Getting Started And Learning The Beginnings Of Gin Rummy Games!

A standard deck of 52 playing cards is used for Gin Rummy Games, with the cards being ranked as follows from high to low: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8,7,6,5,4,3,2, Ace (Low)

The object when playing Gin Rummy games, is to reach a set number of points agreed by both players to determine a winner, this is usually 100 points or more. Whoever reaches the target first is the winner of the game.

Keeping the gaming strategy simple, each player's looking to improve each ones hand by eliminating deadwood at the same time forming melds. There are two types of melds in Gin. 3 or 4 of a same ranked card such as a 6 of Hearts, 6 of Clubs and 6 of Diamonds, also 3 or more same suited cards in sequence such as 5, 6, 7 of Spades or more.

Deadwood cards play no part in any meld, they are literally cut adrift. As can be seen from the card rankings above, the Aces in this game are considered low. They can still form part of a low run such as Ace of Hearts, 2 of Hearts, 3 of Hearts, but not of a high end run such as Queen of Hearts, King of Hearts or Ace of Hearts. A player is not restricted by the number of melds he can make from his hand, whether it contains all runs, all sets or both. To form legitimate gin or to knock, the player must have 3 or fewer melds.

The deadwood card count constitutes the points taken from each deadwood card. Aces count as 1 point, the face cards count as 10, and the others as per the numerical values sited on the cards. A player cannot use one card for 2 different melds, there is no common card allowed for say a 3 card run and also a 3 card set it can only be used for one, with the remaining 2 cards part of the deadwood count.

The dealing of the cards is alternated round by round with 10 cards being dealt to both players, with the next card in the deck being placed face up. This is the start of the pile of discards. The stock pile for the game come from the remaining face down cards. Commencing the round's first turn, the non-dealing player's options are to either select the card displayed upwards on the discard pile or to pass.

If he selects the upcard, the second player may choose the top card from whichever pile they choose. If however, the topcard is not selected but passed, the dealer/second player can either also pass or take the upcard. If both players pass, the non-dealing player now has to draw from the stock pile, following which both players can select from the pile of their choice. Gin Rummy games are fun and exciting. Once one's got the rules sorted they provide endless fun with like-minded friends. Learn the rules together and enjoy!