Gin rummy glossary
The words you will meet in gin rummy, in alphabetical order.
- Big gin
- Going gin with all 11 cards in melds right after drawing, without discarding. An optional rule, usually worth 31 points plus the other player’s deadwood.
- Box
- A hand won. Each box is worth a box bonus (20 points in the standard rules) at the end of the game. Also called a line.
- Deadwood
- Cards not in any meld. Their total value is your deadwood count.
- Deal
- Handing out the cards: 10 to each player, then the up card. The winner of a hand deals the next one.
- Discard pile
- The face-up pile next to the stock. You may draw its top card instead of a stock card.
- Game bonus
- Extra points for winning the game: 100, or 200 in a shutout.
- Gin
- Ending the hand with all 10 cards in melds. Worth a 20-point bonus plus the other player’s deadwood. No laying off is allowed.
- Hollywood gin
- A way of scoring three games at once. See Hollywood gin.
- Knock
- Ending the hand when your deadwood is 10 or less (or less than the knock limit in Oklahoma gin) after your discard.
- Knock card
- In Oklahoma gin, the first up card, whose value sets the most deadwood you may knock with.
- Lay off
- After a knock, adding your deadwood cards to the knocker’s melds so they no longer count against you.
- Meld
- A set or a run. Also called a combination.
- Oklahoma gin
- A variant where the up card sets the knock limit. See Oklahoma gin.
- Run
- Three or more cards of the same suit in order, such as 9-10-J of spades. Also called a sequence. The ace is low.
- Set
- Three or four cards of the same rank, such as 6-6-6. Also called a group.
- Shutout
- Winning a game when the loser has not scored a single point. The game bonus is doubled to 200.
- Stock
- The face-down pile of cards left after the deal.
- Straight gin
- A variant without knocking: the hand only ends with gin (or a draw). See straight gin.
- Undercut
- When the knocker’s deadwood is equal to or higher than the other player’s after laying off. The other player scores the difference plus a 10-point bonus. Also called an underknock.
- Up card
- The card turned face up after the deal to start the discard pile.
Learn the game step by step in how to play.