Temperament in gin rummy is a very important aspect of the game. Many players do not have the temperament to handle the competition of a “big” game. They may become nervous and never take full advantage of the possibilities available to them. They may tighten up their play and can’t seem to play to their full capabilities. The expert player is one that is considered to have ice water in his veins, meaning he never gets put off his game by nervousness or fear.

In money games it is very important to not get into a game that you cannot afford. This alone causes you to tighten up and play in fear of losing, rather than playing your game. A social player is one that usually plays for 1 cent a point. These are the people that don’t concentrate too heavily on the score, and plays free and easy, and usually wins. When that same person decides to take on a 20 cent per point game, he may turn into a completely different player. Since they are no longer relaxed because...

The average gin player has a very specific rhythm when playing his hand, although they may not notice that they have one. If it is not obvious to them, then it is best for you to take advantage of it, and quickly. The rhythm consists of two major factors:

1. The time involved in picking his cards from the deck and in making discards – A player will generally allow a certain amount of time to elapse between his first seven or eight picks, as well as the discards. During the next seven or eight plays the time span is a bit longer. This decision time usually becomes longer as a player gets closer to the bottom of the deck or the end of the game. These time changes are a clue to an expert opponent. He can then determine whether or not a certain pick has been extremely beneficial to the player, or whether it has created potential problems for the player. This is the type of information a gin player should avoid giving, but loves to get. The expert player can then deduct by...

In addition to the aggressive player and the defensive player, there are other types of players, more often known as the average players. These are the players that over time are extremely easy to beat because they rarely mix up their game. Again, mixing up your game is one of the most important parts of being an expert player.

An average pattern of play consists of following a definite plan of action when playing gin rummy. They continue to follow that pattern, regardless of how their opponents play. The average player is the one who can be counted on to throw their highest unmatched card early in the game. They invariably try to bring their count down to as low as possible, as quickly as possible, by throwing their highest cards first. They then usually follow that by throwing their next highest card, often in sequence to the first.

For example, the average player might start by throwing his King, and then following it up on the next discard with a Queen. However,...

A person who is considered to be a defensive player is often the easiest player to beat. That is because, although the defensive player will always minimize his losses when the cards are running bad for him, he will also minimize his chances of winning under any normal circumstances.

The defensive player is one who has a tendency to knock whenever he has the opportunity. Rarely does it matter to him whether or not he should go for gin, or whether he should try to underknock, it only matters that they end the game with a winning score. Not to say that this doesn’t work all the time, but the count will probably be minimal when they win so it will essentially take them much longer to win a game. This also gives the aggressive player a chance to catch up by getting a high score in any given hand.

A defensive player does have a chance against the aggressive player in the way that if he continues to knock while the opponent is constantly trying for gin, it will inevitably...

In the previous article we discussed the extreme aggressive player, but rather than just learn the basic extreme definition it is important to learn how an aggressive player might generally play. Generally means that although they may mix up their game a bit, chances are they will play aggressively most of the time.

The aggressive player is a person who most often goes for gin. They are not people who tend to knock; rather they would rather have gin or the possibility of underknocking you. If a person is 100% aggressive, they tend to suffer tremendously in situations when the score is against them. He will also suffer in the game in which the cards are running against him.

There is a time though when aggressive play is needed however. This is based primarily on the condition of the score and on the way the cards are running. If the points to be won on a given hand would mean more for you than for your opponent then the odds say to play this hand more aggressively....

Every gin rummy player, including yourself, has a certain type of pattern, and a favorite type of play that he generally follows. For the person who is trying to move from being a beginner player to being a good player they must first quickly determine what type and style of player you are up against. This alone will give you a distinct advantage in playing that game. The questions you want to ask are:

• Is your opponent primarily an aggressive or defensive player?
• What is their general play pattern?
• Do they knock or play to gin more often?

Over the years, the average gin player will become predominantly either an aggressive or defensive player. This may be out of habit, or by desire, but most people take on a certain role. Over any given session, they will invariably follow one of these two playing patterns with occasional exceptions based on individual hands, but for the most part a player’s pattern of play is mostly fixed and very readable....

Every player over a certain period of time develops his or her own style of play when playing Gin Rummy. The question then becomes is if that style of play is considered to be average or expert play. To be a skillful player you must be able to read your opponent’s style, and you must be able to change up your style of play so that it is never read. That is what will make you an expert player. There are three major elements of Gin Rummy that you need to master to be known as a skillful or expert player. They include:

• Mathematics – Gin doesn’t require you to be an expert in math, just in the understanding of the odds, whether in your favor or against you. You must understand the law of probabilities as well as the value of scoring, and a thorough understanding of scoring and counts.
• Memory – It is extremely important in this game that you realize the importance of a well-trained memory. If you simply don’t have the memory, or the skill to be able to...

When you are playing the game of gin rummy, it is relatively easy to recognize who is a beginner player, a good player, and an expert player. Can you recognize which one you are however? Let’s take a look at a specific hand in which you can see the differences between the beginner, the good player, and the expert player.

For this example we will be holding the cards of:
8 ♣, 7 ♣, 6 ♣, 3 ♦, 2 ♦, A ♦, K ♠, K ♥, J ♥, 10 ♥

There is only eight cards remaining in the unused portion of the stock, and it is our pick. No one is on a schneid, either side can go out in the game by ginning their hand, and there is no safe count on either side. In addition we also know that our opponent is holding either six or seven melded cards. We also know the following:

• He does not have queens since 2 queens were earlier discarded
• He does not have 9’s since 2 black 9’s were earlier discarded
• He does not have 7 ♥, 8 ♥, 9...