Rummy is a really popular, competitive card game, that is easy to learn and has countless well-known variations (e.g. Gin, 500, 7- Card etc). Two or more players take turns to improve the hand they are dealt and try and get rid of their cards first. It’s a great game for all standards of players from beginner to advanced.
Overview | The Basics of Rummy
What is Rummy?
Rummy covers a group of card games (e.g Standard, Gin, 500, etc) where players are matching cards of the same rank and/or creating a sequence in the same suit. This is called melding.
The general aim is to build Melds of all your cards, as unmatched cards left in your hand score against you.
RELATED: Rules of 7 Card Rummy : The simplicity and the ability to play relatively quick games, without any complicated scoring, are why it is so popular. Great for Beginners!
Meld / Melding:
In order to meld, a player must group the cards in their hand into either of two combinations.
- – A ‘Run’ where three or more cards are of the same suit and consecutive e.g 3
- – A ‘Set’ where three or more cards are of the same rank e.g 4
Lay Off / Laying Off
Laying Off is when you add to an existing meld already showing on the table. The meld can be yours or any other player.
Example: A meld of 6
Equally, if there is a meld of 7
Standard or Straight Rummy
This is the generic version of Rummy that is the easiest to learn and can be played with any number of players (2-6+).
In each round (known as a ‘hand’) the ultimate aim of each player is to get rid of all their cards, before any other player. A game is several rounds with the Winner of each round collecting points from the other players.
How to Play Rummy
Once you have learned these basics of Standard Rummy there are countless variations that you can then play, differing by the number of players, number of cards, ‘house rules’ (see later), using jokers, scoring methods, gambling etc
In some Rummy games, aces can be high or low, but not usually both.
So a ‘Run’ could be A-2-3 or A-K-Q but not K-A-2.
As standard an Ace is Low.
The Deal
- Standard 52 card deck, no jokers.
- 2 Players – 10 Cards (although many play with just 7 cards)
- 3 or 4 Players – 7 Cards
- 5 or 6 Players – 6 Cards
- More than 6 players – 7 Cards (using 2 Decks)
The dealer deals clockwise, one card at a time, face down, to each player, until the required number of cards.
After each player has been dealt their cards, the next card is placed face-up in the middle of the table, becoming the ‘Discard Pile’ and the remaining cards are placed next to it forming the ‘Stock Pile’.
Each player can then pick-up and sort their cards.
Each ‘hand’ or round has a winner but all the players will play several ‘hands’ until the overall winner is declared
General Game Play
A players turn consists of three stages:
- Every turn starts with the player drawing (taking a card into their hand of cards) one card from either the stock or the discard pile.
- The player can then choose to Meld or Lay off any of the cards in their hand.
- To end their go the player must discard 1 card face-up onto the discard pile.
The ‘Discard pile’ is face-up, so you, and the other players can see what is taken.
The ‘Stock pile’ is face down, so you do not know what it might be! Players simply add the card to their hand without showing it to the other players.
Looking for something simpler to get started? Try 7 Card Rummy! the simplicity and the ability to play relatively quick games are why it is so popular.
The player to the left of the dealer starts playing.
They have no reason to collect the card shown on the discard pile so take one from the stock pile.
.
They have no cards that they can meld so they discard one card face up onto the discard pile.
After discarding play moves clockwise to the next player.
Example Turn
The next player likes the discarded card and picks it up.
Having looked at their cards, they then choose to ‘put down’ a meld before ending their turn by discarding one card.
Play then continues clockwise with each player, in turn, (1)drawing one card from either the stock or the discard pile, (2)putting down a meld, or laying off and (3)discarding one card.
Finishing the Stock Pile
At the start of their turn:
If all the cards have been taken from the
Stock Pile
and
the player does not want the card on the Discard Pile
that player takes the whole face-up Discard Pile,
Shuffles and turns it over.
It then becomes the new face-down Stock Pile.
Winning a Hand
A player wins an individual hand (or round) by either melding, laying off, or discarding all of their cards. This is sometimes referred to as ‘Going Out’
In our example, Player 4 has won the ‘hand’.
They have got rid of all 7 cards in a Set of three 6’s and a Run of four cards (9
Players 1, 2, and 3 now have to calculate the score of the cards left in their hands.
Having previously melded (9
Additional hands/rounds are then played until one player’s cumulative points reach a predetermined score or an agreed number of hands have been played.
Scoring
Standard Scoring when a player Goes Out.
- The cards left in the hand of any players are scored
- Cards that have been played (melded or layed off) DO NOT COUNT
- The points value of the cards that score is awarded to the winner of that hand.
- Each player keeps a cumulative total of their points after each hand.
- If a player can ‘get rid‘ of ALL of their cards in a single turn, without any prior Melds or Lay Offs then they SCORE DOUBLE POINTS. A RUMMY!
| Card | Points Value | Explanation |
| Ace | 1 | |
| Number Card | Spot Value | 6 3 |
| Face Card | 10 | King, Queen, Jack |
Using the Example Winning Hand above:
| Player | Cards Left in Hand | Cards Score | Points Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | K | 10 + 10 + 4 + 3 = 27 | |
| Player 2 | 9 | 9 + 9 + 2 + 3 = 23 | |
| Player 3 | A | 1 + 10 = 11 | |
| Player 4 (Winner) | None | = 0 | 27 + 23 + 11 = 61 |
Winning Overall
In Standard Rummy, the overall winner is the first player that has a cumulative points total in excess of a predetermined amount (eg 100 or 300 points) OR the highest cumulative total of points after an agreed number of hands.
