To start a game of Gin, the first step is to DEAL the cards. This involves shuffling the deck and then dealing out 10 cards to each player. The remaining cards are placed in the center of the table, face down, to form the stock pile. The top card of the stock pile is then turned over to form the discard pile. After the cards have been dealt, the players can begin their turn by either drawing from the stock pile or taking the top card from the discard pile.