Sport and Games Atlas

How The Game Is Played
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Game

Gin Rummy

Matching and Shedding Card Games

Gin rummy is a two-player card game descended from the broader rummy family, in which each player tries to form their ten-card hand into sets and runs while drawing and discarding one card per turn. A player may end a round early by knocking once the total value of their unmatched cards falls at or below a set limit, scoring the difference against the opponent's unmatched cards, with a bonus for going gin by matching the entire hand. The game is credited to Elwood T. Baker, a whist and bridge instructor in New York, around 1909, and it became one of the most popular two-player card games of the twentieth century.

Facts
Origin Year
1909 1
Originating Region
United States (New York) 1
Game Type
Card game, rummy family, two-player 1
Governing Body
No governing body; the game is organized through casino and club tournament play rather than a governing federation. 1
Classification
Player Count
Two-Player 1
Sport
Game Type (category)
Card Game 1
Gin Rummy
Filter Results1 entry
Connections

Ancestor Of

Indian Rummy, Games
Source Indian Rummy (Wikipedia)

Associated With

Rummy, Games
Source Rummy, Wikipedia

Derived From

Rummy, Games

Gin Rummy, developed in the early 20th century United States, is a two-player variant of Rummy.

Source The Oxford Guide to Card Games
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Gin rummy
Wikipedia
  • Lead section, first sentence
    Gin rummy, or simply gin, is a two-player card game variant of Rummy.
  • History section, first paragraph
    Gin rummy was created in 1909 by Elwood T. Baker and his son C. Graham Baker.
  • History section, third paragraph
    Ungar's almost total dominance of the game during the 1970s and 1980s is thought to have been a factor in the decline of gin rummy as a tournament game in Las Vegas and other gambling venues.
  • entity record, description lead (player-count)
    Gin rummy is a two-player card game descended from the broader rummy family, in which each player tries to form their ten-card hand into sets and runs while drawing and discarding one card per turn. A player may end a round early by knocking once the total value of their unmatched cards falls at or below a set limit, scoring the difference against the opponent's unmatched cards, with a b
View the Source
Wikidata: Gin Rummy
Wikidata Q11082926, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Rummy, Wikipedia
Associated With: Rummy, Related games section, gin rummy
Quote, Associated With: Rummy, Related games section, gin rummy
Although in North America the word rummy is often used interchangeably for gin rummy, the term is applicable to a large family of games, including canasta, mahjong and Rummikub.
View the Source
Indian Rummy (Wikipedia)
Ancestor Of: Indian Rummy, Lead, second sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Indian Rummy, Lead, second sentence
It may be considered a cross between Rummy 500 and Gin Rummy
View the Source

Take a Related Quiz

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.