Gin Rummy Deadwood Calculator
Deadwood is the sum of every card in your hand that does not belong to a set or a run, and it controls the two biggest moments in a Gin Rummy hand: whether you are allowed to knock, and how many points change hands when someone does. Use the calculator below to total any collection of unmatched cards and see at a glance whether the hand clears the 10-point knock threshold.
Deadwood calculator
Tap a rank for each unmatched card in your hand — cards already in sets or runs count zero, so leave them out. Aces count 1, number cards count their pip value, and face cards count 10.
Unmatched cards (0/10)
No unmatched cards selected — a fully melded ten-card hand is gin.
Deadwood total
0
Gin — 0 deadwood
No unmatched cards means every card sits in a set or run. You score the opponent’s full deadwood plus the 25-point gin bonus, and gin can never be undercut.
How deadwood values work
Every card that is not part of a meld carries a fixed point cost. Aces are the cheapest deadwood in the game at 1 point each, which is why a stray ace late in a hand is rarely worth panicking over. Number cards from 2 through 10 cost exactly their pip value. Jacks, queens, and kings all cost 10 points apiece — the same as a ten — which makes an unconnected face card the single most expensive thing you can be holding when your opponent knocks.
Melded cards cost nothing. A set of three sevens or a 4-5-6 of clubs contributes zero to your count no matter how many high cards it contains, which is the entire logic of the game: convert expensive loose cards into free melded ones, and dump the leftovers that refuse to connect.
The 10-point knock threshold
You may end a hand by knocking only when your deadwood totals 10 points or less after your discard. That is the rule this calculator checks for you, and it is the same limit our online game enforces on the knock button. A hand holding an unmatched 6 and 3 (9 points) can knock; add a lone 2 and at 11 points the option disappears until you meld or discard something.
When a knock stands, the knocker scores the difference between the two deadwood counts. Knock with 4 against a defender caught holding 27 and you collect 23 points toward the 100-point match. The lower your count when you knock, the wider that margin tends to be — which is why a 1- or 2-point knock is dramatically safer than knocking at the full 10.
Why the undercut changes everything
Knocking is not free. After you knock, the defender first lays off any cards that fit your melds — extending your runs, adding a fourth card to your sets — and only then are the deadwood counts compared. If the defender's count after lay-offs is equal to or lower than yours, the knock backfires: the defender scores the difference plus a 25-point undercut bonus.
This is the reason experienced players treat a 9- or 10-point knock late in a hand with suspicion. The longer a hand runs, the lower the opponent's deadwood is likely to be, and lay-offs can shave several more points off their count after you commit. The calculator's verdict panel spells out your undercut exposure for whatever total you enter: at 8 deadwood, any defender at 8 or below beats you.
Gin: the zero-deadwood ending
Clear the calculator entirely and it reports gin, which mirrors the real rule: all ten cards arranged into melds with nothing left over. Gin pays the defender's full deadwood plus a 25-point bonus, no lay-offs are permitted against it, and it can never be undercut. Whether chasing that outcome is worth passing up a safe early knock is the central judgment call of the game — our strategy guide covers how to weigh it, and the full rules walk through a complete scored hand.
Put the count to work
Counting deadwood from a static list is practice; counting it while the AI is fishing your discards is the real test. The game tracks your total live, so you can confirm your mental math every turn.
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