Gin Poker

1. Gin Mill Poker Lubbock
2. Gin Mill Poker Run
3. Gin Gambling

The last decade has been good for Matt 'OLD TIME GIN' Stone. He's earned $3.5 million in PokerStars tournament cashes and dozens of outright victories, the second-largest being his $83,000 score winning the Super Tuesday back in August 2012.

Two months after that landmark victory OLD TIME GIN found himself one spot away from a second title. After starting heads-up play with the shorter stack, he got his money in ahead. But he finished runner-up when his opponent rivered a flush a dozen hands in. He earned what was at the time the third-largest cash of his career, but had to put his hopes for a second title on the back burner.

From Gin to Poker. After dropping out of high school, Ungar relied on playing gin rummy to help support his mother and sister. He was quite successful, winning several tournaments and hefty cash prizes. By 1976, Ungar was regarded one of the best gin players in New York. Play Gin Rummy free on Games.com and meld strategy with fun. Create runs in sequence or groups and yell?Gin?

Tonight, five and a half years later, he finally returned to the scene of that disappointment and made the most of the opportunity, walking away with a personal top-ten cash and a second career Super Tuesday title.

OLD TIME GIN enjoyed a relatively breezy path to the final table tonight. He first took over the chip lead with about 50 players left and held one of the bigger stacks until there were two tables remaining. From there he maintained a stack worth about 50 big blinds until viktorrz was eliminated on the bubble, setting the final table line-up:

The start of OLD TIME GIN's third shot at a Super Tuesday title

Seat 1: OLD TIME GIN (603,237 in chips)
$3.5 million in PokerStars cashes
Seat 2: lbd.pkr (1,281,919 in chips)
WCOOP 2017 finalist
Seat 3: I'am_Sound (229,032 in chips)
past SCOOP-Medium champ
Seat 4: Juanki 'B4NKR0LL3R' Vecino (1,406,194 in chips)
finished seventh in the Winter Series Main Event last month
Seat 5: Internett93o (875,610 in chips)
past Sunday Million winner
Seat 6: Kenny 'SpaceyFCB' Hallaert (569,213 in chips)
past Sunday Warm-Up & SCOOP winner, won the 8-1-17 Super Tuesday
Seat 7: Kristen 'krissyb24' Bicknell (993,242 in chips)
2013 WSOP Ladies Event champ
Seat 8: slarki1 (490,477 in chips)
past WCOOP finalist, bubbled last week's Super Tuesday final
Seat 9: Roman 'RomeOpro' Romanovskyi (726,076 in chips)
$4.6 million in PokerStars cashes

I'am_Sound had an uphill battle in trying to top a sixth-place finish in the Super Tuesday two weeks ago. Things started fortuitously enough with A♥A♦ and a double through Kenny 'SpaceyFCB' Hallaert's A♣Q♥.

Then I'am_Sound defended the big blind with Q♦T♥ against OLD TIME GIN's button raise and made top pair on the Q♥3♠5♥ flop. I'am_Sound check-raised to 64,000 chips there and, after OLD TIME GIN called and the 4♣ came on the turn, bet another 77,184. OLD TIME GIN called again, the 7♠ came on the river, and this time I'am_Sound checked. OLD TIME GIN moved all-in and I'am_Sound called, only to see top pair beaten by OLD TIME GIN's wheel straight with A♠2♦. With that I'am_Sound left in ninth.

Gin Mill Poker Lubbock

SpaceyFCB had been left in desperate straits by that earlier loss to I'am_Sound. He had a great opportunity to get back in the game a bit later when he was dealt K♦T♣ in the big blind and Internett93o opened all-in from the small blind with Q♥9♦. SpaceyFCB called and stayed ahead on the flop and turn before Internett93o made a pair of nines on the river of the 8♦A♣5♦4♣9♣ board, ending SpaceyFCB's bid for a second Super Tuesday title in eighth.

The next hour was for the most part played seven-handed. The short stacks were winning when it counted. Roman 'RomeOpro' Romanovskyi got down to just a few big blinds before doubling with Q♣Q♠ and slarki1 did the same with T♣T♠. Kristen 'krissyb24' Bicknell took a few losses during this stretch, including one with pocket fours against RomeOpro's pocket fives, and her stack fell to around 20 big blinds before she tried to steal the blinds and antes, moving all-in from the small blind with J♥3♦. slarki1 called with 7♠7♣ in the big blind for less than eight big blinds but left in seventh when the 2♣A♣K♥J♣Q♦ board gave krissyb24 a pair of jacks.

