Rummy Rules & How to Play

Rummy (also known as Regular Rummy, Straight Rummy, Basic Rummy, Standard Rummy or Traditional Rummy) remains one of the most popular Rummy card games. As with many other Rummy games, it is well suited to wagering as it contains all the exciting ingredients of a high octane Poker game but with more skill involved.

These are the default, most commonly used Rummy rules which we understand to be as close as possible to being the official rules of this card game, though no official rules actually exist as such. However, optional variations on certain elements of play do exist and are given in italics, and in the section "Other House Rules".

Straight Rummy may be played by 2 - 6 players and uses a standard playing card deck of 52 cards. Normally the game is played to a target score which needs to be agreed before the start of play. This is 100 points by default unless otherwise indicated.

The first dealer is chosen at random. Most often, it is decided by each player drawing a single card from the deck, with the lowest card getting to deal first. The number of cards dealt is dependent on the number of players as below:

Number of players	Number of cards dealt
2 Players	10 cards each
3 or 4 Players	7 cards each
5 or 6 Players	6 cards each

After each game, if there are just two players, the deal alternates. If there are more than two players, the deal moves clockwise (to the left) around the table. Starting with the player to his left, the dealer deals the cards one at a time to each player around the table until all players have the required number of cards. The dealer places the remaining cards face down on the table to become the stock. He then turns over the top card and places it face up on the table to the right of the stock to start the discard pile. Once the cards have been dealt, the players can then examine and sort their cards. The player to the left of the dealer takes the first turn.

Draw (Compulsory) - Firstly, each player begins their turn by either drawing a card from the top of the stock pile, or taking the top card from the discard pile - this is called "Drawing" or "The Draw". If you draw from stock, you add the card to your hand without showing it to the other players. If you draw a card from the discard pile, your opponents will know what card you have taken as the discard pile is face up.

The object of the game is to dispose of all your cards and you can do this in one of three ways after the initial draw:

(1) Melding (Optional) - Cards may be discarded by placing approved combinations of three or more cards from your hand face up on the table before you. Alternatively, you may choose to keep melds in your hand for reasons of strategy - and/or the chance to declare "Rummy" later on and gain a bonus. You may only lay down one meld during a turn. There are two kinds of combinations: runs and sets.

Example of a Valid Run	Example of an Invalid Run
3 4 5	3 4 5
10 J Q K	10 J Q K

A set (aka group) is three or four cards of the same rank and different suits:

Example of a Valid Set	Example of an Invalid Set
A A A	A A 2
K K K K	K K Q

(2) Laying Off (Optional) - This involves adding cards from your hand to melds previously placed on the table by yourself or other players. Cards added must form a legitimate meld. Thus, if there is a run of 4 5 6 on the table, you may add 3 or you could add 2 and 3 or even 2 3 and 7. You are also not permitted to move cards from one meld to another to form new melds. You are not obligated to lay off cards just because you can but there is no limit to the number of cards you can lay off during a single turn.

(3) Discarding (Compulsory) - This is where you place a card from your hand on the discard pile. Each player must end their turn by discarding one card from his hand face up on the discard pile. Once the player has discarded, his turn is over and he may not play any cards again until the turn moves back to him. According to some house rules, if you drew from the discard pile you cannot discard the same card in the same turn.

A single turn therefore, consists of a player drawing a card (compulsory). He/she may optionally place a meld on the table or lay off cards to an existing meld or melds on the table (if any). He/she must then discard one card thus ending a turn (compulsory).

If the stock pile runs out, the top card from the discard pile is set aside and the remainder of the discard pile is shuffled and turned face down to become the new stock pile. The top card starts the new discard pile. Some house rules say the game ends when the stock pile runs out, players scoring the value of the cards left in their hand.

A player wins the hand by being the first to play all the cards in their hand by either melding, laying off or discarding. Once a player has gone out, the hand is ended. No other players may meld, lay off or discard their cards even if they have valid combinations already in their hand.

At the end of the hand, each player adds up the points of the cards remaining in his or her hand as follows:

Cards	Value	Example 1	Example 2
Aces	1 point	A is worth 1 point	A is worth 1 point
Faces	10 points	Q is worth 10 points	K is worth 10 points
Others	Pip value	5 is worth 5 points	7 is worth 7 points

Faces (King, Queen and Jack) are worth 10 points each. Number cards are worth their pip value, for example: 5 is worth 5 points, an 8 is worth eight points, etc. Aces are low in this game and worth 1 point each. Some house rules may determine that Aces are high and carry a value of 15 points. Aces are low by default and the cards rank in order: Ace 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jack Queen King

The total value of all cards remaining in the hands of other players is added to the cumulative score of the winning player.

The game continues with further hands until either a previously agreed upon target score is reached (100 points by default). The winner is the player with the highest score or the first to reach the target score. Some house rules may provide that the game continues until a previously agreed upon number of hands has been played.

A player "goes out" when he gets rid of all his cards and he therefore wins the game. If all his remaining cards are melded, he may lay them down without discarding a card to end his last turn. This ends the game and there is no further play.

A player "goes Rummy" when he disposes of all the cards in his hand in one turn and goes out without previously having put down or laid off any cards. When this happens, every other player earns him twice the amount of points they would ordinarily owe. Some house rules may provide a 10 point bonus and not a doubling of points owed.

The rules above are the most commonly used for this game but the following individual house rules may be introduced to the game at the discretion of the managers of the game, including:

(2) A player cannot lay off any cards unless they have put down at least one meld of their own.

(3) A player who has not previously melded or laid off any cards earns a bonus if they can go out in a single turn by melding or laying off their entire hand.

(4) Aces can be counted as high or low, so that Q-K-A and sometimes also K-A-2 (round the corner) are valid runs. They are not valid in the default game as Aces are low. When playing with this rule, Aces are given the value of 15 points (instead of 1 point) to offset the enhanced usage possibilities.

(6) Values in the hand at the end of the round are added to the player�s own score as a penalty. In that case, the player with the lowest score at the end of the specified number of rounds or when the target score is reached, is the winner.

We are conscious about the variations in the rules of different Rummy card games and our features are constantly subject to review. If you have some feedback on this article or can suggest some corrections to it, we would appreciate you letting us know so that we might consider potential amendments. Please contact us via email address below: