How to Play Gin Rummy

In the Rummy game, regardless of the version, you have two things to do during your turn. These two actions are required during your turns and they actually consist of the game itself and the program within the game. This is the time to remind you that each of your actions are observed by your opponents and its very important to do it as wisely as possible, otherwise, your online rummy opponents will have the advantage to predict your next moves.

1. Draw a card: first thing you need to do is to add new card into your hand. It can be a card from the deck pile, this way you have the advantage of new and fresh card that neither you nor your opponents know which card you are taking. And it can be a card from the discard pile, this way you know what you are taking but your opponents knows it too.

2. Discard: a card you don't need: ( or a card that you wants your opponents to think you do not need ). If you are taking a card from the discard pile, you must discard another one from your cards. If you took a card from the main deck, you can discard any card you like.

Knocking

At any of your turns during the game you can knock and stop the rummy round. When you knock it’s a sign that you have arranged all your cards into sets - equal cards and runs - sequences, and the remaining cards in your hands total value is no more than 10 points. ( see scoring below ). The unmatched card in your hands is called a deadwood in the professional jargon. The best way to knock is to go Gin. Going Gin means that you do not have any unmatched cards after you arranged your whole cards into runs and sets. Remember that you knock after you discard the card into the pile at the end of your turn. You can't knock or go Gin with an extra card in your hands. Some lucky online players, with high potential to win, can knock and go Gin even at their second turn during the Gin round. If you have the skills to go Gin, most of the Rummy rooms will give you a nice bonus for doing that.

Remember that even if you can knock at any turn, not always you will do it. Sometimes you can knock but the remaining cards values are close to 10. You have the chance to loose since some of the other players might have lower values for their remaining cards, or even to go Gin.

All your opponents, in case you knocked, must spread their cards face-up. They arrange the cards into sets and runs + they have the chance to use their unmatched cards into your set and runs. Meaning that your opponents can add a fourth card with the same rank to any of your groups of three cards, or further consecutive card with the same suit to either of your sequences.

Remember that they can use their unmatched cards for their best; they can easily beat you with this option. Of course that you, as a knocker, are not allowed to lay off cards on the opponent's sets or runs, after knocking.

In case that the deck pile went all the way down to two cards, and no player have knocked, the hand is cancelled and a new round is started.

Scoring

After you knock, each player counts the total value of his unmatched cards. In case the knocker player does have the lowest value of unmatched cards, he scores the difference between his values to the opponent's value. If you knocked and you went Gin, you get 20 points bonus for that and your opponents must count their unmatched cards. In case that you knocked but one of your opponents has a lower value of unmatched cards, you now undercut. Your opponent scores the difference and he adds a 10 points bonus to his score. The box bonus for the knocking can go up to 25 points in some cases, if you go Gin, you can reach up to 50 extra points.

Some online rummy rooms give an additional bonus of 20 points for each win. And the last calculation goes in terms of 100's. The player to reach 100 points is the winner of the game.

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