As a game, Gin first appeared in early 1900s. Some credit for the game of gin rummy is attributed to Elwood Baker (also a Bridge tutor) who later achieved much posthumous fame as a victim of an unexplained murder case (could it have been an irate card parter?). Only in 1930s ginrummy firmly appeared in popular American culture as gin became a game of popular Broadway and Hollywood stars and was featured in multiple movies.

The popularity of gin probably stems from the fact that the game is very easy to learn and it is a fairly fast-paced. The earliest form of the gin rummy - rummy can be also traced back to the mid-19-th century Mexican game of Conquian. Conquian was a simpler win-or-lose game played for a fixed stake. The best thing that Elwood Baker invented to make gin what it is now, is to refine the scoring system, making it much more interesting to play for money.