There are several variations to the game of Gin Rummy. Some are subtle tweaks of the game, others a significant departures from the regular play.

Straight Gin

This is gin, without knocking. Two players compete until one of them goes Gin. Straight gin is often played as a series of seven games. The first player to go Gin four times will win the series.

Also, instead of each player receiving 10 cards with an upcard displayed, the dealer will deal his opponent 11 cards. The opponent then begins play by discarding.

Oklahoma Gin

In this version of the game, the upcard determines the knock number. So, if the upcard is a face card or a ten, players may knock when they get to 10 or less. If the upcard is numbered, that's the number of points you must get down to before you can knock.

If the upcard is an Ace, there is no knocking that hand. You must play to a Gin.

In many circles an upcard of spades will also mean that the point values for the hand are doubled.

Hollywood Gin

This is a method of scoring a Gin game. When playing Hollywood Gin, you'll actually be keeping score for three different games at a time.

Set up the scoresheet for three games, as in the image to the left. Now you can play a hand of Gin, and place the score of the winner in the appropriate place for "Game 1".

The first time you win a hand, that score is placed in "Game 1". When you win your second hand, you can begin scoring in "Game 2".

Actually, when you win your second hand, the score is placed in both the Game 2 sections of the scoresheet, and the Game 1 section.

In the following example on the left, Player Pete wins the first hand of Gin, scoring 10 points in the process. That is the first hand he has won, and the score is placed in the "Game 1" section of the scoresheet.

Player Pete also won the second hand, scoring 4 points in that game. If you look at the scorecard, he will have 10 points for the first hand in Game 1 and 4 points for the second hand he won. Those 4 points from the second hand are also added to the Game 2 total.

Winning the frist hands in a Hollywood Gin match certainly give you an advantage over your opponent. You cannot begin scoring in all three Games until you've won three hands of Gin.

In our example, Pete wins the third hand, getting 12 points. Those 12 points are added to all three Games. Every hand we wins from here on in will score in all three games, until someone wins one of those games.

In the fourth hand of the match, John wins 29 points. John receives credit in Game 1 for this hand.

Currently, John is winning Game 1, and losing Games 2 and 3. Even though John managed a bigger win in his first hand, he hasn't opened scoring in Games 2 or 3. So, that big win only helps in Game 1. By opening with small wins in the first three hands, Pete gives himself a chance to score in all three Games with every hand for the rest of the match.



First To Knock

This is a variation of Gin I've seen online. Each hand is scored on its own, and there is no running "game score". A hand is played until someone knocks, and whoever has the better hand after the layoff wins.

Gin for 3 Players

I've seen several sets of rules for playing Gin with three players.

Chouette
I've seen this game described, but I couldn't find any internet information on a Gin Chouette. I was only able to find a description of a Backgammon Choette.

The idea is to take three players, and break them into two sides. One man is said to be "in the box", and acting alone against the other two. The two men comprise a team, with the team captain playing the hand, and the other team member acting as counsel.

To begin the game, cards are drawn to see who takes which role. The highest card is the man in the box, the second highest captains the team, and the lowest sits out of play providing counsel for the team.

At the end of the hand, if the man in the box wins, the teammates switch roles.

If the team wins, the winning captin goes into the box, and the other teammate is promoted to captain to play against him. The losing player falls from his place in the box to the sidelines where he is the team counselor.

Individual Play
In this take on the game, players draw cards to see who sits. Low card is idle.

Players then play a hand of Gin. The loser of the hand sits out the next hand. Score is kept, and only the players playing have a chance to score in any one round.

Simultaneous Play
All three players participate in the hand. Players draw cards to seat themselves, with the highest card being the dealer, and the next highest sitting to his left.

During their turn, players can choose from either the stock pile, or either of the two opponents discards.

At the end of the hand, the winner scores the difference between his count, and the combined counts of the two opponents.

There is no bonus for undercutting. If a player ties the knocker, the knocker loses 20 points, and the player that ties wins the hand.

When it comes to laying off, players can only lay off on the knocking player's cards.

The Gin bonus is 40 points.

The game is played to 200.

Gin for Four or More - Partnership Gin


Parntership Gin is a way for Four or More players to compete against each other. This version of the game works well with even numbers of players because the participants are split into two different teams. Players remain on a team for the duration of the contest.

Score is kept on a partnership level. So, if 3 sets of players square off, and the first hand ends with the following results . . .

then the Red team scores 8 points for the round. Although I've seen written rules that award the box score to the winner of the round, box bonuses are not awarded for games played at the World Series of Gin Rummy. I think that's a note worth mentioning.

Sit and Go Tournaments

The idea of a sit and go tournament is that a tournament table is waiting, and as soon as the seats at the table are filled, it begins. There is no set time for the start of the tournament, it starts "when everybody's ready".

This is something I've only ever seen online.