An Introduction to Offensive Combinations
Learn the best combinations to hone your gin rummy skills!
There are many different approaches to playing Grand Gin Rummy. Experienced players try to find a good balance between offensive and defensive strategies and are constantly adapting to their opponent’s way of playing. Let’s take a look at offensive combinations.
Playing offensively means focusing on your own hand; Holding on to all cards that might lead to a meld and discarding cards that you probably will not use without consideration for your opponent’s hand or discards. This way you increase your chances of completing melds, but you also increase the chance of giving your opponent the cards they need.
A defensive way of playing would be to only discard cards that you think your opponent probably can’t use, even if this means breaking up your own melds. Defensive strategies are discussed here.
Imagine we are at the beginning of the game and you receive the following hand:
Here, there are four different cards that could form a second meld. Receiving the Queen-of-Hearts or the Queen-of-Diamonds will give you a set of Queens. The 2-of-Diamonds or 4-of-Diamonds will give you a run of Diamonds. Offensive players would therefore discard the 4-of-Clubs or the 9-of-Spades, even if previous moves in the game suggested that your opponent might need them.
Here’s another example. Say you are dealt this hand:
There are nine different cards that could lead to a meld. The Ace-of-Spades, 4-of-Spades, or 8-of-Spades would give you a run. The 9-of-Diamonds or Queen-of-Diamonds would give you a run as well. Receiving either the 3-of-Hearts, 3-of-Diamonds, Jack-of-Spades, or Jack-of-Hearts would give you a set. The Ace-of-Hearts and 5-of-Hearts, therefore, are the only two cards that you would discard if you were playing offensively.
Regardless of your playing strategy, the way to become a successful Grand Gin Rummy player is to watch and remember the cards that your opponent picks up and discards. Even if you choose to play offensively, you should pay attention to whether the cards that you need were already picked up by your opponent or if they are in the discard pile.
We hope that our guides will help you to improve as a Grand Gin Rummy player. Good luck and have fun!
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