The next 25 minutes saw lots of small pots with the occasional double-up, first for Internett93o, who made a flush with A♠Q♠ to beat OLD TIME GIN's T♦T♠, and then for OLD TIME GIN, whose A♣8♠ topped Juanki 'B4NKR0LL3R' Vecino's Q♦J♥. That all turned out to be the prologue to a monster three-way pot that boosted OLD TIME GIN to the top of the leader board.

lbd.pkr opened the action with a min-raise to 70,000 under the gun, which was followed by a krissyb24 re-raise to 494,582 on the button and an OLD TIME GIN four-bet to 1,721,440. lbd.pkr snap-called with A♦A♥, a 2-to-1 favorite against the field of OLD TIME GIN's K♥K♣ and krissyb24's 9♣9♦, but finished second in the pot when the board fell K♦3♥T♦5♥6♠ to make three kings for OLD TIME GIN. OLD TIME GIN dragged the 3.97-million-chip pot and krissyb24 left in sixth.

RomeOpro had been making the most of very little throughout the final table and he finally found himself all-in for a bit under 10 big blinds after opening under the gun with K♠T♦ and calling when Internett93o jammed from the big blind with A♥7♥. A pair of tens on the flop yielded to Internett93o's turned aces and sevens as the board came T♥5♦7♦A♣8♦ and RomeOpro exited in fifth.

OLD TIME GIN had a firm advantage now with 63 percent of the chips in play. Two of the other three remaining players soon picked up big starting hands and clashed before the flop, Internett93o with A♠K♠ and lbd.pkr with K♦K♥. Internett93o's chances improved greatly on the 4♠Q♣9♠ flop but that was as good as things got; the 5♦ turn and 5♥ river locked up the 1.8-million-chip pot for lbd.pkr and eliminated Internett93o in fourth.

The question now was who would end up facing OLD TIME GIN heads-up. The answer hung in the balance of three pots played out by lbd.pkr and B4NKR0LL3R.

The latter doubled up early during three-handed play with A♣T♣ against OLD TIME GIN's K♣Q♥, then defended the big blind with K♣2♣ and made a club flush on the same turn card that gave lbd.pkr queens and nines with Q♠9♥. Winning that 2-million-chip pot moved B4NKR0LL3R ahead of lbd.pkr before the two played out the pot that ended lbd.pkr's tournament.

B4NKR0LL3R min-raised with J♠T♥ on the button, lbd.pkr called in the big blind with 8♥6♥, and both checked the 9♥8♣6♦ flop. B4NKR0LL3R called 125,000 chips on the draw after the 4♠ turn and snap-called when lbd.pkr shoved for 573,419 after the Q♣ came on the river. B4NKR0LL3R's queen-high straight was good for the pot and lbd.pkr bowed out in third.

Heads-up play began with both players holding nearly equal stacks

That win moved B4NKR0LL3R ever so slightly into the lead with 3.6 million chips to OLD TIME GIN's 3.57 million as heads-up play began, previewing a hard-fought 50-minute-plus duel. OLD TIME GIN got out to an early lead but then B4NKR0LL3R jammed for two million with T♠T♦ and doubled when the pair held up against OLD TIME GIN's pair of eights and a straight draw that didn't come home. OLD TIME GIN struck back with two million-chip pots in a row but then picked a bad time to bluff; he check-raised out of position with A♥8♦ on a 2♦K♦2♥ flop and then fired off another 1.6 million after the turn and river, only to lose when B4NKR0LL3R turned over J♠2♠ for trip deuces.

That loss left OLD TIME GIN's hopes for a second Super Tuesday title pinned to a 15-big-blind chip stack - just enough, as it turned out. First he jammed on the button with A♦6♠ and doubled to 1.5 million chips against B4NKR0LL3R's Q♣J♠. On the next hand he earned 1.1 million after flopping a flush draw with J♦5♦ and making a pair of jacks on the river. And three hands after that he limped on the button with A♠T♥ and then moved all-in when B4NKR0LL3R raised in the small blind. B4NKR0LL3R called with A♥9♥ but lost out on the 4.2-million-chip pot after the T♣ on the flop gave OLD TIME GIN a pair of tens.

