Indian rummy is an exciting game that has always been intertwined with Indian culture for ages. It has evolved constantly but has stayed in relevance. Technological advancements have made Rummy undergo a complete makeover. We now need to acknowledge the fact that online rummy today has replaced yesteryear’s traditional form of playing rummy. Online rummy is generating such a buzz these days.
What is Rummy?Rummy is a game of matching cards of the same rank or sequence and same suit. The next question that pops up, almost immediately is how to play rummy?
Objective of Rummy Game
The main objective of any form of rummy is to meld all the cards dealt to the player into proper sets & sequences. Players need to have at least two sequences, one of which must be a pure sequence (without Jokers) and other cards arranged in sequences and/or sets to win the rummy game.
Rummy Wiki
Before going in depth about how to play rummy, let us refresh our basic idea about Rummy Wiki.
- Set- Made by three or four cards of the same rank from different suits. (eg: J♠, J♥, J♣ is a set). Caution: When you are using 2 decks or more you cannot use the same card twice in a set for instance. (eg: 6 ♠ 6 ♠ 6 ♥ is not a valid set)
- Sequence or Run- Melds formed of three or four consecutive cards of the same suit (eg: 5♠, 6♠, 7♠ is a sequence)
- Pure Sequence- Three or 4 cards of the same suit without joker can be referred as the Pure sequence. (eg: 3♠ 4♠ 5♠ is a pure sequence). Note: One pure sequence is mandatory in the game of Rummy to declare victory.
- Joker or Wild card– A card is randomly generated at the beginning of the rummy game that can act as a substitute for any card missing in a set or a sequence. Wild cards come in handy, as it is highly improbable to meld all the 13 cards dealt into pure sets and sequences.
- Printed Joker - Joker that comes with the pack of cards.Note: If the Printed Joker is selected randomly is same as the Wild Joker, then Aces of all suits act as Wild Joker.
Game Play
Online Rummy Game play is almost similar in all forms of rummy (Points rummy/Deals rummy/Pool rummy) except for the varying number of deals.
- Step 1: Random Toss - A random toss is made in the beginning.
- Step 2: Dealing - 13 cards are then dealt to each player
- Step 3: Deck Slots - The first card is placed in the open deck slot to indicate that the game has started. Remaining cards are placed face-down in the closed deck slot.
- Step 4: Joker Selection - A wild joker is randomly selected from the closed deck. In case a printed joker is selected as a joker, then ace card of any suit can be used as a joker.
- Step 5: Sorting - The Sort button feature has been implemented by Online Rummy sites. Players can sort their hand cards based on colours with a click of a button.
- Step 6: Drawing - Players during their turn can pick a card from either open or closed deck.
- Step 7: Discarding - Players should discard the hand card on the discard pile/open deck.
- Step 8: Melding - The player should arrange all the 13 cards in their hands into sets and sequences.
- Step 9: Declaring - After arranging the 13 cards in sets and sequences, the player should discard the final card on the finish slot to declare the game.
Note 2: Winner wins with 0 points and the points of the losing players are calculated based on the value of cards remaining in their hands.
Scoring
Scores of a losing player is calculated by adding the points carried by the cards left in their hands.
- A, K, Q, J – Each card carries 10 points each.
- 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 - Face value is counted as points.
- Both Wild and Printed jokers - Carry a value of zero.
- A player’s maximum score in Rummy is 80.
- Even if the player gets 85 points based on his hand score, his score would still remain 80. In case the player's hand score is 60, the player would get 60 points.
If Hand Score < 80 then Points = Hand Score
If Hand Score >=80 then Points = 80
Scenarios
Case 1: ♣ If the player has no pure sequence at the end of the game, then the points of all the 13 cards are calculated. His score would remain 80 in such cases.
Case 2: ♠ If the player has only a pure sequence at the end of the game, then the points are calculated based on the hand score of remaining cards. (eg: If the player has pure sequence, then his points are calculated based on the hand score of 10 remaining cards).
Case 3: ♥ If the player has 2 sequences and one set, then the points of the cards that remain ungrouped are taken into consideration. (eg: If the player has Seq1 (K♣, Q♣, J♣) and Seq2 (2♦,3♦,4♦, Joker), a Set (6♥,6♦,6♣) then the points are calculated based on the hand score of remaining 3 cards. If he has 8, 9, 3 as the hand cards then his score would be 20 (9+8+3).)
Case 4: ♦ If the player has no sets or sequences, then hand score of all the 13 cards are calculated. His points would can be a maximum of 80 in such cases and the player would get dropped.
Case 5: Drop Scores: If a player drops in the first move, he/she gets 20 points and the game continues till a single player finishes the game. 40 points are given to players who drop after their first turn.
Case 6: Wrong Declare: If a player declares the game without meeting the objective, he/she gets 80 points and the game continues till a player emerges as the winner.
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