Rummy

Gin Rummy is the most popular of all the two handed “draw and discard” games. Like the game itself, people kibitz about gin, the game’s strategy and its origin. The game’s birth has been traced to three possible foundations.

One theory is that gin rummy can be traced to rules of a game with certain similarities in a game rule book published in the early 1000’s. This explanation links the game to the Chinese game, named Kon Khin, which was played with two Chinese decks of tiles consisting of 31 tiles each. The purpose was to build melds and reduce the value of unmatched cards in a player’s hand.

Another game believed to have roots to Gin Rummy was described in the 1864 edition of The American Hoyle as Whiskey Poker. The nomenclature reflects that it was most often played in saloons and the stakes were usually alcoholic beverages. In Whiskey Poker, five cards were dealt circularly to each player. One extra hand was included in the dealing process. This extra hand was called the “Widow”. Beginning with the player to the left of the dealer, each player had a chance to replace their hand with the “Widow” until the hand was claimed. If a player selected the “Widow”, the player would lay his hand face up on the table. This action started the hand and a process of discard and draw ensued. Players tried to create melds or spreads and reduce the value of unmatched cards in their hand.

The most commonly acknowledged inventor of Gin Rummy is Elwood T. Baker of Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Baker, a whist instructor at the renowned Knickerbocker Whist Club in New York, created most of the rules of today’s Gin Rummy in 1908. Baker was the first Rummy player to declare that a player could not claim his melds until that player achieved unmatched cards totaling ten or less. In the early 20th century, most card games were played in saloons and clubs. It has been speculated that as the game is often accompanied by alcoholic beverages, the prefix “Gin” was assigned by Baker’s son to the “draw and discard” Rummy feature. However, most early references to the game refer to it as either Gin Poker or Poker Gin.

Gin Rummy is a simple game using the 52 card deck and pitting two opponents trying to achieve 100 points. Each player receives ten cards with the 21st card being turned face up. Each player has the option of selecting the top card of the stock pile or the top card from the discard pile. After each selection, a player must discard. The object is to accumulate a sequence of three or more cards in one suit, or three or four cards of identical rank. In Gin Rummy, the Ace is always a card of low value. Cards that are not melded are called deadwood. When a player’s deadwood is ten or less, the player can declare a showdown. If the opponent has a lower deadwood tally than the declarer, that opponent is the winner of the hand.

While an uncomplicated game, Gin Rummy combines elements of deception and complexity. These qualities lend themselves well to strategy and wagering. Players learn the basic rules in a few minutes and then spend the rest of their lives perfecting a playing strategy. Over time, several different scoring systems have evolved. The most popular of which is Hollywood scoring, whereby three games are contested at the same time.

Baker’s 1909 game floundered for years before establishing a foothold in the U.S. in the years from 1927 – 1930. During The Great Depression, when fewer and fewer people went out for entertainment, Gin Rummy flourished. The fast paced game properly personified the nervous energy of the era. The game lost some momentum until the 1940’s when it was adopted by Hollywood, Broadway and the radio stars of the day. Many movies in this era featured or referenced Gin Rummy. Entertainers liked the pace and wagering action provided by Gin Rummy. Once the artists were on board, the popularity of Gin Rummy soared and the fad had started.

Gin was easier to learn than Contract Bridge and was conducive to family play. The game lent itself to a game on the train or at tables on or around the set or clubhouse. Part of the appeal of the game is that it could be halted for a period of time. Play could easily be resumed at a later time. Combining the stop and go capabilities of Gin Rummy with the ease of the rules made the game a natural for Hollywood and Broadway.

100 years after Baker developed his rules, the two biggest changes to the game are the new age distribution of the deal. Today, the dealer usually receives ten cards and the opponent receives eleven. The second change is the Hollywood scoring system that allows for three or more games to take place simultaneously. Usually the winner of each game in a Hollywood is the first player to accumulate 200 points. Combining the increased action with the pace of the game makes the game a natural for quick jolts of wagered prowess.

Gin Rummy team partnerships have also become popular. In the team concept, the partnership’s individuals compete against two opposing players. When the resulting scores are added together, the team with the highest point total has won the hand and receives the right to post a score in each open frame of the Hollywood.

In Hollywood Gin Rummy, a player who wins a hand scores his first winning score in the first game of the Hollywood, while the second winning score is entered in both the first and second games and the third winning score is entered into the first, second and third games. Each subsequent score is entered in all three games until a player or team goes out of a game.