B4NKR0LL3R was far from out of the game, but OLD TIME GIN had control. The two battled for another 20 minutes before B4NKR0LL3R limped in with Q♦Q♠ on the button and then called when OLD TIME GIN jammed with A♥9♠. A nine on the flop and an ace on the turn gave OLD TIME GIN aces and nines, and the K♣ on the river gave him his second career Super Tuesday victory.

Winning this tournament once is tough. To do so twice is the mark of a player who's at ease in a tough field. Congratulations to OLD TIME GIN on another big victory!

2/27/18 Super Tuesday ($1,050 NL Hold'em) results
Entrants: 287
Total prize pool: $287,000
Places paid: 39

1. Matt 'OLD TIME GIN' Stone (Canada) $54,731.14
2. Juanki 'B4NKR0LL3R' Vecino (Morocco) $40,704.52
3. lbd.pkr (Russia) $30,272.81
4. Internett93o (Brazil) $22,514.51
5. Roman 'RomeOpro' Romanovskyi (Ukraine) $16,744.52
6. Kristen 'krissyb24' Bicknell (Canada) $12,453.24
7. slarki1 (Canada) $9,261.74
8. Kenny 'SpaceyFCB' Hallaert (United Kingdom) $6,888.17
9. I'am_Sound (Switzerland) $5,122.86

Gin rummy, or simply gin, is a two-player card game created in 1909 by Elwood T. Baker and his son C. Graham Baker.^[1] It is a variant of rummy. It has enjoyed widespread popularity as both a social and a gambling game, especially during the mid twentieth century, and remains today one of the most widely-played two-player card games.

History[edit]

Magician and writer John Scarne believes gin rummy to have evolved from 19th-century whiskey poker (a game similar to Commerce, with players forming poker combinations^[2]) and to have been created with the intention of being faster than standard rummy but less spontaneous than knock rummy.^[3]

David Parlett finds Scarne's theory to be 'highly implausible', and considers the game of Conquian to be gin rummy's forerunner.^[2]

Deck[edit]

Gin rummy is played with a standard 52-card pack of cards. The ranking from high to low is King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace.

Objective[edit]

The objective in gin rummy is to score points and reach an agreed number of points or more, usually more than 100, before the opponent does.

The basic game strategy is to improve one's hand by forming melds and eliminating deadwood. Gin has two types of meld: Sets of 3 or 4 cards sharing the same rank, e.g. 8♥8♦8♠; and runs of 3 or more cards in sequence, of the same suit, such as 3♥4♥5♥ or more. Deadwood cards are those not in any meld. Aces are considered low—they can form a set with other aces but only the low end of runs (A♠2♠3♠ is a legal run but Q♠K♠A♠ is not). A player can form any combination of melds within their hand; all sets, all runs, or some sets and some runs.

The deadwood count is the sum of the point values of the deadwood cards—aces are scored at 1 point, face cards at 10, and others according to their numerical values. Intersecting melds are not allowed; if a player has a three-card set and a three-card run sharing a common card, only one of the melds counts, and the other two cards count as deadwood. For example; within the five cards 7♣7♠7♦8♦9♦, the seven of diamonds can be included in the set (7♣7♠7♦) or included in the run (7♦8♦9♦), but it cannot be included in both.

Dealing[edit]

Dealership alternates from round to round, with the first dealer chosen by any agreed upon method. The dealer deals 10 cards to each player one at a time starting with their opponent, and then places the next card in the deck face up. This begins the discard pile. The face down pile is known as the stock pile.

Playing[edit]

On the first turn of the round, the non-dealing player has first option of taking the upcard on the discard pile or passing. If the non-dealing player takes the upcard, they must then discard a different card to the discard pile. The player acting second can take the top card from the pile of their choice. However, if the non-dealing player passes the upcard, the dealer is given the opportunity to take the upcard or pass. If the dealer also passes, the non-dealing player must draw from the stock pile, then the next turn and after, players can draw from the pile of their choice.

On each subsequent turn, a player must draw either the (face-up) top card of the discard pile, or the (face-down) top card from the stock pile, and discard one card from their hand onto the discard pile.

