Gin to Win

Not long ago -- or so the story goes -- a Hollywood producer tiptoed into his Bel Air mansion in the gray hours of the morning, only to be suddenly confronted by his irate wife.

"All right, where have you been all night?" she snapped.

"Well, if you must know," said the mogul, "we had a studio conference that lasted until midnight. Then, because it was so late, I drove my secretary home and when we got to her place she invited me in for a drink. One drink led to another and before I knew it, I was in bed with her, so that's why I'm so late getting home."

"Don't lie to me!" shrieked his wife. "You've been out playing gin rummy with the boys again, haven't you?"

While not all gin players are quite that obsessed with the game, there is no doubt that in hip Hollywood, as in other pacesetting American cities, gin rummy is the second most popular indoor sport. It's played everywhere from boardrooms to bedrooms at stakes ranging from a fraction of a penny to two dollars a point. One Chicago restaurant delivers a deck of cards along with the bill so gin-happy executives can play a fast hand to determine who pays for the meal. In Vegas, playing strip gin with showgirls has replaced strip poker. Excessive gin playing has even been used -- as the anecdote about the movie producer suggests -- as grounds for divorce.

Unlike such fads as canasta, gin has a long, disreputable history. It was invented around the turn of the century by one Elwood T. Baker, then treasurer of the Knickerbocker Whist Club in Brooklyn, N.Y. Although Webster aptly defines the word gin as "a snare or trap for game," the game actually got its name from Baker's young son, Graham. The elder Baker called his game "knock rummy," but little Graham, no expert on alcoholic drinks, took to calling it "knock gin" -- later shortened to gin -- and the name caught on.

By any name, gin was by no means an instant social success. For years it kicked around the cardrooms of Eastern clubs as a mere diversion for lonely bridge players waiting for a real game. But its lowly simplicity saved it from extinction; it was, after all, the easiest and best of two-man card games. Tenderfoot prospectors of the Boomtime Twenties carried it with them to the dusty oil fields of Texas and Oklahoma where it developed guts as a big money, cutthroat dueling game. Then, like many a glamorous newcomer, it drifted into Hollywood, where it was given a new name (Hollywood-Oklahoma), new class and a new scoring system. By the mid-Thirties, the same card clubs that had treated gin with so little respect only a few years before had more active gin tables than bridge tables. And, in the late Forties, a survey by the Association of Playing Card Manufacturers revealed that more people had learned to play gin during the war than had learned pinochle, cribbage, whist, poker, auction bridge and contract bridge combined.

Today, gin (in its Hollywood-Oklahoma form) is more popular than ever. In fact, the mere mention of bridge now is apt to do nothing for a serious gin player except remind him, quite painfully, of an impending dental appointment.

Bridge players, of course, still consider themselves intellectually superior to their gin-playing comrades. And, as a bridge player since the age of four, I would have to agree with them. At least bridge novices don't go around challenging the experts. In gin circles, anyone who knows the rules is apt to think he has just as good a chance of winning as the next nut. And that, of course, is what makes gin such a profitable game for those who really know how to play it.

What makes gin so deceptively easy to play -- and to lose at -- is the assumption, on the part of poor players, that it is basically a game of luck. Damon Runyon pegged gin's luck factor at 95 percent. I would say 85 percent would be a better guess. But wise gin players (and there are many wise enough to make a good living at the game) know that in the long run all luck will even out. They know, too, that when luck is equal, skill counts for everything. That is what makes the slim margin of skill all the more important in gin.

Having played quite a bit of gin (on reading this, my Hollywood--Miami--New York friends will accuse me of deceptive understatement), I have formulated eight basic guides that, if understood and followed, can turn an average gin player into quite a good one. If you read what follows carefully, using a deck of cards to play out each example hand, you can be sure that I will never play against you. It would be too risky.

Analyzing The Hand

Poor gin players constantly complain about their bad luck. "Why is it," asks the Habitual Loser, "that I never get the cards I need?" The answer is simple: he seldom knows what he needs. True, with each new deal he studiously sorts his cards -- big ones here, little ones there, pairs together, and so forth. But unless he knows how to plan his attack, his filing system means nothing. A gin-addicted friend of mine who makes a nice living as the manager of one of Hollywood's biggest stars had gotten into the habit of dropping fabulous sums of money at "friendly" gin games. His major fault was his total inability to analyze his starting hand. Last year I gave him the same simple tips that I'm about to relate here and today he is well ahead of the game. Sleeps better, too.

With that in mind, let's proceed to the first and most important step in planning your hand: deciding whether to play for two or three runs. Your decision should be governed by the size of the knock. If the knock is five or under, the hand should generally be played for three runs: if the knock is higher, you can concentrate on two runs if you have three or four small cards to use as a knock.