Gin Rummy has a certain flow. Spectators observing a Gin Rummy hand are often bewildered by a play or strategy. It is particularly interesting how Gin Rummy players view the same ten cards. Each Gin Rummy hand reveals different strategies and personality traits. Therein lies the charm of Gin Rummy.

Oklahoma Gin is a strategic draw and discard Rummy game of skill that can be contested by 2 – 4 players. The game is similar to Gin Rummy but features different scoring and allows for multiple players to compete amongst themselves rather than in a team competition.

Oklahoma Gin is played with a standard 52 card deck. Aces are always low. Face cards have a rank value of 10. All other cards are ranked according to their numerical value. Suits are all ranked equally.

As in Gin Rummy, a “set” is a meld of three or four cards of identical rank. A “run” is a meld of at least three cards in sequential order and in the same suit. “Deadwood” is the term used to describe the unmatched cards in the player’s hand.

If there are two contestants, each player is dealt 10 cards. If there are more than two players, each player receives 7 cards. The dealer of the first hand is selected randomly. After the first hand, the winner of the previous hand is always the dealer. After the dealer has dealt each player the correct number of cards, the dealer turns one more card and begins the discard pile. This card is known as the “Knock” card and determines the maximum amount a player can knock for in that hand. So, if there are three players and the dealer deals each player seven cards, the 22nd card is turned and becomes the knock card. If that card is 6, any player can knock during the hand when their deadwood total is 6 or less points.

In Oklahoma Gin, there are three ways to win a hand. A player can Gin, knock or win by undercutting the knocker. To Gin, a player must draw a card from either the stock or discard pile, create melds for all cards in the hand and then declare Gin by turning the discard face down on the table. There are no unmatched cards in a Gin hand. The player then lays the melds face up on the table. When a player goes Gin, no other player can reduce their deadwood by laying off cards on the Gin hand or any other hand. The players then lay their melds down and total their deadwood.

When a player goes Gin, that player receives 25 points. The defeated players receive negative values equal to the amount of their deadwood. These scores are recorded on the score sheet. If a player is left with a queen, ace, two when another player goes Gin, that player’s deadwood total is 13 and his score for the hand is -13.

A player who decides to Knock is known as the Knocker. The player must draw a card from either the stock or discard pile and declare his intention to Knock by turning down one card and laying his melds face up on the table and his deadwood face up on the table. As described, the deadwood must be equal to or lower than the rank value of the first card turned by the dealer. Once a player Knocks, other players show their melds. These players can play cards from their deadwood to the Knocker’s original melds.

When a player knocks, that player receives a bonus of 10 points. The other players receive a negative score equal to the total of their deadwood less the amount of the knock.

The third way to win a hand of Oklahoma Gin is by “undercutting” the Knocker. When a player Knocks, he has declared a knock value equal to the total of his deadwood. If another player has a deadwood total equal to or lower than the Knock amount, that player has undercut the Knocker. This amount can be determined after a player has played off on the Knocker’s melds. The player who undercuts the Knocker receives a bonus of 20 points. Other players receive a negative score equal to the amount of the difference between their deadwood total and the amount of the undercut.

Game limits are set in advance but typically a game ends when a player scores 100 points. In some versions of Oklahoma Gin, the bonus amounts for Gin and the Undercut may vary. Players should make sure they understand all the table stakes and values prior to play.

Oklahoma Gin is a popular game with great strategy. Unlike Gin Rummy, Oklahoma Gin focuses on what the player wins rather than on what the player may lose. Watch out for the undercuts in Oklahoma Gin!

Kalooki 51 Rummy is a unique draw and discard game that has just enough quirky qualities to make it a refreshing break from other Rummy games. Kalooki 51 is usually played with no leas than two players and not more than 4. One of the quirky rules is that Jokers are used as wild cards. These treasured cards greatly influence the play of then hand.

In Kalooki, two 54 card decks are used so there are four Jokers in the game. Each player receives 13 cards. The next card is turned face up to initiate the discard pile. The remaining cards are placed face down on the table and serve as the stock pile. If the stock pile is exhausted and no player has gone out, the discard pile is shuffled and turned face down to become the stock pile.

After the deal, the creation of the discard pile and the placement of the stock pile, the player to the left of the dealer commences the first turn. In Kalooki, a player’s turn consists of three parts. As the first step, the player must decide to draw a card from the discard pile or to draw from the stock pile. Once drawn, the player must then form sets or runs or add cards to existing melds. Lastly, the player must either go out or discard, which action commences the next player’s turn.

