Types Of Rummy, Rummy 500, Gin Rummy, Canasta, Contract Rummy, Rummy Games

The basic objective behind the game of standard game of Rummy, a matching and draw and discard card game, is for each player to seek to develop their hand by arranging it into melds. This is done through drawing one card or more, depending on game, from the stock pile or the discard pile and then discarding one card to the discard pile. The key is to form your entire hand into melds (sets or runs) as quickly as possible. The winner, in most Rummy games, is the one who accomplishes this objective and goes out first.

In Western countries such as, for example the United States, Rummy is widely regarded to be the second most popular card game after Poker. In fact, if you include Mahjong, which is played by over 200 million people across Asia (including China and Taiwan), it has been estimated that Rummy games are played by more than half a billion (500 million) people the world over. This makes it not just one of the most popular card games, but one of the "most popular games" in the world. There is no one, single Rummy game. In fact Rummy, much like Poker, covers the original game as well as a number of variations on the original game all of which have different rules.

The main problem is that there are no official rules per se and the same games have often been played with different rules in different countries. To complicate things, different games have been played using different names. We are going to attempt to summarise some basic differences between what we objectively regard to be the most popular Rummy games:

Rummy game	Deck	Cards	Cards each player dealt	Jokers	Laying off	Target	Also known as**
Rummy	1	52/54	10 cards (2 play), 7 cards (3/4 play), 6 cards (5/6 play)	Yes/No	Yes	100 pts	Basic, Standard, Straight, Regular
Rummy 500	1 or 2	52/54 104/108	13 cards (2 play), 7 cards (3+ play)	Yes/No	Yes	500 pts	Persian, 500 Rum, 500, Pinochle Rummy
Gin Rummy	1	52	10 cards	No	Yes/No	100 pts	Gin, Gin Poker, Celebes, Indian
Contract Rummy	2	105/106 107/108	10 cards (first 3 rounds), 12 cards (last 4 rounds)	Yes	Yes	N/A	Liverpool, Shanghai, Progressive, Joker
Kalooki	2	106	13 cards	Yes	No	N/A	Kaluki, Kalookie, Caloochi, Kalukie
Canasta	2	108	15 cards	Yes	No	5000 pts	Kanasta, Burraco, Samba, Bolivia
*The word "Rummy" is usually appended to this word but has been omitted in this instance to save space in the table.
**Names listed under this heading are either alternative names for, or slight variations on, the corresponding game.

While the basic idea and pattern of play behind these Rummy variants is generally the same, there exist variations in the rules, strategies, and even objectives. John McLeod of the internet card game encyclopaedia Pagat, advocates a method of separating Rummy games into a number of categories, including: Basic, Conquian, Knock, Contract, Asian, Meld Scoring, Canasta, and Manipulation.

First, consider the category of Basic Rummy games. As mentioned, Basic or Standard Rummy involves attempting to turn the entirety of your whole hand into melds as soon as possible. The winner of the game is the player who accomplishes this first. However, even in Standard Rummy, there are a number of different variants of the game, most notably Kalooki (aka Kaluki), played in Europe and North America; Rummikub (North America) which involves the use of tiles rather than playing cards, Loba de Menos (Argentina), and others.

In the next category of Rummy games, are Conquian type games which derived from the original Conquian of the early Spanish communities. The objective is the same as that of basic Rummy, but the method of drawing and discarding is slightly different. Basically, players do not add drawn cards (taken from the stockpile or discard pile) to their hand; instead, they must use the last discard to add it to an existing set displayed on the playing table as soon as the card is picked up; if not, they must take the next card from the stockpile to place on top of the discard pile for the next player. Conquian Rummy games include Conquian and Panguingue.

Gin Rummy is one of the most popular Knock Rummy games. In Gin Rummy, as with a Rummy variant known as Tonk, you are not required to wait until all of your cards are formed into melds. You have the option of �going out� when you determine that the combined value of your unmelded cards (�deadwood�) is likely less than a predetermined maximum point score (which is usually 10 points in Gin Rummy). If, however, your opponent has less deadwood when you knock, then they undercut you and score a bonus against you.

Contract Rummy is another range of Rummy games in which first melds must follow a preset contract, which get progressively more complicated, for each and every deal hence it is also known as Progressive Rummy. Besides Contract Rummy (aka Shanghai Rummy, Liverpool Rummy, Joker Rummy, Progressive Rummy) other Contract Rummy games include Carioca, Push, Jamaican and South African Kalooki, and Telefunken.

In other variations of Contract Rummy the nature and number of Contracts varies. There are ten contracts in Shanghai Rummy, seven contracts in Contract Rummy, five contracts in Russian Rummy and Continental Rummy has just one contract. Some Rummy games can be said to have a "Basic Contract" even though they are not classified as a "Contract Rummy" game.

For example, Indian Rummy could be said to have two "Basic Contracts", in the sense that it is played with a requirement to form two sequences (one of which is pure and must be without any wild card). This is applied to every deal. We have separated contract games below and given an estimation of relative game popularity based on a number of criteria including search inventories and page listings and denoted using a star rating system. Five stars given for the most popular and one star given for the least. All are Contract Rummy Games and all are played with at least two decks.

Contract Type Game	Basic Contracts	Est. Popularity
Contract Rummy	7 Contracts	*****
Shanghai Rummy	10 Contracts	***
Liverpool Rummy	7 Contracts	***
Joker Rummy	7 Contracts	**
Progressive Rummy	15 Contracts	**
Continental Rummy	1 Contract	*
Florida Rummy	10 Contracts	*
Dummy Rummy	12 Contracts	**
Russian Rummy	5 Contracts	***

Next is the Asian Rummy games, in which a wide assortment of cards and tiles are used to play and the types of sets players require of their hands in order to go out can vary from game to game. Some games allow players to claim discards of other players out of turn to complete their sets. In others, certain matching sets are considered more valuable than others. The most popular Asian Rummy game is Mahjong (aka Mahjongg, Mah Jongg, Mah Jong, Mah Jiang) which is hugely popular in China and Taiwan.

This is played with money cards called Mahjong tiles. Similar games include Hanafuda (flower cards), a Japanese game; Okey, a Turkish game using numbered tiles; Cuajo, using Spanish cards; and Si Se Pai (using Chinese chess cards), Kap Tai Shap (Chinese dominoes), and Quan Dui (Chinese money cards).

Rummy game variants can also be divided up into the meld scoring category. Here, points are awarded for scoring various melds, some of which are more valuable and higher ranked than others. Mahjong and international Rummikub are considered meld scoring Rummy games, as are the popular Rummy 500 (aka 500 Rum), Romanian Tile Rummy which is played in Romania, and Indonesian Remi (the Indonesian Rummy).

Canasta is actually a sub category of the meld scoring Rummy game. Many people assume that Canasta is a game unto itself. However, there is an entire range of Rummy games with a similar pattern of play including Kanasta, Samba, Bolivia, Burraco, Hand and Foot and Pennies from Heaven. In these games players receive bonuses for Canastas (or "baskets"), which are defined as sets of seven cards.

These games are generally a departure from the standard form of Rummy melding. You have the option of rearranging existing sets or melds displayed on the table in order to create new sets or melds using the cards you have drawn. The objective remains the same as traditional Rummy. Carousel (aka Vatikan, Manipulation, Sabra) style Rummikub are the most common Manipulation Rummy games.