Players alternate taking turns until one player ends the round by knocking, going Gin, or until only two cards remain in the stock pile, in which case the round ends in a draw and no points are awarded. The game ends when a player reaches 100 or more points (or another established amount). In tournament rules the game is played in best of five with 250 points per game.^[4]

Knocking[edit]

In standard gin, only a player with 10 or fewer points of deadwood may knock. Knocking with 0 points of deadwood is known as going Gin or having a Gin hand, while knocking with deadwood points is known as going down.^[5]

To knock, the knocking player discards as usual, announces knocking (generally by simply placing a discard face down), and the hand is laid out with the melds clearly indicated and deadwood separated. The other ('defending') player is then entitled to lay out any melds in their hand and can then lay off any of their remaining deadwood cards that fit into the knocking player's melds, provided that the knocking player does not have a gin hand.

For example, the knocking player has a meld of three Kings. The defending player's deadwood has a king. The player can lay off that king, reducing the deadwood count by ten. The knocking player can never lay off their deadwood into the defending player's melds. Once a player knocks or declares gin the round is over and scores are tallied, players cannot draw.

The knocking player then subtracts their deadwood points from the defending player's deadwood points. The result is the number of points the knocking player receives. An undercut occurs if a player knocks and the defending player's deadwood points are less than or equal to the knocking player's. In this case the defending player receives an undercut bonus (usually 25 points) plus the difference in deadwood points. If the defending player has less or equal deadwood to the knocking player's deadwood after laying off any of their deadwood, then it is still a valid undercut.

Gin[edit]

If all 10 cards in a player's hand fit into melds and thereby the player has no deadwood, they can choose to go Gin in which case the round ends and the player going Gin receives a Gin bonus of 25 points (or another established amount) plus any deadwood points in the opponent's hand. The defending opponent can only lay out their melds and cannot lay off any deadwood into the melds of an opponent that has declared Gin. A player can go Gin with a hand of three or fewer melds as long as all cards fit into a meld. Players can also have an 11 card gin, see Big Gin Variant below.

Big Gin[edit]

Gin hands normally consist of 10 cards. However, if a player chooses to draw so that 11 cards fit into melds, they can declare Big Gin in which case the player receives a Big Gin bonus of 31 points (or another established amount, commonly 50 points instead of the standard 31 points, depending on rule set) plus any deadwood in the opponent's hand.

Scoring[edit]

Gin Mill Poker Run

Aces are scored at 1 point, face cards at 10, and all other cards are scored at their numerical values. The number of points awarded for bonuses may vary from region to region. No matter what the bonus amounts are, points are scored in Gin for the following:

Knock points

After a player knocks, and the layoffs are made, the knocking player receives a score equal to the difference between the two hands. For example, if a player knocks with 8, and the defender has 10 deadwood points in their hand after laying off, the knocking player receives 2 points for the hand. If a player is able to knock before any cards are accepted, it is considered a misdeal.

Gin bonus

After going gin, a player receives a bonus of 25 points plus the entire count of deadwood in the opponent's hand. There is no chance to lay off when a player goes gin.

Undercut (or underknocking)

Occurs when the defending player has a deadwood count lower than or equal to that of the knocking player (this can occur either naturally or by laying off after a knock). In this case, the defender scores an undercut bonus of 25 points plus the difference in deadwood in the knocking player's hand. (In some rule sets, the bonus is only 10 or 20 points, or is not awarded in case of a tie.)

Game bonus

Once a player has acquired 500 points (or some other agreed-upon number) the game is over, and that player receives a game bonus of 100 points (or another agreed-upon number).

Line bonus or box bonus

Added at the end of the game. For every hand a player won during the game, 25 points is added to their score.

Big gin

Prior to knocking, if all 11 cards in a player's hand form a legal gin, the player can retain the extra card as part of their hand, and is awarded 31 points plus entire count of deadwood in their opponent's hand. (In some rule sets players may be awarded 50 points or another established amount plus the entire count of deadwood in the opponent's hand)

Shutout bonus

If a game is completed with the winner having won every hand, the points for each hand are doubled before adding the line bonus.

In some variations, if the winning player beats the losing player by exactly 50 points, the winning player must forfeit the match.

Variations[edit]

Straight gin[edit]

In straight gin, players are required to play until one of them can go gin. Knocking is not allowed. Scoring and rules remain the same as standard gin rummy.