An initial meld may not be declared and placed down unless it has a value of 51 or more. Once a player has laid down their initial meld, the player can add to the meld or any other meld on the table. This action, called building, creates a large meld.

In most variations of Kalooki 51, face cards equal 10 points. Aces carry a value of 11 and all other cards have a value equal to their rank. The Joker assumes its value of the card it represents in a meld, but if unused in a hand has a penalty value of 25.

The Joker adds flexibility and diversity to Kalooki. When used by a player in a meld, the joker assumes the value of the card it represents. If a player goes out and another player is holding the Joker, the assessed penalty value is 25 points. Proper management of the Joker is a key element of Kalooki.

If a player uses the Joker in a set, an opposing player can claim the Joker by inserting the two cards of equal rank for different suits. For example, if a player melds the Joker with the 8 of clubs and the 8 of diamonds, an opposing player can claim the Joker by melding the 8 of hearts and the 8 of spades. Players can also seal the set by melding either the eight of hearts or eight of spades and leaving the Joker. Once this action is completed, the set is closed and the Joker cannot be taken.

If the Joker is used in a run, any player can claim the Joker by installing the card the Joker represents. Only melds containing a Joker can be rearranged. Otherwise, melds placed on the table cannot be re-structured. However, players can add to sets and runs.

The play of the hand ends when a player goes out or goes Kalooki. To go Kalooki, a player must draw from either the stock or discard pile and meld all but one card, which is discarded. The discard ends the hand and the discard may not be used by an opponent. A player may also go out by disposing of all cards in their hand at once.

Unlike other draw and discard rummy games, once the player goes out, opponents may not lay off held cards. The deadwood total is the total of all held cards at the time a player goes out.

When a player goes out, Kalooki scoring is tabulated as follows. If a player is caught with an Ace, the penalty value for each ace is 11. If a player is caught holding a Joker, the penalty value is 25. All other held cards receive their penalty value according to their rank. The value of all opponents’ deadwood is tallied and added to the value of the out player’s melds to determine the score. The first player to reach the designated tally is the winner.

Advertising – The act of discarding a card to induce an opponent’s discard of similar rank, suit or sequence.  Often called “baiting“, “chumming” or “fishing”.

Angling – The act of discarding a card to induce an opponent’s discard of a card one rank away. Often called “sideways fishing” or “side baiting“.

Baiting - “Advertising“.

Base - Four natural cards of the same rank.  A base is essential to making a canasta.

Base Count or Basic Count – In Canasta, the total of a player’s bonus scores, as distinguished from the point values of melded cards.

Blind Discard - A suspect discard made without a history.

Blitz - The act of winning a game in which the opponent has not scored not a single point.  This can have a dramatic impact on scoring.  Also known as Schneider, Schneide or Shutout.

Block – The act of withholding a card that would extend or complete a meld for an opponent.

Borrowing – The act of using extra cards from a previous meld to form new sets.

Box - Each entry on the score sheet.

Buy - To select a card from the stock or the discard pile.

Calling – A card needed to fill a combination.

Canasta – In Canasta, a meld of seven cards of equal rank.  A “mixed canasta” is a meld containing one to three wild cards.  A “natural” or “pure canasta” is a meld containing no wild card.

Captain – the player who opposes 2 players who rotate play against the captain; the captain can also be an entity of two opposing three rotating players.

Combination - Two cards that will become a matched set with the addition of a suitable third card.

Concealed Hand – In Canasta or Oklahoma, a hand that plays out in one turn without prior melds.

Conditions – In Panguinque, certain melds for which the player collects immediate payment.

Contract – In Contract Rummy, the pre-fixed number and type of sets that a player must meld on the first occasion of a deal.

Crack - To discard a card wanted by an opponent when there is a possible advantage in keeping the card.

Cut – the event that occurs after the shuffle and prior to the deal whereby the lower portion of the deck is place on the top.

Dead Cards – Cards buried in the discard pile and not available.

Deadwood - Unmatched cards in hand.

Deal – The act of distributing the cards from the deck to the players.

Dealer - The player who distributed the cards from the deck to the cards.

Deck - The set of cards used to play a game.

Deuce - A card with a rank of two.

Discard – The act of selecting a card from the hand and placing the card on the discard pile, concluding the player’s turn.

