rummy card game played by two to six players with a standard deck. The cards usually rank from king down through ace. Seven cards are dealt to each player in the three- or four-hand game, one card is turned up on the table, and the remaining cards are left face down in a stock pile. Players, in order, each draw one card from stock and then discard one card from their hands into the discard pile, face up. They have the option of drawing the top card from the discard pile. The object is to meld, that is to put down sets of cards—either three or four cards of the same rank or a sequence of three or more in the same suit. The first player to meld all his cards wins. A variation is knock rummy, in which a player may wait to meld seven cards for higher stakes, but may also knock after drawing from stock and discards. By knocking he lays down his cards, and if the nonmelded cards have a total less than the nonmelded cards of each of the other players, he wins. Aces are counted 1 point, each face card 10, and all others for their pip values. Gin rummy, a variant invented in 1909, became immensely popular in the early 1940s. Two may play and each is dealt 10 cards; knocking is permitted only with unmatched cards totaling 10 points or less. Gin is scored when all cards are melded. The game continues until 100 points are scored. Scoring is relatively complicated, for it involves box tallies and a system of bonus points. Between 1949 and 1951 a rummy variation from Argentina,...