Play Gin Rummy online, free, against the computer

How this Gin Rummy works

Each player gets 10 cards. On your turn, draw the top card from the stock or take the top discard, then discard one card. Melds are sets (three or four cards of the same rank) or runs (three or more in sequence in one suit, with the ace low only). Cards that aren't in any meld are deadwood. When your deadwood totals 10 or less you can knock to end the hand, and if you have no deadwood at all, that's gin.

After a knock, the opponent can lay off cards onto the knocker's melds. If their remaining deadwood is equal or lower, that's an undercut and they score instead. Hands are scored on the deadwood difference, with a 20-point bonus for gin and 10 for an undercut. The game goes to 100. Your hand is sorted for you, with the best meld grouping and the deadwood total highlighted, and a hint button suggests a discard.

A game with a clear inventor

Gin Rummy was invented in 1909 by a card player named Elwood T. Baker with his son. It took off in the 1930s and 1940s, and became a Hollywood favourite.

When to knock

Knocking early on 8 to 10 deadwood is often right, because it ends the hand before the other player builds their melds. Knock too hastily and you risk an undercut, which costs you the hand. A useful rule: if the opponent has been taking your discards, they're close to going out, so knock as soon as you can. If they've been drawing from the stock, you can afford to chase gin.

Habits that win

1. Discard high cards you can't use. Kings and queens are 10 points each in deadwood.
2. Watch what your opponent picks up. It tells you which melds they're building.
3. Don't discard cards that complete their sets.
4. Keep options open. Two cards that can form either a run or a set are worth more than a pair.

Built from a prompt

The brief for this game is on its page.