Discard Pile - The pile or overlapping row of all cards discarded and not picked up.

Draw – see Buy - To select a card from either the stock or the discard pile.

Exposed Card - In any partnership game, any card that is dropped or so held that partner sees its face illegally.

Fill – occurs when the player draws a card that turns a combination into a matched set.

Foot - The bottom portion of the stock, when it is divided in two parts for easier handling.

Forcing – The act of discarding a card that the next player, under the rules, must pick up.

Frozen – In Canasta, the condition of the discard pile when, under the rules, it may be taken only by matching the top card with a natural pair.

Gin Hand – In Gin Rummy a hand with no unmatched cards.

Go Down – Occurs when a player ends play by placing the remainder of one’s cards face up on the table to knock or meld.

Go Gin – In Gin Rummy, the act of a player laying down a gin hand.

Go Out – Occurs when a player rids himself of the last card in the hand.

Go Rummy – Occurs when a player lays down a hand with no unmatched cards.

Group – Refers to a matched set comprising three or more cards of the same rank.

Hand - The cards dealt to a player; or a reference to the entire deal.

Head - The upper portion of the stock, when it is divided in two parts.

Initial Meld – In Canasta or Gin Rummy, the first meld, that conforms to certain specifications, and is made in a deal by a player.

Kibitz - To observe and comment upon a game without participating.

Knave - Any jack.

Knock – The act of ending play by placing the remainder of one’s cards face up on the table; to go down.

Lay Down – The act of going down.

Lay Off – The act of adding suitable cards to previously melded sets.

Line Score – In Gin Rummy, the box score.

Matched Card – a card that is part of a matched set.

Matched Set - Three or more cards which may be melded together.

Meld – The act of placing matched sets on the table or to lay off a matched set.

Natural Card – A card that is not wild.

Non-Comoquers – In Panguinque, refers to aces and kings in groups regardless of suits.

Off Card – A card that is neither matched nor part of a combination.

Pack – In most games, the discard pile but in Oklahoma or Canasta refers to the stock.

Player - A card which, if retained or taken up, could be laid off.

Pluck – The act of taking the top card off the deck.

Prize Pile – In Canasta, refers to a discard pile that is frozen.

Rank – Refers to a card’s name and hierarchy, as distinguished from its suit.

Rope - A sequence.

Round-the-Corner – Refers to the rule that the ace is in sequence with both the king and the deuce or any variant of Rummy in which this rule is adopted.

Rummy – To go rummy is a hand with no unmatched cards.

Run - A working sequence of cards.

Safe Discard – A discard that cannot be used if taken up.

Schneider – See blitz or shutout.

Sequence – Is a matched set comprising three or more cards of the same suit and consecutive rank.

Set - Three or more cards of the same rank.

Shutout - See Blitz or Schneider.

Skunk – A shutout or defeat by a shutout.

Spread - A melded set.

Stock - The remainder of the pack after the original hands are dealt.

Stop Card – In Canasta, a black three or any wild card that when discarded the next player may not take from the discard pile.

Stringer - A sequence.

Suit - One of the four kinds of cards in a deck and denoted by symbols known as spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.

Take Up – To draw from the discard pile.

Top or Going on – In Panguinque, paying a forfeit on dropping out of a deal.

Trey - A three of any suit.

Turn-up - The upcard.

Trade – The act of taking the Joker from a meld into one’s hand and supplying to the meld the card that the joker represented therein.

Triplet - A group of three.

Undercut – In Gin Rummy, the act of reducing one’s deadwood to the same or lesser count than the knocker’s.

Unload – To discard high cards, or to meld cards as to reduce the possible loss.

Unmatched Cards – The cards in a hand not included in matched sets.

Upcard - The first card turned face up from the stock which starts the discard pile.

Valle Cards – In Panguinque, threes, fives and sevens, so called because the formation of these groups of cards earns a special bonus.

Wild Card – A card that may be designated to be of any suit and rank by the owner.

Wild Discard – A discard that can be taken up and thus is completely unsafe.

Uncovering and recounting the history of Rummy is insightful but lacks the clarity and definition that a true historian likes.  Three cultures lay claim to the origin of Rummy.  As the game developed and offshoots of Rummy evolved, most historians conclude that Rummy, as we know it today, is the byproduct of all three cultures that claim the game’s birth.

