How to Play

Knock Rummy is an early 20th-century American Rummy variant (aka Poker Rum). Players form sets and runs, then knock to end the round whenever they believe their deadwood is lowest. Being undercut by a lower deadwood costs a 10-point penalty.

Knock Rummy, also called Poker Rum or Poker Gin, is a fast two-to-five-player Rummy variant from early 20th-century America. The defining twist is that a player may end the round at any moment by knocking on the table rather than going fully out. Unlike Gin Rummy, there is no deadwood threshold: you can knock even with 20+ points of unmatched cards, as long as you think your deadwood beats everyone else's. When a knock happens, all players lay down their hand and compare: the lowest deadwood wins the round and collects the difference from each loser, plus bonus and rummy penalties for dramatic wins.

Players

Knock Rummy works for 2 to 5 players, best with 3 or 4. Every player plays individually; no partnerships. Play proceeds clockwise.

Card Deck

• Use one standard 52-card deck. No jokers.
• Rank for runs (sequences): A (low) through K (high) in sequence: A-2-3, J-Q-K, but NOT Q-K-A. Ace is always low.
• Deadwood penalty values: Ace = 1, cards 2 through 10 = face value, face cards (J, Q, K) = 10 each.A♠K♠J♠
• No wild cards.

Objective

Arrange your hand into melds (runs and sets) to minimise your deadwood (unmelded cards). Knock when you think your deadwood total is the lowest at the table. Win the point difference from each losing player. Over multiple rounds, the player accumulating the best point total wins (or a player whose score reaches 100 is eliminated in a pool).

Setup and Deal

1. Decide first dealer by any fair method; the deal rotates clockwise after each round.
2. Shuffle; the player to the dealer's right cuts.
3. Deal per player count: 2 players: 10 cards each. 3-4 players: 7 cards each. 5 players: 6 cards each. (Some houses use 7 for any count; agree before play.)
4. Turn the next card face-up to start the discard pile.
5. Place the rest face-down as the stock.
6. The player to the dealer's left plays first.

Melds (Sets and Runs)

• Set: Three or four cards of the same rank in different suits. Example: three Jacks.
• Run (sequence): Three or more cards in the same suit in consecutive rank. Example: 5♥-6♥-7♥. Ace is low; Q-K-A is NOT valid.5♥6♥7♥
• A card may be used in only one meld at a time when laid down.
• Sets and runs are not revealed during play; they are only shown at the end of the round after a knock.

On Your Turn

1. Draw first: Take the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
2. If you took the top discard, you may not immediately discard it; you must play some other card.
3. Then either:
4. Discard one card face-up to end your turn normally, or
5. Knock by placing your discard face-down on the pile and announcing 'Knock'. The round ends immediately; no more turns are played.
6. You may knock on any turn, even the very first, as long as you have just drawn a card.
7. If the stock runs out before any knock, reshuffle all but the top card of the discard pile to form a new stock and continue.

Resolution After a Knock

• All players arrange their hand into melds. Cards that do not fit into any meld are deadwood; count their values (A=1, 2-10=face, J/Q/K=10 each).
• Compare deadwood totals: the lowest is the winner of the round.
• The knocker wins if their deadwood is uniquely lowest. They collect from each other player the difference between that player's deadwood and the knocker's deadwood.
• If another player's deadwood is lower, the knocker is said to be 'undercut' and pays that player: the difference plus a 10-point penalty. Other players also pay the eventual winner the difference between their deadwood and the winner's deadwood.
• If the knocker is tied for lowest, the other player wins (knocker loses tiebreaker). The knocker pays the 10-point undercut penalty.
• Going rummy: If the knocker has zero deadwood (entire hand in melds), they collect the full deadwood value from each player plus a 25-point rummy bonus from each.

Session Scoring

• Pool play: Each player starts with a fixed bankroll (typically 100 points). Cumulative points are tracked across rounds. A player reaching 100 or more total loss is eliminated or pays to re-enter the pool.
• Competitive scoring (cumulative): Keep a running total of round winnings and losses. After a set number of rounds (say 10), the player with the highest net total wins.
• Match play: Use a fixed target (200 net points, for example); first to cross wins the match.

Winning

In pool play, the last player standing (not reaching the elimination threshold) wins. In cumulative play, the highest net score after the agreed number of rounds wins. Ties are broken with one additional round.

Common Variations

• Threshold Knock (Rum Knock): Allow knocking only with deadwood of 10 or less (Gin-style). Makes knocks more reliable and reduces undercut drama.
• No-Knock Rummy: Remove the knocking option entirely; the round ends only when someone goes out with zero deadwood (becomes straight Rummy).
• Poker Rum: Alternate historical name; rules identical.
• Joker Knock: Add two jokers as wild cards worth 15 penalty points each. Wilds substitute in any meld.
• Tunk (Tonk) family: Related games like Tunk (id=47) also allow knocking but with different deal sizes and special bonuses.

Tips and Strategy

• Knock early on a decent hand. Unlike Gin Rummy, you don't need a low threshold. A 6-8 deadwood hand after four turns is often already a winning knock.
• Watch every opponent discard. If an opponent discards a 9, they likely don't have 9-9 pair building. If they pick up a 9, they probably do. Track this.
• Don't hoard aces and low cards. They are low penalties (1, 2, 3) and easy to melt; keep them in reserve as safety deadwood.
• Take the discard only when it completes a meld. Taking a random discard signals your intent without reliably improving your hand.
• Avoid obvious runs for opponents. Discarding a 7 gives an opponent holding 6-8 a three-card run.
• On a tied deadwood, the non-knocker wins. Don't knock 'for the tie'; always be at least one point ahead.

Glossary

• Deadwood: Cards in your hand not part of any meld; count as penalty points.
• Knock: Ending the round by placing your discard face-down; triggers a showdown.
• Set: Three or four cards of the same rank, different suits.
• Run (Sequence): Three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive rank.
• Undercut: Being beaten by another player's lower deadwood after you knocked. Costs a 10-point penalty plus the deadwood difference.
• Rummy (Going): Having zero deadwood; entire hand in melds. Earns a 25-point bonus.
• Stock: The face-down pile from which players draw.
• Discard pile: The face-up pile of discarded cards.