Designed for up to four players, a game of Oklahoma Gin is a bit different than other Rummy Games. For one thing, it uses a single deck of standard playing cards with all Jokers removed.

The four suits

 

The four suits
1 point 2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points   6 points 7 points 8 points 9 points 10 points   10 points 10 points 10 points

How to Play

Beginning a game will vary according to the number of players. When it is two people, they are each dealt ten cards, and when it is three or four players, they each receive seven cards. Regardless of the number of players, the remaining cards are laid in the center of the table and one card is turned upward alongside the deck to create the Discard Pile.

A set consists of 3 or more cards of the same rank
OR

 

A run consists of 3 or more consecutive cards of the same suit
OR

The Turn

Turns in Oklahoma Gin will always have two steps – the draw and the discard.

• Drawing is done from the deck or from the top card in the Discard pile. If only 2 last cards are left in the deck, the discard pile is reshuffled and used as the new deck; and
• Discarding is done by adding a new card to the Discard Pile

Ending the Game: this can only be done in one of three possible ways:

• Gin – if a player lays down all of the cards in their hand into legal melds, and has a single card remaining for the Discard Pile, they will bring the game to a close. When this approach is used the opponents cannot layoff any of their cards into the winner’s melds; or
• Knocking – if a player lays down legal melds, and has a deadwood count that is equal to or lesser than ten points the game comes to an end. The player must still make a final discard; or
• Undercutting – if a player knocks it is because they believe their deadwood has the lowest value at the table. Their opponents can lay down their melds on the knocker’s original melds to lower the value of their own deadwood instead.

By adding cards to a Knocker’s melds the players are able to reduce the count or value of the deadwood, which means that they can win by holding cards they know the Knocker needs for their melds.

Should someone use the Undercut method and be wrong in their estimate of the opponents’ deadwood values – meaning that an opponent actually has a lower deadwood count – the opponent will win the round and the Knocker gets hit with 25 Penalty Points.

The Differences

Many players are a bit confused, initially, by the differences between Gin Rummy and Oklahoma Gin. Fundamentally, the basic difference is that the maximum deadwood count for a game of Oklahoma Gin is determined by the starting card drawn. This establishes the total value a player can have in order to Knock. The value of the card is determined by its penalty points. For example, if a face card is drawn prior to the opening of the game then the deadwood can be worth no more than ten. An Ace drawn at the start sets the knocking value to “Gin Only” which means that the deadwood count is zero! Otherwise the deadwood maximum is set at the card’s face value.

How to Payout Oklahoma Gin Quick Games

When a game comes to an end, the Prize Pool is divided between players. The Winner receives 75% of the pool, and the remaining 25% is divided evenly between the opponents as long as they have less than 50 Penalty Points than the winner.

Click here to see an example