The offensive and defensive value of the cards is in direct relation to how you are appraising your hand. You can immediately tell when you appraise your hand whether or not you need to take the offensive or defensive play against your opponent.

With exception of actual melds, the offensive characteristics of a hand are developed by the number of opportunities that are afforded to you with any combination of two or more cards. A combination such as a King and Queen, or an Ace and Two offers only one way to complete a meld. A combination of two Kings or two 7’s offers two offensive possibilities, as does a 7 ♦ 8 ♦ combination. However if you have a 3 ♣ 5 ♣, it again only offers one possibility.

The run combination is considered slightly more valuable than two pair because once a third card is added for the meld, the run combination will now offer two ways to obtain the fourth card whereas a meld of three Kings for example will offer only one fourth-card possibility....

We have looked at the basics of appraising your hand in order to recognize what type of player you need to be, and whether or not you will have a winning or losing hand, but there is so much more to it. This is where your average play can become expert play.

Here is your following hand with a knock card of 6:

10 ♦, 10 ♣, 10 ♥, 8 ♠, 7 ♠, 6 ♠, K ♣, 5 ♦, 3 ♠, 2 ♥

This is another example of a winning knock hand in which you have two melds to start but the other mismatched cards do no total within the knock count. In this case, it is just a question of picking low cards or add-ons to knock.

The vast majority of gin players will discard their highest cards first, so that will tell you that you will not be picking up low cards right in the beginning, unless you pick them up from the stock. It will give you an idea that you may have to go more than the ideal of 5 or 6 picks before you can knock. When the knock card is in the 5 to 7 range,...

One of the most important factors in playing better Gin Rummy is being able to evaluate your own hand, both at the time you received the deal, and also after the first four or five cards are played. You need to recognize if your hand is one that tends to lend itself towards a more offensive type of lay or if you stand a better chance of winning your hand without being aggressive. Perhaps, your hand lends itself primarily to a more defensive type of play and this will result in the best chance of winning the hand. Only you can know this, and you should recognize it relatively quickly in the hand.

You also have to know if you have an obvious losing hand. You then need to figure out how to minimize your losses. As the play progresses and as the pattern of your hand begins to change you need to be aware of these changes and how you should alter your style of play to suit the condition at any given point during the play.

When you examine your hand as the cards are being...

Planning your strategy after knowing what your knock card is extremely important. Before you even pick up a card, you should know generally if you need to play offensively or defensively. You should also know exactly what you should hold in your hand before you go any further. This could not be more important then when the knock card is an Ace and you need to play to gin.

Melding all 10 cards can be difficult but not impossible, especially if you know where you need to begin. You already know that you can do this by making 3 three-card melds, and 1 four-card melds. This is the most usual way in which people will reach gin. It is wise when considering this that you also take into account that it is easier to reach gin by melding runs that have the ability to be added onto. For example, it is easier to go gin if you have a 9, 10, J, instead of 3 Jacks.

Since it takes much longer to develop 10 melded cards than developing 6 melded cards, you must play the hand with...

Now that you have your hand arranged to your satisfaction, a look at your cards should indicate to you whether you have what appears to be a winning or losing hand. In this determination, you need to look closely at the knock card value.

If the knock card is high, such as an 8, 9, or 10, then the hand could be ended very quickly. This must be kept in mind when determining what kind of hand you have. If the knock card is an in-between card such as a 6 or a 7, the play of the hand will change slightly. If the knock card is a low card under 5, the strategy will chance drastically because in all likelihood you will need 9 melded cards before a knock can be declared. When the knock card is an Ace, and the game must be played to a gin, the strategy is dramatically different.

Frequently, a hand that appears to be a winning type of hand for a high knock may be a very bad hand for gin or a low knock. Keep in mind that in approximately half of gin hands the knock card will...

Even before a card is dealt, two of the most important considerations of gin rummy strategy come into play. They are the score, and the knock card value. The score situation is the most important factor in the way the hand is played. It will help to determine whether you should play regular non-freak hands with offense or defense. Before that, your strategy starts with simply picking up your cards and getting to know what you have in your hand.

After you are dealt the cards, and before you play your first card, you should arrange the cards in some sort of order. It is the first step in the planning of strategy for the upcoming play. Most experts pick up the cards they are dealt one at a time, sorting them as they go. This way you can memorize them and figure out which way you want them to match so you can get the most out of your score. Take this time to appraise the hand and really study them to avoid making costly mistakes.

When arranging the cards in your...

Gin Rummy is undoubtedly a game of skill. It has three phases of play; the beginning or opening play, middle play, and late play. Although each has its own individual important aspects, the opening plays are some of the most meaningful to the game, and also the most skillful.

In gin your moves are directed primarily toward making your opponent do what you want him to do in order to provide you with the necessary opportunities to win the game. In advanced gin play this is even truer. It is quite possible, and most probable that an expert player is directing his play in a manner to cause an opponent to do exactly what he wants him to do.

Gin hands are often divided into two categories; freaks and regular hands. The vast majority are the regular or average hands in which you see time and time again. Outside of the average hands are the “freak” hands. These are the hands that call for out and out aggressive or offensive play, or out and out defensive play. This...