Having decided whether to go for two or three runs, you must next determine where, in the progression of cards, they will be easiest to make. Naturally, you'll want to try for groupings that offer the most possible chances of filling in fast. Never make the mistake of saving two potential groupings that require the same card for completion, such as King ?, Queen ? and Jack ?, Jack ?, (you need both remaining Jacks to fill both groups but you could use both Jacks with the pair you already hold).

Here is a typical example of how a hand may be opened up to its best possibilities. You are dealt the following hand: The knock is the Jack ?, and it is your turn to draw first. What should you do?

Your best play is to pick up the Jack ? and discard the 8 ?. This gives you five possibilities of filling in your high-card group (with either of the two outstanding Jacks, the Queen ?, 9 ? or 10 ?). If you pass up the Jack ? and keep the 8 ?, you will have only four chances of filling the high group (with the Q ?, 9 ?, 10 ? or 7 ?). It may be argued that picking up the Jack will warn your opponent against giving you either the 10 ? or the other two Jacks. True, but holding all three of those cards would make it very difficult for him to go out. (There is still another good reason for drawing the knock card that we will see in the next section.)

If you disagree with the logic of this first example, try playing the hand half a dozen times -- first as I suggest and then as you think it should be played. If you keep track of the points, you will be amazed at what a difference a play makes.

Still on the above hand, you will notice that aside from the three 6s and the four high cards there is a group of three small cards. Since the knock is 10, you need one more card to go down with only two runs. But while you are waiting for that card (an Ace) you might also draw the fourth 6 or an extra card on your high run. So you have seven good chances of building a two-run hand, plus two chances of filling the Deuces for three runs.

The important point to remember here is that while your opponent is simply sorting and filing his starting cards, you have planned your entire hand, giving yourself five chances for a high run and nine chances for either a four-card knock or a third run.

Before we go on to the next playing point, a few words on kibitzing are in order. Frankly, I don't like kibitzers for the same reasons I don't like over-the-shoulder newspaper readers. But I must admit that you can learn a great deal more from watching an expert gin player than you can from playing against him. In fact, all you can really learn from playing him is how to live without money. So, like it or not, I must advise you to kibitz all you can. But please, do it quietly.

In some gin circles, kibitzers (the word is Yiddish for meddler) actually consider themselves superior to "mere" players. Ernie Kovacs, who was one of my closest Hollywood friends and a gin addict if ever there was one, used to do a very funny bit about the kinds of onlookers who haunt some New York card clubs. First, he said, come the full-fledged kibitzers who have the right to argue with the players and may even pull cards out of their hands and play them. Then come the dorbitzers who are not allowed to talk to the players but may argue with the kibitzers. Finally, there are the tsk-tsk makers who are not allowed to talk to anyone; they simply stand in the background and go "tsk-tsk!" whenever they feel that somebody is doing something wrong.

Lest the tsk-tsk makers find reason for tsk-tsking over your shoulder, let's move on to the next point:

Hard Knocks

I mentioned in the first example that there was one other good reason for picking up the J ? at the start of the hand. I have found that the player who takes the offensive immediately generally wins the hand. There is no surer way of taking the lead than by picking up the knock card when you have the first option.

Even when I have only one other card in my starting hand to group with the knock card, I will pick it up if it is a nine or less. This does not mean that I will be able to use the card. It simply means that I am giving my opponent something to worry about and possibly tying up two or three cards in his hand. This is especially important on a low knock.

For example: The knock card is the 5 ?, and the only card I have in my starting hand that comes close to it is the 7 ?. I will take the knock card if I am first to draw. Unless my opponent is holding two 5s, he must temporarily assume that I hold the 5s. And, if he does hold them I have hurt his hand. Also, if he holds the useless 6 ? or 4 ? he must continue to hold them until he knows which way I am going, and he may not find out until I knock or gin. So, whenever you can, draw the knock card to confound the opposition.

Limited Advertising

To "advertise" in gin means to toss one card in hopes of luring your opponent into giving you a related one. In his waggishly whimsical book, How to Talk at Gin, Ernie Kovacs suggested that even when your opponent knows you are advertising, he will throw you the card he thinks you want just to confirm his suspicions. But Ernie's opus wasn't meant to be instructional, so don't count on that kind of good fortune.

Actually, you should limit your advertising to cards that, although helpful, are not really crucial to your hand. Suppose you are dealt: The knock is Jack ? which you pick up. Knowing that you must make good the Jack, Jack, 10 combination, you can afford to discard the 8 ? without caring whether or not your opponent picks it up, since his 8-meld will not prevent you from going for a two-run hand with a four-card knock.

