How To Play
The Play
In Rummy the number of cards dealt varies based on the type of rummy game being played as well as the number of players.
The person left of the dealer is the first person to play. The dealer switches from person to person going to the left. The dealer flips one card to and places it next to the pile to begin the game.
The first person to go takes a card from the deck or the card placed beside it. When the player has done that, they may either put three cards of the same number or a straight. After this is done, or if they do not make a play at all, a card from their hand is discarded onto the pile beside the deck.
If another player has cards down, the others can play off of them.
Scoring
When someone melds all his/her cards (except, possibly, for one, which is thrown into the discard pile), the hand ends and the scores are calculated. In some games everyone can make melds at this phase, and some games allow a player to end a hand with a few unmatched cards in his/her hand.
You typically get positive points for your melds, and/or negative points for non-melded cards in your hand. In some games large bonuses are given for special, particularly difficult melds. Also being the person who melded all his/her cards is usually rewarded, depending on the game this award may be rather small compared to other scoring, or it can be the deciding factor of the game.
Basic Rummy
There are many variations of the card game Rummy. Basic Rummy is also called Sai Rummy. Second type Rummy is also called Sanka Rummy. They all share a common set of features found in the basic game. A standard deck of 52 cards is used. The cards rank from 2 (low) to A (high). Rummy can be played to a certain score, or to a fixed number of deals.
In Rummy if more than one player goes over five hundred in the same round, the player with the highest score wins. If players tie then the player who was leading before that round wins.
The Shuffle and Deal
Each player draws a card. The player with the lowest card deals first. The deal then proceeds clockwise. The player on the dealer’s right cuts (this is optional).
The number of cards dealt depends on the number of players. If there are two players, each player gets ten cards. In three or four player games, seven cards are dealt to each player. Five or six players may also play, in which case each player receives six cards.
Number of players Number of cards dealt
2 players 10 cards
3 or 4 players 7 cards
5 or 6 players 6 cards
Starting with the player to the dealer’s left, cards are dealt clockwise, face down, one at a time. The dealer then puts the rest of the deck, face down, between the players. This forms the stock pile. A single card is then drawn and placed face up next to the stack. This is called the discard pile.
Playing Rummy
Play begins with the player on the dealer’s left and proceeds clockwise. Each player draws a card from the stock or the discard pile. The player may then meld or lay off, which are both optional, before discarding.
Melding
If a player has three cards of the same suit in a sequence (called a sequence or a run), they may meld by laying these cards, face up, in front of them. If they have at least three cards of the same value, they may meld a group (also called a set or a book). Aces can be played as high or low but not both, for example Q? K? A? and A? 2? 3? are legal, but not K? A? 2? (some variations allow this type of run). Melding is optional. A player may choose, for reasons of strategy, not to meld on a particular turn. The most important reason is to be able to declare “Rummy” later in the game.
Laying off
A player may also choose to “lay off” some cards on an existing meld. This means that if a player can add to a sequence or a group that is in front of them or any of the other players, they may do so. For example: if another player had a sequence consisting of A? 2? 3? in front of them, the player would be able to add the 4?, or 4? 5?, and so on, thereby continuing the sequence. Some variations allow players to play the K? and wrap around. Also if a player has 3 of a kind, one of which continues another sequence on the field then another player may also continue off that card.
Discarding
Finally, after any melds or lay offs, the player must discard a single card to the discard pile, face up. The only condition is that it not be the card that they drew from the discard pile on the same turn. They may, however, return it on the next turn. In addition, if they drew from the stock instead of the discard pile, they are allowed to return that card in the same turn. In this way, the discard pile changes every turn.
Exhausting the stock
If, while playing, the stock runs out, the next player may choose to draw from the discard pile or to turn the discard pile over to form a new stock. The discard pile is not shuffled in the process. After forming the new stock, the top card is drawn to form the new discard pile, just like after the deal. You can call rummy if a point is discarded into the discard pile. You cannot however call rummy if the card becomes a point while in the discard pile.
Going Out
When a player has gotten rid of all of their cards, they win the hand. There are two variations. Either the player must discard the last remaining card in their hand on the last turn, or they need not. Playing with this rule makes ending a hand slightly more difficult.
For example, if a player has only the 7 of diamonds and 8 of diamonds left in their hand, and they draw the 9 of diamonds (forming a sequence), then whether they win the hand or not depends on if they are playing the discard rule variation. If they are playing this variation, they can not win the hand at this point, because they have to finish the turn by discarding one of the three cards in their hand, causing them to no longer have a sequence. However, if the player is allowed to lay off this sequence without a final discard, then the game ends when the player lays down the sequence. And a player can lay down cards afterwards. A player may not win or go out if rummy is declared on the board.
Declaring Rummy
If a player is able to meld all of their cards at once, they may say “Rummy” on their turn and go out. To declare Rummy, a player must not have melded or laid off any cards prior during the hand. If playing with the discard rule, they must also discard after melding.
If a player goes rummy when a card can be played, that player is out for that turn. Game players are still in game but hand goes dead.
Playing for Rummy is more risky, but it carries the reward of double the score. Each player must wait until their second turn to go out. If there is a rummy lying in the pile, the player who called “rummy” can play that card while the player who laid the rummy must then draw 2 cards from the stock pile or pick up the entire discarded pile.
Scoring
After a player goes out, the hand ends, and the players count up their cards. Any cards left in each player’s hand are counted up and added to the winner’s score. The Queen of Spades count as 40, Aces count as 15, face cards (Except the queen of spades) and 10s count as 10, and the rest are worth 5. If a player has declared Rummy, then this score is doubled. The player that goes out first receives a 25 point bonus. The other players must deduct the points in their hand from the points they have accumulated throughout the game.
Another variation is that face cards count as 10; three aces count as 15 each; a run of ace, king, queen, the ace is 15; a run of ace, two, three, the ace is 5; and the rest are worth 5 each. Any cards left in each player’s hand are counted up and subtracted from their score on the table. You cannot count Jokers or Wild Cards during the scoring.
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