When Gin Rummy became popular in the 1930’s, the scoring of the game was extremely simple. A game consisted of only one column, and was only scored to 100 points. A bonus of 10 points was given for gin or underknocking. There were no doubled hands and when the game was over, if they were playing for money, the winner of the game usually received a very specific amount of money for winning, and a specific amount of money for boxes over that of his opponent. Over the years, in order to add interest to the game, and increase the stakes without actually changing the game stakes as far as the money was concerned, variations were added to the scoring system.

The first and probably most important variation, which to this day has remained a prime function of the game, is what is known as Hollywood Gin, which is not a variation of the game, just a variation of the scoring. In Hollywood Gin, you are playing with three columns. That means that three games are being played at the...

The purpose of Gin is of course to win each individual hand, but the ultimate goal is to win the entire game. You do this through the individual hand scores which will lead you to the final game score.

The point total for a head to head or two-handed game is 250 points. That can vary depending on whether you are just playing for fun with family or friends, but for competitive gin rummy, the game will always be to 250 points. The way you get to your total is by getting the maximum amount of points you can in each individual hand to give you the final, and hopefully winning score. You score points by knocking before your opponent does, but there are also bonus points that can be added during each individual hand. This includes going gin, or underknocking an opponent. The scoring for the winner of the individual hand is simple but it does take some knowledge of how to do it.

When a player knocks, he puts down his melded cards which have no value in figuring the total...