Gambling terms, explained straight

Card Games

Gin rummy hands

A gin rummy hand is a hand in gin rummy where all cards are arranged into valid melds with no deadwood, also called going gin.

Deadwood
0 points in a gin hand1
Knock threshold
10 points or less of deadwood to knock1
Gin bonus
20 points in standard rules2

Key points

  • A player goes gin by melding every card in hand into sets or runs, leaving no unmatched cards1.
  • Going gin earns a 20-point bonus on top of the opponent's deadwood count in many rule sets2.
  • A gin hand is distinct from a knock, which allows up to 10 deadwood points1.

Where this term is used

Card games Gin rummy The card game itself, not a specific hand state. Card games Gin vs gin rummy Clarifies the difference between the term gin and the game gin rummy. Card games Rummy hands General hand types in rummy games, including melds and deadwood. Card games Rummy vs gin rummy vs rummy 500 Compares three popular rummy variants. Card games Rummy rules Core rules for standard rummy games. Card games Gin rummy rules (UK) Gin rummy rules specific to UK play.

Sources

  1. Gin Rummy - Card Game Rules pagat.com Defines gin hand, knock threshold, and deadwood rules.
  2. Gin Rummy - Rolands Spiele - Pagat scheicher.pagat.com Provides the 20-point gin bonus figure.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.