Gin Rummy Glossary
Every Gin Rummy term explained in plain English — from deadwood and knocking to gin, the undercut, laying off, boxes and the line bonus.
Gin Rummy has a compact vocabulary, and nearly all of it is about two things: building melds and counting deadwood. If a word here is new to you, the how-to-play guide shows it in context, the rules page gives the exact restrictions, the scoring page puts numbers on it, and the strategy guide explains how to use each idea to win.
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- Ace
- The lowest card in Gin Rummy, worth 1 point of deadwood. Aces are low only: A-2-3 is a run, but Q-K-A is not.
- Advertising
- Discarding a card close to what you are collecting, hoping the opponent reads it as unwanted and throws its neighbour. Also called a salesman. A tactic to use sparingly, and to watch for in the opponent's discards.
B
- Big Gin
- A variant bonus for going gin with all 11 cards, before discarding, usually worth 31 points instead of 25. Not used on CardCouch, where gin is declared with the 10 cards left after your discard.
- Blitz
- Also called a shutout or schneider: winning a game in which the opponent never scored a single point. Many rule books double the winner's game bonus for it, some double the whole score. CardCouch awards no shutout bonus.
- Box
- One hand won. At the end of the game every box is worth a 25-point bonus to the player who won it — so a game won 5 boxes to 2 pays out 125 and 50 respectively.
- Box Bonus
- The 25 points added to each player's final score for every hand they won during the game (20 in some rule books). Both players receive box bonuses, not just the winner. Many rule books call this the line bonus.
D
- Deadwood
- Every card in your hand that is not part of a meld. Deadwood is counted at Ace 1, number cards face value and Jack, Queen and King 10; the total decides whether you may knock and how much you score or concede.
- Deal
- Ten cards to each player, with the next card turned face up as the upcard and the rest forming the stock. On CardCouch the computer deals the first hand; afterwards the loser of each hand deals (rule books differ: some have the winner deal, some alternate).
- Defender
- The player who did not knock. After a knock the defender may lay off deadwood onto the knocker's melds and can win the hand outright by undercutting.
- Discard
- The card you place face up on the discard pile to end your turn, bringing your hand back to ten. You may not discard a card you took from the discard pile on the same turn.
- Discard Pile
- The face-up pile started by the upcard. Only its top card is available to draw, and both players can see what has been thrown — a rich source of information about the opponent's hand.
- Draw
- The first half of a turn: taking either the unknown top card of the stock or the visible top card of the discard pile. Also the result of a hand in which the stock runs down to two cards with no knock — nobody scores.
G
- Gin
- A hand in which all ten cards are in melds, with zero deadwood. Declaring gin scores a 25-point bonus plus the opponent's entire deadwood, and the opponent may not lay off. Gin cannot be undercut.
- Gin Bonus
- The 25 points awarded on top of the opponent's deadwood when you go gin (20 in some rule books).
- Group
- Another word for a set: three or four cards of the same rank, such as 8♠ 8♦ 8♣.
H
- Hand
- One deal, from the first draw to the knock, gin or draw that ends it. A game is a series of hands played until someone reaches 100 points.
- Hollywood
- A scoring variant in which three games are kept on one sheet at once: a player's first win goes on game 1, their second on games 1 and 2, and so on. Not used on CardCouch.
K
- Knock
- To end the hand by laying down your melds when your deadwood is 10 points or less. You knock as you discard; the defender may then lay off before the hand is scored. Knocking is always optional.
- Knocker
- The player who knocked (or went gin). The knocker scores the deadwood difference unless the defender undercuts.
L
- Lay Off
- After a knock, adding your own deadwood cards to the knocker's melds — a fourth card to a set, or cards extending either end of a run — so that they no longer count against you. Not allowed after gin.
- Layoff
- A card that has been laid off. CardCouch finds the combination of layoffs that reduces the defender's deadwood the most.
- Line Bonus
- On CardCouch, the 100-point bonus added to the score of the player who reaches 100 points and wins the game — most rule books call this the game bonus. Be aware that many rule books use 'line bonus' for the per-hand box bonus instead.
M
- Meld
- A combination of three or more cards that scores nothing against you: a set (same rank) or a run (consecutive ranks in one suit). A card can belong to only one meld at a time.
O
- Oklahoma Gin
- A popular variant in which the first upcard sets the maximum deadwood you may knock with that hand (an Ace usually means gin only), a spade upcard doubles the hand's score, and the game is usually played to 150. Not used on CardCouch.
P
- Pass
- In the standard rules, the non-dealer's option to refuse the first upcard and offer it to the dealer; if the dealer also passes, the non-dealer draws from the stock. CardCouch skips the pass-and-offer as a house rule: the first player simply takes the upcard or draws from the stock.
R
- Run
- Three or more cards of consecutive rank in the same suit, such as 9♥ 10♥ J♥. Also called a sequence. Runs never wrap around the Ace.
S
- Safe Discard
- A card the opponent is unlikely to be able to use: typically one of the same rank as, or next in suit to, a card they have already thrown away. The opposite of a card that matches something they picked up from the pile.
- Salesman
- Another name for an advertising discard: a card thrown to tempt the opponent into releasing its neighbour.
- Sequence
- Another name for a run.
- Set
- Three or four cards of the same rank, such as 5♠ 5♥ 5♦. Also called a group. A set can never have more than four cards.
- Stock
- The face-down pile from which cards are drawn — 31 cards once the two hands are dealt and the upcard is turned. When a discard leaves only two cards in the stock, the hand is a draw; those last two cards are never drawn.
U
- Undercut
- When the defender's deadwood, after laying off, is equal to or lower than the knocker's. The defender scores the difference plus a 25-point bonus and the knocker gets nothing. The main risk of knocking with high deadwood.
- Undercut Bonus
- The 25 points added to the defender's score when they undercut the knocker (10 or 20 in some rule books).
- Upcard
- The first card turned face up after the deal, which starts the discard pile. The non-dealer may take it as their first draw (on CardCouch, or else draw from the stock — see Pass for the standard rule).
W
- Wild Card
- Not part of Gin Rummy. Unlike some other rummy games, Gin Rummy uses no jokers or wild cards.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'deadwood' mean in Gin Rummy?
Deadwood is every card in your hand that is not part of a set or run. Aces count 1, number cards their face value, and face cards 10. You may knock when your deadwood totals 10 or less, and the hand is scored on the difference in deadwood.
What does it mean to knock in Gin Rummy?
Knocking ends the hand. You may knock as you discard whenever your remaining deadwood is 10 points or less. Both players then lay down their melds, the opponent lays off what they can, and the deadwood totals are compared.
What is the difference between gin and a knock?
A knock ends the hand with up to 10 deadwood and lets the opponent lay off and possibly undercut. Gin means every card is melded: you earn a 25-point bonus, the opponent may not lay off, and you cannot be undercut.
What is an undercut?
An undercut happens when the knocker's opponent, after laying off, has deadwood equal to or lower than the knocker's. The opponent then scores the difference plus 25 instead of the knocker scoring.
What is a box in Gin Rummy?
A box is a hand won. At the end of the game each player adds 25 points for every box they won, on top of the 100-point line bonus that goes to the winner.