Mahjong gin[edit]

Similar to straight gin, knocking is not allowed. However, more than one card may be taken, in order, from the top of the discard pile. If more than one card is taken, the lowest position card taken must be used in a hand: e.g. <bottom> 8♠3♥5♥ <top of discard> 8♠ is the lowest position card and must be used in a hand; continue with one discard). Cards are shown to the table, with opponents being able to add on to straights of the same suit or finish a three of a kind with the fourth card for points. After a player has gin, points are added, with cards on the table being added up and cards in hand being subtracted. The player who gins receives 25 additional points, 2 through 9 = 5 points, 10 through K = 10 points, A = 15 points.

Oklahoma gin[edit]

In this version of gin rummy, the value of the first upcard is used to determine the maximum count at which players can knock. If the upcard is a spade, the hand will count double. So if the first upcard was a 4, you can knock and go out with only 4 or fewer points in your hand; and if the card was 4♠, you would get double points that hand.

Another version in this variation (mostly in match play) and in Hollywood gin (see below), a second deck of cards will be used to determine the knock value of a hand. The knock value card will be dealt from the bottom and turned over on top. Above rules apply but both players are dealt ten cards with the last hand winner picking first from the deck.

Hollywood gin[edit]

Gin Gambling

This is a scoring style, not a rules change to the game of gin. In Hollywood gin, scoring is kept for three different games at the same time. A player's first win will be recorded in their column in Game One. A player's second win will be recorded in their columns for both Game One and Game Two. Their third win will be recorded in their column for all three games. Hands are played until all three games are finished.

Tedesco gin[edit]

Similar to Oklahoma gin, except aces can be used high or low, and runs can be formed 'around the corner' (such as K♠A♠2♠). If you are caught with an unmelded ace, it counts as 15 points against you. Hollywood scoring of three games to 200 when playing head-to-head or with two-person teams. Three-person teams play to 300, 25 points extra if all three teammates win. 50 points for four-person team, etc. This is a more complex gin game for all levels of player.

Single match[edit]

When a single match is to be played, the players will continue to play rounds until one player has 100 points or more. This player wins the match.

Multi-match[edit]

In multi-match games, match scores are reset to zero with the start of each match, while game scores accumulate until a predetermined winning score is reached, perhaps 500 or higher. Each individual match ends when one player scores 100 match points. At the end of the match, players' match scores are credited toward their game scores, as well as:

• 25 game points for each individual round won,
• 100 game points to the winner of the match, and
• 100 bonus game points to the match winner if the loser won no rounds.

Notable players[edit]

• Stu Ungar, widely regarded as the greatest gin rummy player of all time, was described by many as having a near clairvoyant ability to see his opponents' hands. 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. (Ungar eventually switched to poker.) ^[6][7]
• Oswald Jacoby, best known as a contract bridge and backgammon champion, also played high-stakes gin rummy and wrote several books on the game.
• Ernie Kovacs, the comedian and television pioneer, published a book in 1962 called How to Talk at Gin.

Fictional characters

• The villain Auric Goldfinger cheats at gin rummy in the key introduction scene of the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964), with the help of an accomplice looking at the opponent's cards through binoculars.^[8] The film script changed the game to gin rummy from two-handed Canasta in the source novel by Ian Fleming.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'C.G. Baker, Helped Devise Gin Rummy'. New York Times. May 17, 1950. Retrieved May 22, 2008. C. Graham Baker, writer and producer of motion pictures and co-creator of the card game gin rummy, died today at his home in Reseda in the San Fernando Valley. ...
2. ^ ^ab'Parlett's Historic Card Games: Gin Rummy - David Parlett'.
3. ^Scarne, John (2008). Scarne on Card Games: How to Play and Win at Poker, Pinochle, Blackjack, Gin and Other Popular Card Games. Courier Dover Publications. p. 37. ISBN978-0-486-43603-6.
4. ^Hainline, John; Hainline, Lily Ann (2018). 'Gin Rummy Rules for Tournament Play'(PDF). ginrummytournaments.com. Palm Desert: Gin Rummy Association. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
5. ^'Glossary of gin rummy terms'. rummytalk.com.
6. ^Ungar, Stu (June 29, 2006). One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stu Ungar (documentary). USA: Szymanski, Al.
7. ^Michael Konik (April 1, 1999). 'The Gin Mill'. Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
8. ^'Goldfinger (1964) - Miami hotel pool scene'. Retrieved July 18, 2019 – via YouTube.

External links[edit]

• Rules of gin rummy at Pagat.com