Don’t envy us, join us

Any time is cigar time!!
Text Box: Cigar, Cigars

 

CIGAR, CIGARS

Colmar, Pennsylvania                         

 

House Gin Tournament Rules

 

 

 

 

Deck

 

Games will be played with a standard 52-card pack of playing cards. Aces can only be played low - the ranking from low-to-high is A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K.

 

Objective

The objective is to score more points than your opponent.

The basic game strategy is to improve one's hand by forming melds and eliminating deadwood. Two types of melds exist:

· Sets of 3 or 4 cards sharing the same rank. For example, 8♥-8♣-8♠.

· Runs of 3 or more cards in sequence, of the same suit. For example, 3♥-4♥-5♥-6♥.

A player's deadwood cards are those not in any meld. His deadwood count is the sum of the point values of the deadwood cards— aces are scored at 1 point, face cards at 10, and others according to their numerical values. Intersecting melds are not allowed; therefore, if a player has a 3-card set and a 3-card run sharing a common card, he can only count one of them and must count two cards as deadwood.

Dealing & Commencement of Play

 

Players will draw cards to determine the dealer.  The player who draws the lowest card, based upon the ranking listed above, will be the dealer.  The dealer will deal by alternating cards between the non-dealing player and the dealer.  The non-dealing player should be dealt 11 cards, the dealer should be dealt 10 cards.

The remainder of the deck, placed face down, becomes the stock pile.

The non-dealing player must discard one of his cards to begin game play by placing it face up next to the stock pile.  This becomes the discard pile.

The dealer then has the option to either take the discarded card or to choose the top card from the stock pile.  Play proceeds with the non-dealing player either taking the dealer’s discarded card or taking the top card from the stock pile. 

 

Game Play

On each turn, a player:

- May "knock", ending the round, under certain conditions.

OR

- Draws either the top card of the discard pile, or the top card from the stock pile.

AND THEN EITHER

- Declares “Gin” after discarding a card and all of the remaining cards in his hand are in melds.

OR

- Discards one card from his hand onto the discard pile.

- Play continues, in alternating turns, until one player Gins or knocks or the cards in the stock pile are exhausted.

Knocking

The knock is determined by the knock card which is drawn each hand from a side deck (the knock deck). 

To knock, the player must declare his intention prior to drawing a card from either the stock pile or the discard pile.  In order to knock, the total of the deadwood cards in the player’s hand must be lower than the knock card’s value.  After declaring a knock, the knocking player lays his hand out with the melds clearly indicated and deadwood (the cards he is using to knock) separated.

The other player is then entitled to lay off any of his deadwood cards that fit into the knocking player's melds.  For example, the knocking player has a meld of three Kings. The defending player has a King as part of his deadwood. He can lay off that King, reducing his deadwood count by ten.

Note:  Laying off is only allowed when a player knocks.  It cannot be done when a player Gins.

General Scoring Guidelines

Knock Points – After a player knocks, and the lay offs are made, the knocking player receives a score equal to the difference between the two hands.  For example, if a player knocks with 8, and the defender has 10 deadwood points in his hand after laying off, the knocking player receives 2 points for the hand.

Gin Points – In the event of a Gin, the player who Gins receives points equal to the total of all un-melded (deadwood) cards in the opposing player’s hand.  In addition, the player who Gins receives a “box” around his score which entitles him to a 10 point Gin Bonus for each Gin when the hands are totaled at the end of the match.

Undercutting (sometimes called underknocking or catching your opponent) – This occurs when the defending player has a deadwood count lower than that of the knocking player (this can occur either naturally or by laying off after a knock). In this case, the defender scores an undercut bonus twice the point difference between the two hands. (In the event of a tie, the hand is replayed with no score awarded to either player.)

Tournament Scoring

- The target score for all games is 120 points, except for the final match which is 150 points. 

- Each set of players will play three games simultaneously (also known as High School or Hollywood).  Example: 

Text Box: - A game begins (i.e., a score is kept in a column) when a player Gins or knocks. - A player cannot receive the Gin Bonus (a box) unless the player has a score in a game’s column. For example, in the sample scoring above, if John had a Gin when he score the 6, he would receive a Gin Bonus for only the first and second game, but not the third, since he has not begun scoring in the third game. - In the event that the stock pile becomes exhausted, the lowest score between the two players wins the hand. Each player can lay off against the other player’s hand in determining the lowest score. The score in this case is determined by subtracting the lower score from the higher score. The player with the lower score receives points equal to the difference between both scores. - There is no additional set bonus (10 points, 25 points, etc.) for undercutting a knocking player. As stated above, the player who undercuts a knocking player receives twice the difference between the two hands. - A spade knock card is not double points. - A player’s total score for each match is calculated by adding the points earned in each game within the match plus the Gin bonus (10 points for each Gin). If a player scores 83 points in the first game, 73 points in the second game, and 56 points in the third game, and has 19 Gins (for a total of 190 Gin bonus points), their total score for the match would be 402 points. Tournament Entry The entry fee for the tournament will be $30.00. Player Match-ups In both rounds, the player match-ups will be chosen by random drawing. As there are no rankings, players will be matched against the number that immediate follows them. (1 will play 2, 3 will play 4, 5 will play 6, etc.) Starting Round Each pair of players will play two matches against each other (with three simultaneous games in each match). Each match will be played to a total of 120 points in each of the simultaneous games. The top 60% of the players (as determined by the highest combined scores) will move to the second round. In the event of a tie, the two tied players will play a sudden death match to 60 points to determine which player advances. The actual score from a sudden death match will not be added to a player’s total combined score. However, one point, representing the victory in the sudden death match, will be added to the winning player’s total combined score in order to numerically differentiate his score from the other player’s. Final Round One match (with three simultaneous games in each match) will be played between the remaining players. The match will be played to a total of 150 points in each of the simultaneous games. The final order (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th) will be determined by the total number of points for each player for all three matches played. In the event of a tie, a sudden death match, as stipulated above, will be played between the tied players. Tournament Prizes All prizes are for store credit only and must be redeemed the day of the tournament. The percentages for 1st and 2nd place are for the remainder of the prize pot after the 3rd and 4th place prizes are allocated.


1st Place – 60%

 

2nd Place – 40%

 

3rd Place – $35

 

4th Place – $25