How to Play

A Gin Rummy variant where the turn-up card's face value sets that hand's knock ceiling, and spade turn-ups double all points. Played to 200 with a 100-point game bonus.

Oklahoma Rummy is a Gin Rummy variant in which the knock threshold is not a fixed 10 but is instead set each hand by the face value of the turned-up card. The turn-up is dealt face up beside the stock after the 10-card deal. A numeric 2 through 9 sets the knock ceiling at its own pip count, an Ace sets it at 1 (meaning only gin wins the hand), and a 10, Jack, Queen, or King sets it at 10 (making that hand play almost identically to standard Gin Rummy). The variable ceiling forces constant re-planning: some hands require near-perfect melds with zero deadwood while others are won with loose knocks at 8 or 9. A second signature rule is that a spade turn-up doubles all scores for that hand, so the cost of an undercut is doubled and the reward for gin is doubled. The game is played to 200 points with a 100-point game bonus.

Players

Designed for 2 players head-to-head. With 3 or 4 players, each plays their own hand and the winner of each deal collects from all losers; the match extends until one player crosses the target score. Deal alternates after each hand.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card French-suited pack, jokers removed. Card ranking for runs is A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K. Aces are low only; runs do not wrap (Q-K-A is not valid, although some house rules allow A-K-Q). Deadwood values for cards left in hand at knock: A = 1, 2-9 = face value, 10/J/Q/K = 10 each.

Objective

Reduce your unmatched cards (deadwood) below the knock ceiling set by the hand's turn-up card, then knock to end the hand and score the difference against your opponent's deadwood. Across hands, be the first to reach 200 points for the win and the 100-point game bonus.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 52-card deck thoroughly and cut.
2. Deal 10 cards face down to each player, one at a time.
3. Place the remaining 32 cards face down as the stock.
4. Turn the top card of the stock face up beside it. This is the upcard and its face value sets the knock ceiling for the hand.
5. The non-dealer takes the first turn. (Some groups let the non-dealer choose to take the upcard or pass to the dealer before the first draw.)

Gameplay

1. Knock value from the upcard: Ace = 1 (gin only), 2 = 2, 3 = 3, up through 9 = 9, then 10/J/Q/K each = 10.
2. Draw: At the start of your turn, draw either the top card of the stock face down or the top card of the discard pile face up into your hand.
3. Meld silently: Organise your 11 cards mentally into melds. A set is 3 or 4 cards of the same rank; a run is 3 or more consecutive cards of the same suit. Melds are not revealed until a knock or gin.
4. Discard: End your turn by placing one card from your hand face up on the discard pile. You always end with 10 cards.
5. Knock: At the end of your turn, after discarding, if your unmatched deadwood total is at or below the hand's knock ceiling, you may knock. Place your final discard face down (some groups keep it face up) and expose your hand, showing your melds and listing your deadwood cards and total.
6. Lay off (opponent): After a normal (non-gin) knock, the opponent reveals their hand and may lay single cards from their hand onto any of your melds (extending a run or adding the 4th card to a set). Lay-offs reduce the opponent's final deadwood score.
7. Gin (zero deadwood): If you knock with a deadwood total of 0, you have gin. The opponent cannot lay off any cards. You also earn the gin bonus.
8. Undercut: If, after lay-offs, the opponent's deadwood is equal to or less than yours, they undercut you and score 25 points plus the difference in deadwood totals.
9. Stock exhaustion: If the stock is reduced to two cards and neither player has knocked, the hand is a draw. Redeal; the upcard for the next hand still sets a new knock value.

Scoring

1. Successful knock (not gin): Scorer receives the difference between the opponent's deadwood (after lay-offs) and the knocker's deadwood.
2. Gin: 25-point gin bonus plus the opponent's full deadwood total. No lay-offs allowed.
3. Undercut: 25-point bonus to the opponent plus the difference between the knocker's and opponent's deadwood.
4. Spade-upcard doubling: If the hand's original upcard was any spade, every point scored for that hand is multiplied by 2 (including the gin bonus, the undercut bonus, and the base deadwood difference).
5. First hand no-knock rule (some groups): On a hand with knock value 1 (Ace up), some groups require gin only; attempting a knock with 1 deadwood is not allowed.
6. Box (line) bonus: Each individual hand won is a 'box' worth 25 points at game's end.
7. Game bonus: First player to reach 200 points wins the game and adds a 100-point game bonus to their side of the scoresheet.
8. Shutout (schneider): If the loser never scored during the whole game, double the total winner's score.

Winning

The first player to reach 200 points wins the game, banks the 100-point game bonus, and collects 25 points per hand they won (box bonus). If the loser failed to score at all during the game, the winner's total is doubled. Tournament and online play often uses 150 or 250 as the target to shorten or lengthen matches.

Common Variations

• Oklahoma Gin: Identical to standard Oklahoma Rummy but with the gin-only rule enforced only on Ace upcards (as described above).
• Double Oklahoma: Spade upcards triple scores rather than double, making spade hands extra dangerous.
• Hollywood Oklahoma: Running score is tracked across three simultaneous games (columns 1, 2, 3) so each hand scored contributes to multiple games, extending the match.
• Target variant: Play to 150 (short match), 200 (standard), or 250 (long). Some tournaments use 300.
• Layoff-ban variant: Gin only prevents lay-offs; in this variant, all knocks (not just gin) prevent opponent lay-offs. Simpler but shifts balance toward knockers.
• Partnership Oklahoma: 4 players in partnerships of 2, each side's scores are combined, and a partner may lay off onto the opponent's melds only if their own partner knocked.

Tips and Strategy

• Read the knock value immediately when the upcard flips. An Ace or a 2 turns the hand into a pure gin race; a 10 or a face card lets you knock aggressively with up to 10 deadwood.
• On spade-upcard hands, treat every decision as if the stakes were doubled (they are). Avoid risky knocks when an undercut would cost you 50+ points instead of 25.
• Keep flexible cards that fit multiple potential melds. A 7 of Hearts can serve either a 7s set or a 6-7-8 Hearts run, so discard it last.7♥
• Track the opponent's discards carefully. Repeated discards of a rank signal they are not collecting that rank, so it is safe to pick up.
• When the knock value is 1 or 2, stop chasing knocks and commit to a gin build. The reward for gin outweighs the small edge from scraping in under a tight ceiling, and the undercut risk is enormous.
• Hold onto high face cards (K, Q, J) only when they already live in a likely meld. Carrying 10-point deadwood is crippling on a 2 or 3 upcard hand.

Glossary

• Upcard: The top card of the stock turned face up after the deal. Its face value sets the knock ceiling for the hand.
• Knock value (knock ceiling): The maximum deadwood total that permits a knock on this hand.
• Knock: The act of ending the hand by exposing your cards when your deadwood is at or below the ceiling.
• Deadwood: Cards in hand that are not part of any meld. Each carries its pip value (A=1, 2-9=face, 10/J/Q/K=10).
• Meld: A set (3 or 4 same-rank cards) or run (3+ consecutive same-suit cards).
• Gin: Knocking with 0 deadwood. Earns the gin bonus and prevents lay-offs.
• Lay off: After a non-gin knock, the opponent may attach individual cards from their hand to the knocker's melds to reduce their own deadwood.
• Undercut: When the defender's post-lay-off deadwood is at or below the knocker's. Scores 25 plus the difference in the defender's favour.
• Box: One won hand. Each box is worth 25 bonus points at the end of the match.
• Spade double: The rule that all points from a hand with a spade upcard are multiplied by 2.