- Score sheets
- Card games
- Gin Rummy
How to score Gin Rummy
Only the winner of each hand scores: the gap between the two deadwood counts, with a bonus for gin or for an undercut. Keep a running total on your score sheet until someone reaches 100, then add the bonuses for the game and for every hand won.
- 2 players
- Ten cards each
- First to 100
- Bonuses at the end
Tabletales is free on iPhone and iPad.
This is the real Scorepad, live. Hand 8 is the bonuses, going in as one sum. Tap any hand to change it.
Gin Rummy
A two-player rummy game where you build sets and runs in a ten-card hand and knock to end the deal once your leftover cards are low, scoring the gap between the two hands, with bonuses for gin and for undercutting a knock, in a game to 100.
Year from BoardGameGeek.
How to play Gin Rummy, in brief
Gin Rummy is for two: you sort 10 cards into sets and runs, then knock to end the hand. First to 100 wins.
- Deal 10 eachTurn the next card face up to start the discard pile; the rest is the stock.
- Draw one, discard oneTake the top card of the stock or the discard pile, then discard. You can’t throw back a discard you just took.
- Build sets and runsA set is 3 or 4 cards of one rank; a run is 3 or more in a row in one suit, ace low. Cards in neither are deadwood.
- Knock or go ginWith 10 or less in deadwood, you may knock and lay your hand down. Your opponent adds what fits to your sets and runs, then you compare. No deadwood at all is gin.
Knock low, go gin, or catch an undercut.
Only the winner of each hand scores, from the gap between the two deadwood counts once the hand is laid down. Going gin, or catching a knocker with an undercut, adds a bonus.
What scores
| Card or result | Points |
|---|---|
| AcePagat and Wikipedia count it low, never 11 or 15 | 1 |
| 2 to 10A 7♣ in your deadwood is 7 | Face value |
| Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| KnockThe knocker is still lower after the lay-offs | The difference |
| GinNo deadwood at all; nobody lays off against it | 20 + their deadwood |
| UndercutThe other player ends up equal or lower | Difference + 10 |
| Game bonusTo whoever reached 100 | 100 |
| Box bonusFor every hand each player won, added at the end | 20 each |
- Count the deadwoodAdd up the cards outside your sets and runs: aces 1, picture cards 10, the rest their number. You may knock with 10 or less.
- Lay off, then compareAfter a knock, the other player lays off what they can on the knocker’s melds. If the knocker is still lower, the knocker scores the difference.
- Gin pays 20 moreWith no deadwood at all, you score 20 plus everything the other player is holding. They may not lay off a single card.
- Watch for the undercutIf the player who did not knock ends up equal or lower, they score the difference plus 10. Gin can never be undercut.
- At 100, add the bonusesThe hand that takes someone to 100 ends the game. That player adds 100, and each player adds 20 for every hand they won. The bonuses never count toward 100.
Hand 7: Mara goes gin, and out.
Mara has 87 and needs 13 more. She melds all ten cards, so you cannot lay off a thing, and your 15 in deadwood all counts for her. This is hand 7 on the Scorepad above.
| Player | What the hand is worth | Hand |
|---|---|---|
| You | Holding K♠ 3♦ 2♣ · no lay-offs against ginOnly the winner scores | 0 |
| Mara | Gin: 7♥ 8♥ 9♥ 10♥ · 4♠ 4♦ 4♣ · J♦ Q♦ K♦Gin bonus, plus all of your deadwood: 20 + 15 | 35 |
Two columns, and the bonuses kept straight.
Tabletales is a scorepad and scrapbook for game night. Type each hand’s points and Tabletales keeps the running totals to 100, then adds the bonuses you type at the end. You work out each knock, gin or undercut, and count the hands won.
- A row for every handSwitch to By hand and type the winner’s points with a 0 for the other player. Tabletales keeps the totals.
- 100 is on the padSet the game to play to 100. The first total past it turns gold, so you both know it is time for the bonuses.
- The bonuses in one last handAdd one last hand and type each player’s bonuses as one total, or the way you count them (100 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 20) and Tabletales adds it up.
- And the night is keptSave it with who played and a photo from the table. Each game gets a history: how often you play it, who with, and who holds the high score.
- Everyone who was there
- Photos from the table
- Gin Rummy, with its scores
Common Gin Rummy scoring mistakes
- Laying off against ginAfter gin, every point of the other hand’s deadwood counts. Lay-offs are only allowed after a knock.
- Missing the undercut on a tieIf the two deadwood counts are equal, the player who did not knock still undercuts: 0 for the difference, plus 10.
- Counting the bonuses toward 100The game bonus and the 20 for each hand won go on after the game is over. They set the margin, not who reached 100.
- Scoring the ace highPagat and Wikipedia count an ace as 1 in gin. It is worth more only in other rummy games.
Gin Rummy scoring, answered
- How do you keep score in gin rummy?
- Only the winner of each hand scores: the difference between the two deadwood counts after a knock, 20 plus the other hand’s deadwood for gin, or the difference plus 10 for an undercut. Keep a running total until someone reaches 100.
- How many points do you get for gin?
- 20, plus the full value of the other player’s deadwood, and they may not lay off any cards. Some tables make the gin bonus 25.
- What is an undercut in gin rummy?
- When the player who did not knock has deadwood equal to or lower than the knocker’s. They score the difference plus a bonus of 10, which some rule sets make 20 or 25.
Gin Rummy score sheet
Print one for the table: two players and twenty hands, with a running total beside every hand and the bonuses at the bottom.
Score another game
Bonus sizes vary: Wikipedia gives 25 for gin, for an undercut and for each hand won, and some tables play to 200 or more. Pagat makes the game bonus 200 when the loser never scored; Bicycle adds 100 for winning every hand. Bicycle’s rules do not give the ace a value; Pagat and Wikipedia make it 1. Rules checked on 19 October 2026 against Bicycle Cards, Pagat and Wikipedia.
Keep score tonight. Keep the night for good.
Tabletales adds up every hand, then saves the whole night: the games, the scores, the photos and who was there.
