How and Where to Play Oklahoma Gin
Oklahoma Gin is one of the more popular variants of Rummy and is played online for real money at the world’s largest online Rummy website, RummyRoyal.com.
About Oklahoma Gin – Game History
Unlike traditional rummy, Oklahoma Gin is played without laying down matching cards, called “melds”, until the end of the round. For those familiar with Gin Rummy, Oklahoma Gin is very similar. According to an article by David Patlett, Gin Rummy was devised by Elwood T. Baker” at the suggestion of his son in 1909, and the name was a play on the “alcoholic affinity of rum and gin”.
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It has also been said, elsewhere, that Oklahoma Gin was named after the inventor’s favorite drink, and has been around since the 19th century in New york. This “saying”, of course, would not apply to Elwood T. Baker, a Whist teacher, nor would it apply to his son. People say many things, maybe after imbibing in their alcohol of choice. Be that as it may, it is a fun and challenging variation of rummy.
How to Play Oklahoma Gin
Oklahoma Gin is played with a standard 52 card deck without jokers. Aces in this game are always low and always count as one. The object of the game is to have as low a value of cards that do not match, called “deadwood”, at the end of play, whether you initiate the end of play or not. This is explained below. Play begins with the deal – if there are two players, they each receive ten cards, and when there are three or four players, they each receive seven. Draw and discard is an apt phrase here, because that is how the game is played until the end of the round, at which time the round ends in one of three ways:
1. Gin – a player forms melds until his final card which he lays down in the Knock area. Once this is done, the other players determine the value of the deadwood cards left in their hands after they lay down what melds they had formed and what additions they can apply to the Gin caller’s original melds.
2. Knock – a player forms melds with the majority of his cards and his deadwood is below the amount he is allowed, which varies according to the first upturned card in the discard pile
3. Undercut – the same conditions as above, except, if an opponent winds up with a lower deadwood count than the knocker, he has “undercut” him. In that case, the player who knocked suffers an additional penalty of 25 points in addition to the card value of the knocker’s deadwood count.
The main difference, and it is important to remember, is that in Oklahoma Gin, the maximum value of deadwood cards in a knocker’s hand is determined by the original card turned up to form the discard pile. So, if that card is, say, a seven, then that is the deadwood limit – if a nine, then the deadwood is limited to nine.
An interesting point is that a player may add his deadwood (non matched cards) to the knocker’s original meld even if another player has already done so. He cannot add his deadwood to another player’s addition to the knocker’s meld. This can be demonstrated very easily. The knocker lays down the meld of 6H – 7H – 8H. The other players may add a 5H or a 9H from their deadwood without regard to what any other player adds. But if another player adds both the 5H and the 9H, no one after may add to that 5H or 9H, as they can only build on the knocker.
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To get started playing Oklahoma Gin online for real money visit the RummyRoyal website.
