Gin Rummy Glossary
Every hand of Gin Rummy leans on the same handful of words: meld, deadwood, knock, gin. Once you know them, the rules read like plain English. This glossary defines the terms you will meet across Gin Rummy and the wider Rummy family, from the classic knock-and-go-gin game to Oklahoma Gin, 500 Rum, and old Conquian.
If you are brand new, skim this page before the rules. You do not need to memorize anything - just get a feel for the vocabulary, then read the full Gin Rummy rules or the FAQ and the words will already make sense. Each term below has its own link, so other pages can point straight to a definition.
💡 Tip: Learn the four core terms first - meld, deadwood, knock, and gin. Almost every rule you read is built from those four ideas.
Core cards and table terms
Deck
A standard 52-card pack in four suits, with no jokers in standard Gin Rummy. Two players are each dealt 10 cards, and the rest form the stock and the discard pile.
Suit
One of the four card families: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Suit matters for a run, which must be all one suit, but not for a set, which mixes suits of the same rank.
Rank
A card's value, from Ace (low) up through 2 to 10, then Jack, Queen, and King. Rank decides both sets (same rank) and runs (rank in order), so tracking ranks is the heart of the game.
Pip
The small suit symbols printed on a card, and also the word for a card's counting value. When you tally deadwood, number cards count their pips, so an 8 is worth 8 points.
Face cards (court cards)
The picture cards - Jack, Queen, and King. Each is worth 10 points of deadwood, which is why holding unmatched face cards late in a hand is risky.
Hand
The 10 cards you hold in standard Gin Rummy. "Hand" also means a single deal - one round of play from the deal until a player knocks, goes gin, or the stock runs out.
Stock
The face-down pile of undealt cards you draw from, also loosely called the deck. When only a couple of stock cards remain and nobody has gone out, most rules end the hand as a wash.
Discard pile
The face-up pile beside the stock. You end every turn by placing one card on it, and its top card - the upcard - is offered to your opponent on their turn.
Upcard
The top, face-up card of the discard pile. At the start of a hand the non-dealer gets first choice of the opening upcard; each turn after that, either player may take the current upcard instead of the stock.
Dealer
The player who deals the hand. In standard Gin the dealer gives each player 10 cards one at a time and turns the 21st card face up to start the discard pile.
Non-dealer
The other player, sometimes called the pone. The non-dealer gets the first look at the opening upcard; if they pass on it, the dealer chooses next.
Melds and play terms
Meld
A valid combination of cards - either a set or a run - that you build inside your hand. Melding all 10 of your cards, with nothing left over, is gin.
Set (group or book)
Three or four cards of the same rank, such as 7♥ 7♠ 7♣. Suit does not matter for a set. Also called a group or a book.
Run (sequence)
Three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive rank, such as 5-6-7 of hearts. Also called a sequence. Because aces are low, A-2-3 is a run but Q-K-A is not.
Deadwood
The unmatched cards left in your hand once you set your melds aside. Face cards count 10, aces count 1, and number cards count their pips. Getting your deadwood low enough to knock is the whole game.
Deadwood count (the count)
The total point value of your deadwood. At the end of a hand you compare counts: the player who went out scores the difference between the two counts.
Draw
To take one card at the start of your turn, either the face-down top of the stock or the face-up upcard. Every turn is one draw and one discard.
Discard
To place one card face up on the discard pile to end your turn. Choosing a safe discard - one that will not help your opponent - is one of the most important skills in the game.
Lay off
After an opponent knocks, adding your own unmatched cards onto their melds to shrink your deadwood. For example, you can add a 4♥ to their 5-6-7 of hearts. You may never lay off against gin.
Spread
To lay your melds face up on the table when you knock or go gin. In Rummy and 500 Rum, a "spread" also means a completed meld placed out in front of you for everyone to see.
Floating card
A card you keep in hand even though it is not yet in a meld, because it has a good chance of joining one soon. Good players float a card only when its upside is worth the deadwood risk.
Ace low
The rule that the ace ranks below the 2. That makes A-2-3 a legal run while Q-K-A is not. The ace is also the cheapest card to be caught with, counting just 1 point of deadwood.
Scoring and winning terms
Knock
To end the hand by laying down your melds when your deadwood is 10 or fewer. You reveal your hand, your opponent lays off what they can, and then the counts are compared to see who scores.
