Essential terms

Gin Rummy Glossary

The same concise definitions Gus uses while teaching the game.

Use this glossary when a rule or scoring term is unfamiliar. These definitions match the teaching prompts in the game.

Deadwood
Cards in your hand that are not part of a meld. Their point values count against you.
Meld
A set or run of at least three cards. Melded cards do not count as deadwood.
Run
Three or more consecutive cards of the same suit, or the same color in a four-color theme.
Set
Three or four cards of the same rank.
Stock
The face-down pile. Draw here when you do not take the top card from the discard pile.
Discard pile
The face-up pile. You may take only its top card, and you cannot immediately discard that same card.
Knock
End the hand with 10 or fewer deadwood points. The defender may lay off cards before scoring.
Gin
End the hand with zero deadwood. Gin earns a bonus and does not allow layoffs.
Layoff
A defender adds deadwood cards to the knocker's melds before scoring.
Undercut
The defender ties or beats the knocker's deadwood after layoffs and earns the undercut bonus.