Challenging the Official Rules in Gin Rummy
Blogroll No Comments »There are going to always be two parts of the Gin Rummy Rules that people have an evenly decided different opinion on. First is looking through the discards. Many people wonder whether or not you should be allowed to look at the cards in the discard pile, other than the last one that you see. Although the amateur Gin Rummy players think this is a ridiculous point of contention among players, the experienced Gin Rummy players believe strongly that being permitted to look back improves and speeds up the game.
The experts contend that the game requires a great deal more skill than a contest of sheer memory. They also believe that just about every good card player can learn how to memorize every discard and even the exact order in which those discards were made. However, this act of memorizing would slow up the play considerably because even the best player would have to stop to do some mental reconstruction of the cards. Also, it would make the game more of a test of routine mental labor then one of skill and imagination. Looking back at the previous discards makes the game more lighthearted and pleasurable. It also permits the loss of focus a bit in favor of an exchange of banter every now and again. The experts who feel this way are perfectly willing to give up some of their edge over the weaker player in permitting the looking back at discards.
Another rule of contention among players is the matter of whether or not you should be permitted to play off of cards on the melds of an opponent who has ginned you. The chief argument of those who prefer that this not be permitted is that the reward for Gin should be increased as it would be on many hands, which would increase the incentive to play for Gin and getting more variety in the game.
This argument is valid according to most, in the knock for 10-game, but does not hold well in variations in which extra boxes or other bonuses are given for ginning. There the incentives already exist. Some feel strongly that there is no reason to penalize the player who being dealt a band hand, has put up a heroic defensive battle. He properly keeps the cards he knows are important, in a gallant effort to make the hand go to the wall. He also masterfully keeps other cards which he doesn’t know for sure his opponent can use, but correctly infers will help the opponent. The question then remains as to why should this defender, when his opponent luckily picks up his one remaining Gin card from the wall, have to pay not only the box but 25 extra points, the extra bonuses if applicable, but also all the points for the players he has held up.
There is a big disagreement on this one, and the truth is, most players adapt to the style they want. If you don’t like which way a particular group is playing, then play with a group that you like the rules of. Don’t make either of these rules a big issue, because you will not only not enjoy the game, but the others won’t enjoy it either.