Gin
Melding all 10 cards for zero deadwood. Going gin earns a bonus (usually 25 points) on top of your opponent's full deadwood count, and it cannot be undercut.
Big gin
Melding all 11 cards - your 10 plus the card you just drew - before you discard. In rule sets that use it, big gin pays an even larger bonus, often 31 points.
Undercut (underknock)
When the defender's deadwood ties or beats the knocker's after laying off. Instead of the knocker scoring, the defender scores the difference plus a bonus (usually 25). A good undercut can swing a whole game, part of why Gin Rummy is a game of skill more than luck.
Going out
Ending the hand - whether by knocking, going gin, or (in Rummy) melding your whole hand. The player who goes out is the one who scores that hand.
Going down
Another term for knocking - "going down" with a low count rather than holding out for gin. When to go down and when to chase gin is one of the game's key judgment calls.
Gin bonus
The extra points awarded for going gin, typically 25, added to your opponent's deadwood count. It is the reward for melding your entire hand instead of settling for a knock.
Undercut bonus
The extra points the defender earns for undercutting the knocker, usually 25. Combined with the difference in counts, it turns the knocker's gamble into the defender's payday.
Boxes / lines
Each hand you win counts as a box (also called a line), worth a set bonus - commonly 25 points - added up at the end of the game. Winning more boxes than your opponent adds up fast.
Blitz / shutout / skunk
Winning the whole game before your opponent scores a single point. Under many house rules a blitz (also called a shutout, skunk, or schneider) doubles your final score.
On the schneider
A term borrowed from other card games for shutting an opponent out at zero. Being "schneidered" means losing the game without ever putting a point on the board.
Hollywood scoring
A bookkeeping style that tracks three games at once on one sheet, so a single hand can advance more than one running total. It stretches a session into a best-of-three race.
Match / game
Play continues over many hands until one player reaches the target score - commonly 100 or 500 points - which wins the game and earns a game bonus (often 100). For the full breakdown, see how Gin Rummy is scored.
Variants and strategy terms
Oklahoma Gin
A Gin variant where the first upcard sets that hand's knock limit. If the upcard is a 6, you must knock with 6 or fewer; if it is an Ace, you must go gin. Try it at the Oklahoma Gin table.
Oklahoma count
The knock limit set by that first upcard in Oklahoma Gin. A low upcard makes for a tense, tight-margin hand; a 10 or face card plays much like standard Gin.
Spade doubles
An Oklahoma Gin rule where, if the first upcard is a spade, the entire hand's score is doubled. It raises the stakes on every knock and undercut for that deal.
Straight gin
A strict variant where knocking is banned - you can only win a hand by going gin with zero deadwood. Play it head to head as Straight Gin when you want a purer test.
500 Rum (Rummy 500)
A Rummy game where melds score toward a 500-point target and you may take more than one card from the discard pile, using the chosen card at once in a meld. Deal a game of 500 Rum to see it in action.
Rummy
The parent family of the whole genre: draw a card, meld sets and runs onto the table, lay off onto existing melds, and discard, racing to be first to empty your hand. Start with basic Rummy to learn the flow.
Conquian
The 19th-century Mexican ancestor of Rummy, widely considered the oldest game in the family. Its draw-meld-discard idea is the seed every modern Rummy game grew from.
Wildcard / joker
In some Rummy variants (but not standard Gin), a joker or a chosen rank can stand in for any card to complete a meld. Standard Gin Rummy uses a plain 52-card deck with no wilds.
Dead card
A card that can no longer help you - for example, a rank whose other copies are already sitting in the discard pile. Spotting dead cards tells you which melds are worth chasing. Watch for them in a live Gin Rummy hand.
Live card
A card still useful to you - one that can extend a meld you are building or complete a new one. Tracking which cards are live versus dead is how strong players decide what to draw and what to hold.
Safe discard
A card that is unlikely to help your opponent, such as one they passed on or a mate of a card already in the discard pile. Reading your opponent's picks to find safe discards is a skill you sharpen with every game you play.
That is the core vocabulary of Gin Rummy. Keep this glossary open in a tab the first few times you play, and the terms will stick fast. Ready to put them to use? Deal a hand of Gin Rummy, take on today's Daily Challenge, or browse the full lineup on the more games page.