to be held by the opponent or are in the discard pile) on up to 5 or so (rarely higher).

When drawing from the stock, wise players put that card at random in their hands, close their cards, reopen them and only then pick a card to discard. In that way, the opponent does not know how many cards you have saved from the stock.


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gin rummy

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>