How do you go Gin in Gin Rummy?

Going Gin is the cleanest way to win a hand: no deadwood, no risk of an undercut, and a full 25-point bonus for a perfect hand.

Quick answer: You go Gin when every card in your hand is part of a meld and your deadwood is zero. On your turn, you draw, arrange all 10 cards into sets and runs, and discard your final card face down. Going Gin earns a bonus of 25 points on top of your opponent's deadwood, and unlike a knock, your opponent cannot lay off or undercut you.

What Gin requires

To go Gin, all 10 of your cards must form valid melds - some combination of sets and runs - leaving zero deadwood. You then make your final discard face down to signal Gin, and lay your whole hand out.

The Gin bonus

Going Gin scores your opponent's entire deadwood plus a 25-point bonus. Crucially, when you go Gin your opponent cannot lay off any cards onto your melds and cannot undercut you, so it is the safest as well as the most rewarding way to end a hand.

Gin vs. knocking

Waiting for Gin earns more but takes longer, and a patient opponent may knock first. Choosing to knock early with low deadwood or hold out for Gin is a constant judgment call, explored in when to knock. In Straight Gin, going Gin is the only way to win.

Play Gin Rummy

Related questions

What does it mean to knock in Gin Rummy?

Knocking is how you end a hand of Gin Rummy without going Gin. Once your unmatched deadwood totals 10 points or less, you can knock: place your final discard face down, lay out your melds, and reveal your deadwood. Your opponent then lays off cards, and the player with the lower deadwood total scores the difference.

What is deadwood in Rummy?

Deadwood is the collection of cards in your hand that are not part of any meld - not in a set and not in a run. Each unmatched card carries its point value, and the total is your deadwood count. In Gin Rummy you can only knock when your deadwood is 10 points or less, so keeping it low is everything.

What is Straight Gin?

Straight Gin is a variant of Gin Rummy in which knocking is not allowed. You cannot end a hand with leftover deadwood - you must meld all 10 of your cards and go Gin to win. This makes it a purer, higher-stakes form of the game, since there is no safe early exit.