All modern day Rummy games have definite characteristics.  At the core of all Rummy games is the “draw and discard” concept, whereby at each turn of the hand, a player must draw one or more cards and then discard from a strategically managed reserve.  The goal of each play in Rummy games is to develop a hand into sets of matching cards or melds which are three or four cards of equal rank or three or more cards in a suited sequence.  Unless the game involves trumps or tricks, any game that includes draw and discard and contains a reward for the formation of melds is a version of a Rummy game.

The first and oldest of the three versions of Rummy is Conquian.  This Spanish version originated hundreds of years ago and was exported to Mexico in the mid 1800’s and was imported by Texans in the late 1800’s.  Texans named the game Cooncan or Coon King or Coonkin.  The game worked it sway across the country to England where it was renamed Rum, meaning “odd” or “queer”.

The Conquian version of Rummy has striking similarities to the modern game of “Gin Rummy” in that the objective of Conquian Rummy is to be the first player to be rid of all cards by laying them down, face up on the playing surface, in matched sets called spreads.  Later, spreads became known as melds.  When a player lays down his hand, other players are assigned a score based upon the “deadwood” or cards remaining in their held cards.  In a later, American version, of the game called Michigan, a player’s score also includes not only the “deadwood” but accounts for any claimed melds.  This scoring system has striking similarities to today’s “Gin Rummy.”

This earliest version of Rummy is described in some detail by R.F. Foster, in Foster’s Complete Hoyle of 1897.  In an 1897 work entitled the Standard Hoyle, the game is called Coon Can.  Foster’s Complete Hoyle, refers to the game as Conquian.  Foster tracks the game to Mexico by way of Spain and states that the game was then popular in all states bordering Mexico.  Foster also believed the game to have originated  in Spain because it used the Spanish, or 40 card, deck.

Another researcher, Stewart Culin, speculated that the game was played by Apache Indians.  Culin calls the game Con Quien, Spanish for “with whom.”

The Chinese version of Rummy is traced to a derivative of Mah-Jong, believed to have been conceived during the Tang dynasty, more than 1000 years ago.  There has even been speculation that Confucius originated a form of the game as early as 500 B.C.  This game was played with paper cards before more ornate tiles were created.  The characteristics of the game also featured drawing and discarding and a strategy to shape melds.  An Englishman, Mr. W. H. Wilkinson named a version of this game “kun p’ai” and convinced a friend to publish rules of play for a similar game under the name of Khanhoo in 1891.  Khanhoo was played with two decks of 31 cards each.  The 62 card deck was similar to the Chinese deck and consisted of the ace through nine in three suits and one jack, one queen, one king unsuited and a joker from each deck.  In this game, each player received fifteen cards which were used to form melds or sequences.  The discard pile was turned to become a new draw or stack pile.

A similar game was called Kon Khin which sounds so similar to Conquian that speculation arose that the game arrived in the Southwest United States via Chinese immigrants or that the game was picked up by Portugese in China and exported to the Philippines and then to Mexico.  This Spanish game came to be called Chincon and was played with a Spanish deck of either 40 or 48 cards.

The third and least probable origin of Rummy is tied to the game of Poker which was developed by early French settlers in North America.  While there are distinct similarities to poker blends, such as “three of a kind” or a “straight,” poker is not a draw and discard game.  Attempts to link Rummy to poker origins begin with a game called “Whiskey Poker,” an offshoot of which became known as “Rum Poker” which became “Rum” or “Rummy.”

Wherever Rummy originated, it has transcended time and international borders.  Meanwhile, all modern day Rummy games have distinct similarities.  The components of all gin games include;

• The Deal - where a dealer issues cards to the players.
• The Up Card – the last card dealt is turned up and begins the discard pile.
• Aces Low – Aces do not go around the corner and are deemed to be low.
• Card Scoring – cards retain their numerical value except for face cards which are assigned a numerical value of ten.
• Discard Pile – where players put their unwanted cards face up.
• The Stock Pile – the pile of cards facing down from which players can pick cards to be added to their hands.
• The Meld – at least three cards forming a sequence or a set.
• Laying Off – the process by which players can play unmatched cards from their hand to another’s hand.
• Deadwood Count – the sum of unplayed or unmatched cards.

Rummy, Rummy 500, Gin Rummy, Contract Rummy, Kalooki and Canasta are some of the more popular forms of Rummy games.  Today, many of these games are played on the internet.  The great news is that wherever Rummy came from, it is now a global experience shared equally by players of all ages, nationalities and both genders.