Variations / Alternative House Rules
The house rules are the rules that you are playing for a particular session of the game. They can make a big difference in how you play. These rules should therefore be agreed upon before starting!
When playing one of the many formal variations of rummy such as Gin, 500, etc these rules are usually fixed.
Laying Off
- Some play that you may not lay off any cards on other players’ melds until you have laid down at least one meld of your own.
Melding
- Some play that you can only put down one meld at a time (UNLESS you can put down your whole hand; a RUMMY!)
Aces
- As standard Aces are considered to be low.
- A-2-3
- In most Rummy games, aces can be high or low, but not both.
- So a ‘Run’ could be A-2-3 or A-K-Q but not K-A-2.
- In this case the Ace often scores 15 points due to its increased versatility.
- In some games they allow you to ‘wrap the deck’ or ’round the corner’ but it is unusual.
- K-A-2
Discard Rule
- As standard most people play that you need to get rid of all your cards by any method in order to win a round.
- By either melding, laying off or discarding.
- Others say that you must have a last card to discard.
- ie you cannot meld all of your last cards (Why does this matter? see below)
Stock Pile
- As standard most people play that when taking the old discard pile and creating the new Stock Pile you simply turn over the pile, WITHOUT shuffling.
- Others say that when you turn over the pile you DO SHUFFLE
- this is now recommended, as if there are card players that can remember the sequence of cards discarded, they will be at a big advantage if the pile is not shuffled!
- In some games to avoid a protracted round they limit the number of times the Stock Pile can be recreated.
- i.e it can only be turned over and shuffled once
- i.e in Block Rummy when the Stock Pile is used up (no turning it over) it is the end of the round and scores are calculated.
Winning
In order to decide on a winner you need to decide how long the game will last:
- Until one player has a score of say 300 points
- They are declared the winner
- Until you have dealt say 4 hands
- The player with the highest point total is then declared the winner
Scoring
In some games rather than the winner being awarded points (and the highest wins), they play the lowest score wins. In that case:
- In each round the winner scores zero
- They have no cards in their hand to score against them.
- Each other player totals the points left in their hand and adds it to their cumlative total.
- The player at the end of the game/after ‘X’ number of deals is the one with the lowest points OR
- The first player to reach a score of say 100 stops the game and the player with the lowest cumulative total is the winner
Most Frequently Asked Questions…
Terms / Definitions / What do they Mean?
Hand, Hands – A game of rummy is made up of a number of ‘hands‘. A hand is where one player deals and then all the players keep playing consecutively until there is a winner for that round. When the next player deals they are playing the next ‘hand‘.
Meld, Melding, Melded – All refer to the grouping of cards. They can be grouped into Run’s or Sets. The objective of the game is to put down or meld one’s hand into valid sets and runs.
Run – A subcategory of a meld where the group is of three or more cards of the same suit and consecutive e.g 3
Set – A subcategory of a meld where the group is of three or more cards of the same rank e.g 4
Laying Off – This is when you put down cards to add to an existing meld. It is possible to lay off onto your own OR your oppositions melded cards.
Get Rid – As the aim is to have no cards left in your hand you are always trying to ‘get rid‘ of your cards by putting down valid melds, by laying off or discarding.
Put Down, Putting Down – When a player legally places cards face up on the table in front of themselves. They have ‘put down’ those cards and they no longer count in scoring. You can only put down cards as part of a meld or when laying off.
Stock Pile – AKA Draw Pile or Closed Deck. These cards are face down, so neither you nor your opponents know what it might be! You simply add the card to your hand without showing it to the other players. This, therefore, gives them no information on what you might be collecting. (Except that you didn’t want the discard card!)
Discard Pile – AKA Open Deck. These cards are face up so all other players can see what you are taking or discarding. This gives clear clues about the possible melds you are working on. An advanced opponent will track the cards you collect and discard to calculate your probable melds but also which cards are now discarded and which other cards might still be available. They will then adjust their own game accordingly
Drawing – Drawing a card is when, at the very start of your turn, you ‘draw’ a card from either the discard pile or the stock pile. You take only one card from the top of the pile and place it in your hand. You then put down any melds/lay offs you might have before discarding and ending you go.
Going Out, Go Out – When a player has won a hand they ‘Go Out’ by putting down all the cards they have in their hand.
Rummy – A player says Rummy when they can Go Out by putting down / melding all of their cards in a single turn. This would normally score double points.
Jokers / Wildcards– In standard rummy there are no jokers. However, many variations use jokers, where they can be used to replace a card in either a run or a set.
How many times can you lay off?
On your turn, you can lay off as many times as you like.
What if you only have two cards left in your hand playing rummy?
This depends on the version of the game or any local rules regarding Discarding.
If you do not have to discard then you have the option to create a meld with the two cards in your hand and the one you draw from either the stock or discard pile. When you meld the three cards and put them down you will no longer have any cards to discard.
Some rules will say that in order to ‘Go Out’ a player MUST discard a card. If that is the case then the only way to play is to lay off the last two cards. Even when you draw from either the stock or discard pile you do not have enough cards to create a meld (requires three cards) and still have a card to throw away.
What is the Discarding rule when Winning/Going Out and why does it make a difference?
In some variations, they will say you MUST discard a card when you are trying to finish. Other variations will say that it is optional. Having to discard makes the game slightly harder.
If a player MUST discard a card then players may be more cautious to avoid a scenario where they only have one or two cards left in their hand. In these scenarios then the only way to play is to lay off the last cards.
If you do not have to discard then you also have the option to create a meld if you still have two cards in your hand added to the one you draw from either the stock or discard pile. When you meld the three cards you will no longer have any cards to discard.
Have we missed any rules you know?
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