But, if you are holding: and draw the Jack ? from the deck, you could get very badly clobbered by throwing the 8 ? as an advertisement. If your opponent can use the 8 ? in a club run, (continued on page 180)Gin to Win(continued from page 110) he will tie up one of the 9s you need; if he can use it in an 8-meld, he may tie up your 8 ?. Since you must fill in the 9, 9, 7 combination to make anything of your hand, his greedy reach for your 8 ? could leave you with three very heavy useless cards -- and a serious headache.

Occasionally you will get a chance to do what I call negative advertising by picking up a discard that you don't need in order to unlock a card that you really want. Suppose you have two Jacks and have discarded a King. Your opponent discards a Queen. You should pick up the Queen even if it doesn't help your Jacks, because he (thinking that you have melded Queens) will then toss you his next loose Jack. This maneuver should be used only when you have a safe discard.

The Countdown

To give yourself the greatest possible chance of winning, it is important to be able to count down the number of cards that will put you out on the next draw. To illustrate, imagine you hold: The knock is 10, and it is your turn to discard. If you throw one of the Aces (always a dangerous discard in a high-knock hand), you have four chances of going out on the next draw -- by drawing one of the two outstanding 7s, the 8 ? or the 5 ?. But, if you throw the 7 ? instead, you will have 10 chances of winning on the next draw -- by drawing the remaining King or Queen, the 8 ?, 5 ? or any one of four Deuces or two Aces. On the other hand, if you choose to throw the 7 ?. you will have eight chances of going out on the next draw and you will gain the additional advantage of being able to lay off either the 6 ? or 7 ? if your opponent should pick the 7 ? and knock. Thus, he would catch you with only eight or nine points. (Whether to discard the 7 ? or 7 ? would depend on the relative safety of the two cards as well as your estimate of how close your opponent is to going out.)

Sometimes, however, the countdown will rule out a safe discard, as when -- late in the hand -- you find yourself holding:

The knock is 10 and it is your discard. You remember that a 4 -- and possibly the 5 ? -- have already been discarded. But even though your 4 ? looks like the safest discard, you should gamble by throwing either the 7 or the 8. By doing so you will have 12 chances of knocking on the next draw -- with a King, Queen, or any one of four 3s, three Aces, or three Deuces.

Checking the countdown before every play -- right from the start of the hand -- will often prove that you are much closer to knocking than you think. Say you are dealt:

The knock card is the 2 ?. Counting down your hand, you realize that by picking up the knock card (to use it as the knock) and discarding the 4 ?. you will have seven chances of going down in two draws -- a fast knock indeed.

Sometimes, when you need a fast score (either to get on or win a game) a countdown can steer you away from an available run. Say you are holding:

The knock card is the King ?, and your opponent has just thrown an Ace, which would give you three Aces. Don't be greedy! Pass up the Ace and draw a fresh card -- you have four chances that the new card will fill your 10, 10. Jack grouping and put you down with a knock of seven.

The Breakdown

There often comes a time when you will have to break down an existing combination in your hand in order to discard. As a general rule, it is best to save the run in a combination, rather than the pair. To wit: It is your throw and you must discard part of a three-card combination consisting of a 9 ?, 8 ? and 8 ?. Even if the 9 looks like a relatively safe discard, you will be better off throwing the 8 ? because you can only get four of a kind if you hold a pair, but there is no end of cards that can be added to a run.

Sometimes, however, the general rule against saving pairs does not apply. For example, you are dealt:

The knock card is the Ace ? -- meaning you must go for gin. You and your opponent refuse the Ace and your first draw off the deck is the 8 ?, Now, which is your best discard? The Jack ?? Well, if you throw the Jack it is true that you will have four chances of filling your third run. But suppose your next draw (after throwing the Jack) is the 7 ?. You would have to guess whether to break up the Jack ?, 10 ? or the 9 ?, 8 ?. In either case, you would then have but two chances of ginning on any draw. But, if you had discarded the 8 ? instead of the Jack ? and had drawn the 7 ? on your next turn, you would still have had four chances of drawing your gin card on the following turn. Thus, when you have a four-card combination and are setting up your hand for gin, don't break up the combination.

The lure of ginning -- instead of winning -- often leads a poor player into the costly sin of greed. Say he is dealt:

10 ? is the knock card and his first draw off the deck is the fourth 7. Wonderful! He gleefully slips the 7 into his hand and tosses you one of his four little loose cards -- which you scoop up and soon after use as part of your knock to catch him flat-footed. If Greedy had counted down his hand properly he would have seen that the fourth 7 was of no real help and would have tossed you the 7 ?, thus retaining four chances of knocking with seven points on the next draw. As it was, he gave himself only six chances of ginning in two draws and gave you a fine low card for part of your knock.

