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Gin rummy

arts Maturity 5-7 Next article →

Gin Rummy is a popular card game for two players.

3 playing cards
3 playing cards

Elwood T. Baker and his son created the game in 1909. It became a big hit in the United States after Hollywood movies made it famous. Many people learned to play it during World War II. The goal is to be the first person to reach 100 points.

You play with a standard deck of 52 cards. To win, you must build melds. A meld is a group of matching cards. You can make a set of three or four cards with the same rank. You can also make a run. A run is three or more cards in a row from the same suit.

Gin Rummy (cropped)
Gin Rummy (cropped)

Cards that do not fit into a meld are called deadwood. You want to have as little deadwood as possible. If you have no deadwood, you have a Gin hand. This earns you a 25-point bonus. If you have 10 or fewer deadwood points, you can knock to end the round. If your opponent has fewer points than you, they can undercut you. This gives them a special bonus. It is a game of skill and quick thinking.

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Gin Rummy (cropped).jpg
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