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Oklahoma Gin is yet another variation of Rummy, but more closely related to Gin rummy. The rules for Oklahoma gin and Gin Rummy are similar, and just the same, Oklahoma Gin is a skill based card game intended for 2 - 4 players. It just doesn't work with 3 players, in fact, if there are three people that want to play Oklahoma Gin, one has to sit out the game and simply deal for the other two.

Game Rules
Again, the rules of Oklahoma gin are similar to Gin rummy but there are a few differences to note. Firstly, the value of the first upcard is extremely important since it determines the maximum count of unmatched cards a player must have in order to knock.

The Deck
Oklahoma Gin is played with a standard 52 card deck of cards. In this card game, the aces are always of low value. The King, Queen and Jack are high value cards. The ranking is from low to high i.e. A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K. (stay with me, now…)

Value
Each card has a point value, just like in regular rummy and gin rummy. The Jack, Queen and King are worth 10 points and in this case, the ace is worth 1 point. The spot cards are worth their face value, so again, 2 is worth 2 points, 3 is worth 3 points, etc.

Game Objective
Again, it's all about forming melds and avoiding unmatched cards. Melds will ensure a good hand and can be used to knock and win. You have to reduce the count of unmatched cards (deadwood) less than the count of your opponent’s unmatched cards. The total count of these cards will give you winning points.

Dealing
The cards are dealt faced down; some say the loser of each round should deal the cards, although it's not crucial to the game. Nevertheless, for the sake of fairness, the dealing should be done alternately. Each player gets 10 cards. The 21st card becomes the original upcard in the discard pile. The discard pile is placed somewhere on the table within reach of both players, facing up. The remaining cards are placed right next to the discard pile and form what is known as the stock pile.

Remember, the value of the upcard card is very important since it determines the maximum count of deadwood a player should have in order to knock. For example, if the upcard is 7 of hearts, the player can knock if he/she has a total deadwood count of 7 or less. If the upcard is an Ace, a player can only win by going gin. If the upcard is a spade, the final score for the round s is doubled.

Game play
Generally, the non-dealer plays first. Each player takes turns drawing cards from the discard pile or the stock pile. For every card the player picks up, he/she has to discard one unmatched card from his/her hand and place it up-face on the discard pile. Again, the card which the player discards should be a card that is not feasible to form a meld.

Remember, the player who took a card from the discard pile cannot discard that same card again until his next turn rolls around. For example, a player takes 2 hearts from the discard pile. He cannot discard the 2 hearts until after his opponent has taken his/her turn.

The card draw for the first play of the hand is done in a special way. If the non-dealer does not want to draw the upcard, he may skip and the dealer has the opportunity to draw the upcard. If the dealer also doesn’t want to draw the upcard, the non-dealer may draw the top card from the stockpile and carry on with the game play.

Knocking
Oklahoma Gin is won by knocking, Going Gin or by Undercut. The player who knocks first, wins. The knock can be done on any turn immediately after drawing. The knocker should have a total of unmatched cards not exceeding the value of the original upcard. If you have arranged all your cards into melds and your deadwood does not exceed the value of the original upcard, you're good to go. Start the knock by discarding a card and then spreading your hand on the table cards arranged in melds and unmatched cards.

If you have no unmatched cards and all of the cards are arranged in a meld or a run, this is called going gin. Remember, if the original upcard was an Ace, you have to Go Gin to knock. Under any other circumstance, you are not obligated to go gin if you don't want to, you can knock with deadwood but it is advisable to Go gin and knock as soon as you get a hand with melds.

Game Score
In Oklahoma Gin, the target score is usually set to 150. The winner adds a 100 point bonus to his final score. Each player can add 25 points in his score for every hand he has won. The bonus is often called a line or a box. The game results in a draw if there are only two cards remaining in stock pile. If the player who draws the third last card from stock pile fails to knock, going gin or undercut, the game will be a draw and the same dealer will deal the cards again.