How to play Gin Rummy
Gin Rummy is a card game for two players: you against the computer. Each of you gets 10 cards from a standard 52-card deck. The next card is turned face up to start the discard pile, and the rest is the stock.
Your goal is to arrange your hand into melds and get rid of everything else, which is called deadwood.
- Sets are 3 or 4 cards of the same rank, like three 8s.
- Runs are 3 or more cards in a row in the same suit, like the 4, 5 and 6 of hearts. The ace is low: A-2‑3 is a run, but Q-K-A is not.
- Deadwood counts against you: aces are 1, number cards their number, and jacks, queens and kings 10 each.
A card can only be in one meld at a time. Poozee sorts your hand into the arrangement with the least deadwood for you and keeps the count up to date.
A turn
- Draw the top card of the stock, or the top card of the discard pile.
- Discard one card face up on the discard pile. You can't throw back the card you just picked up from the discard pile.
On the very first turn, the upcard is offered to the non-dealer, then to the dealer. If both pass, the non-dealer draws from the stock.
Knocking and gin
After you draw, if discarding one card leaves you with 10 or less deadwood, you may knock: discard face down and lay your melds on the table. With no deadwood at all, you've made gin.
When you knock, the other player lays down their melds and may lay off deadwood on yours, such as the 7 of hearts on your 4‑5‑6 of hearts. No layoffs are allowed on gin.
Scoring
- Knock: you score the difference between the two deadwood counts.
- Undercut: if the other player's deadwood (after laying off) is equal to or lower than yours, they score the difference plus a 25-point bonus.
- Gin: you score 25 plus the other player's deadwood.
- A draw: when only two cards are left in the stock and the player who drew before them discards without knocking, the hand ends and nobody scores.
The first player to 100 wins the game. Then each player adds a line bonus of 25 for every hand they won, and the winner adds a game bonus of 100, or 200 for a shutout (the loser didn't score at all). The dealer alternates every hand.
Playing on Poozee
- Pick a level. Easy discards carelessly. Medium plays solid gin and knocks as soon as it can. Hard also watches what you pick up and throw away, avoids feeding your melds, and knocks early or holds out for gin. It never looks at your cards.
- Tap the stock or the discard pile to draw, then tap a card to discard it. You can also drag a card onto the discard pile.
- Knock and Gin light up when you can use them. Tap one, then the card to discard face down.
- Your hand sorts itself into melds, with a colored bar under each meld and your deadwood counted below. Switch to sorting by rank or suit, or drag cards into any order you like.
- Laying off: when the computer knocks, the cards you can lay off rise up. Tap them to lay them off, or tap Lay off best, then Done.
- Hint suggests whether to take the discard, which card to throw, when to knock, and what to lay off. Undo puts back a card you just took from the discard pile.
- Cards the computer picked up from the discard pile stay face up in its hand, since you both saw them.
- Your game is saved in your browser, so you can close the tab and finish later.
Gin Rummy tips for beginners
- Get rid of high deadwood early. Kings and queens that don't fit anything cost 10 points each if the other player knocks.
- Take the discard only when it makes a meld. Otherwise you show the other player what you're collecting.
- Watch the discard pile. A card next to one your opponent picked up is a card they probably want.
- Knock early, then play for gin. Early in the hand a quick knock usually wins. Later, the other player's hand has improved, and knocks get undercut far more often.
Pro tip: Keep an eye on the stock count on the table. In our tests, knocking at the first chance paid off only while 23 or more cards were left in the stock. See our Gin Rummy strategy guide for the numbers.
Gin Rummy FAQ
How do you score Gin Rummy on Poozee?
A knock scores the difference between the two hands' deadwood. Gin scores 25 plus the other player's deadwood. If the defender's deadwood is equal to or lower than the knocker's, it's an undercut: the defender scores the difference plus 25.
When can you knock in Gin Rummy?
After you draw, when discarding one card leaves you with 10 points of deadwood or less. You discard face down and show your melds. With no deadwood at all, it's gin.
How does the game end?
The first player to reach 100 points wins. Then each player adds 25 for every hand they won (the line bonus), and the winner adds a 100-point game bonus, or 200 if the loser scored nothing (a shutout).
What happens when the stock runs out?
When only two cards are left in the stock and the player who drew before them discards without knocking, the hand is a draw. Nobody scores, and the next hand is dealt.
How good is the computer?
Easy discards carelessly and forgets what's been played. Medium plays solid gin and knocks as soon as it can. Hard also remembers what you picked up and threw away, avoids feeding your melds, and knocks early or holds out for gin. It never looks at your cards.