Title: Rules And Variations Word Count: 704 Summary: After the deal has been completed, the non- dealer may pick up the knock card and add it to his hand. If he refuses the knock card, the dealer may pick up the knock card and add it to his hand. If both players refuse the knock card, the non- dealer draws the top card from the turned-down deck and adds it to his hand. Whichever player has made the opening play then discards a card from his hand face up in the discard slot of the card tray (the slot in which the knock card was placed). Keywords: gin rummy, free gin rummy, rummy Article Body: After the deal has been completed, the non- dealer may pick up the knock card and add it to his hand. If he refuses the knock card, the dealer may pick up the knock card and add it to his hand. If both players refuse the knock card, the non- dealer draws the top card from the turned-down deck and adds it to his hand. Whichever player has made the opening play then discards a card from his hand face up in the discard slot of the card tray (the slot in which the knock card was placed). Thereafter each player in turn completes a play by adding either the top card from the turned- down deck (sometimes called the stock) or the top card from the discard pile to his hand, and discarding a card from his hand. The player may discard the same card he has just drawn from the stock. At the start and completion of each play, the player should have ten cards in his hand. Only the top card in the discard pile should be visible at any time. Once a player has lifted a card from either the stock or the discard pile, he is considered to have made a play and must now discard to complete his play. Completion of the Hand Play continues until (a) a player knocks; (b) a player reaches gin; or (c) neither player knocks or goes gin, and it would be necessary to draw the next to last (fifty-first) card from the stock in order to continue play; at this point the game ends in a draw, and neither player receives any score. The Point Count Matched cards count zero points; unmatched cards from Ace through 10 count the face value of the card; and picture cards count 10 each. Matched cards are cards which form part of a meld. A meld consists of three or more cards of the same rank (such as three 5s or four Jacks) or three or more cards of the same suit in unbroken sequence (as 5-6-7 of diamonds or 9-10-Jack-Queen of spades). If an Ace is used in a sequence, it can only be used as low card (such as Ace-2-3); if a King is used in a sequence, it can only be used as high card (such as Jack-Queen-King). No card can be used in more than one meld (for instance the 4 of hearts cannot be used in a set of three 4s and a sequence of 4-5-6 of hearts at the same time.) Knock or Gin A player who is able to end the hand after drawing a card announces his intention to knock or gin and the total point count of his unmatched cards (unless it is gin), lays down his hand arranged into individual melds and unmatched cards, and discards the eleventh card face down on the discard pile. A player may knock when, after drawing but before discarding, his unmatched cards total the value of the knock card or less, exclusive of the card he intends to discard. If the opponent has any unmatched cards which can be added to the knocker’s meld, he may lay off such cards and they are no longer treated as unmatched cards. (However, layoffs may not be made in the case of gin.) If the opponent’s total count of unmatched cards (after layoffs) is equal to or less than the knocker’s total count, the opponent is credited with an undercut. If a player makes an illegal knock, the game continues except that the cards of the illegal knocker are exposed to the view of his opponent for the remainder of the hand and he must knock as soon as he is able to. Scoring Toward Game 1. If the player who knocks has a lower unmatched point count than his opponent, he wins the hand, and score for the hand is the difference in their unmatched point counts. 2. If the player who knocks has an unmatched point count equal to or higher than his opponent, the opponent wins the hand and receives the difference (if any) in the point counts, plus a bonus of 25 points for an undercut. H is also credited with one extra box.