Here's another instance of ginning vs. winning: 6 is the knock card and through the course of play you find yourself with:

On your next draw, you get the 5 ?. The 5 looks like a logical discard, but you have reason to believe that your opponent is holding 5s. Knowing this, you may be tempted to throw the 3 ?, thus retaining a two-card knock (the two Deuces) or two chances of ginning (with the outstanding Deuces). But if you throw the 3, you may help your opponent to knock. A much better play would be to discard either the 10 ? or 7 ? -- whichever is safer. This gives you four chances of filling your 2, 2, 3 group and knocking on the next draw.

Timing the Toss

One of the most important skills in gin is knowing when to speculate. Often a player will make the mistake of clinging to a high pair of safe cards, even though keeping the pair forces him to throw a card that his opponent may need. Even if his opponent can't use the dangerous discard in his hand, he can use it as a guide to other safe discards and thus put the pair holder on the defensive.

A much better play would be to break up the pair and save the dangerous cards for speculation. Thus: 10 is the knock and the hand has been played out to the point where you hold:

All the Kings and Jacks have been played and at least one 10 has gone by and you have just drawn the 8 ?. In this hand no 9s, 8s or 7s have yet been discarded. Hence, they are all dangerous cards. Now is the time to break up the Queens. This gives you a chance to speculate with any one of four cards that your opponent may toss--the 9 ?, 9 ?, 8 ? or 8 ?. Any one of these four cards gives you a four-card combination (with four chances of filling in the next draw) and puts him on the defensive because you still have another Queen to throw.

Systematic Discarding

For years gin players have argued the merits of different systems of safe discarding. Some feel it is best to discard the same number card as one's opponent (e.g., he throws an 8, you throw an 8). Others insist that it is only necessary to discard in the same suit (a heart for a heart, a spade for a spade). Still others feel it is safest to discard a card adjacent to -- but in a different suit than -- the opponent's last throw. Personally, I prefer to discard within my runs. This means that when I have the Jack ?, 10 ?, 9 ?, and the 8 ? and 9 ?, I can consider the 9 ? a fairly safe discard, since I hold another 9. But if I had collected three Jacks instead of the heart run, both the 8 and 9 would have been dangerously blind discards. (This is another good reason for setting up a hand for runs instead of pairs.)

Also, I plan my discards to take advantage of the pattern of playing into which my opponent may have unconsciously fallen. I have found that many players use their first discard as an advertisement. Unwittingly, they are warning me not to throw related cards. Others will start by discarding the highest unmatched card in their hand, again giving me valuable information about safe discards.

There is very little deception that can be used in gin, but strangely, what little there is works best against good players. For example, if the knock is low and I am up against a particularly tough opponent. I will occasionally pick up his very first discard -- even if I know I can't use it. But, by picking up the card. I may force my foe to hang on to two of three useless cards because he doesn't know how I might use them. This completely disrupts his game and immediately puts him on the defensive.

Of course, there are other means of confusing your gin opponent, but they are frowned upon in serious gin circles. I am speaking of "coffeehousing" and "ginmanship." Webster defines coffe housing as "aimless conversation," but when applied to gin, the talk is well aimed at total destruction of an opponent's self-confidence or, at the very least, his train of thought.

Amateur coffeehousers usually rely on bantering insults to throw a victim off his game, but real pros employ much more subtle means. One of ginmanship's most fiendish ploys is the ginman's gratuitous prediction of the outcome of each hand. As soon as he picks up his cards he will, as accurately as possible, tell his opponent what his chances are of winning the hand. If he is a good judge of cards, he will be right at least four out of five times. Soon, his victim will begin to feel that he wins only when the ginman lets him win and, after enough of this torture, he will even start muffing the hands that the ginman has "allowed" him to win.

Another ginmanship trick -- designed for prying high cards from an opponent's hand -- is to ask what the knock card is even when you are nowhere near knocking. If your opponent is easily frightened, he will start tossing out high cards like a panicky sailor bailing out a bottomless boat. There is no end to such tactics and the only known counter for them is the consistent playing of superior gin.

The Cardinal Rule

If you have carefully studied and practiced all the playing pointers in this article, you will find that your game will improve rapidly. But before you rush into any high-stake games, there is one more rule that you must learn if you want your gin skill to pay off. This final rule is simple, but profound: In any gambling game, the real pro is the man who can sense when he is outmatched and, knowing this, has the good sense to admit defeat and walk away from the game.

Remember, there are millions of gin players in the United States today. Surely you can find one who is not aware of this cardinal rule of gambling!