How to Win at Gin Rummy

by Oswald Jacoby

Gin Rummy instruction book

Genres: Games

Paperback

First published April 1, 1978

About the author

Oswald (Ozzie, Jake) Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.

(adapted from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Eric Perreault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Games can teach us many things. Chess rewards perfect calculation, Go promotes an aesthetic intuition, and Backgammon forces players to manage random chance and know when to cut their losses. Gin rummy is younger than all of those by a millenium or two but I believe it’s one of the most beautiful games people have yet invented. Children and adults equally can learn it in just a couple of minutes, and yet its minimal rules unfold into puzzles, brinksmanship, memory, psychology, statistics, and pure deduction. It creates great memories for new players and an endless skill ceiling for old players. If you pay attention it can also teach you how to think clearly in the real world. This book manages to be both a great overview of the best American card game, as well as a brilliant course in fundamental rationality.

[Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oswald Jacoby on gin will always be invaluable. I settled on a 4-star rating, as opposed to a perfect five, because I found that Jacoby’s analysis wasn’t exhaustive enough for me, as an intermediate modern player. Guidance on middle game decision-making is particularly wanting. The early strategy, however, is strong. It is in opening and early play—as well as general outlook on the game—that I benefited the most from this book.

Jacoby is stubbornly practical about the game of gin: so much so, he primarily calculates your outs towards a swift knock, without much heed paid toward the bonus for knocking with gin. (This may be another reason why I struggle to apply Jacoby to my games, which offer higher gin bonuses.)

Jacoby writes with brashness, lucidity and flair, and maintains a working wit which he deploys on frequent occasion. Many passages are simply fun to read, making learning a true joy.

This slender volume is a classic of gin literature, and sits with dignity in the library of every enthusiast.

EDIT:
Upon second reading, after many more hours spent playing the game, I came to appreciate how much Jacoby packs into this slim volume. His decision-making has a teacher’s quality to it: subtle, balanced, and suggestive of layers deeper than what is explicitly reasoned.

A couple of key learnings from this read:

1. Avoid greed.
Be willing to sacrifice easily and often. Throw away the top of an attractive combination that has potential for a four-card meld (e.g. throw the seven or ten, from 7s, 8s, 8d, 10s), without much regret, if it allows you a safer discard.

2. Make a plan, but keep it flexible.
Assess your hand as a whole at the start of the round, and update your assessment with every turn. Specifically, be willing to begin the hand with the primary intention of going to the wall. (Previously, I would only make that decision in the middle game, when I was already stuck with two or three of my opponent’s gin cards, and usually had little hope of getting to the end of the deck).

More than offering specific hands or strategies, Jacoby gives you a perspective on the game—one founded on combinatorics, pragmatic logic and “detective work”.

A key text for any aspiring gin rummy expert. Updated to five stars.