Rummy

Rummy is a group of card games which includes the Gin Rummy game. Rummy is actually a family of games, different types and different versions of the Rummy game. The most popular version among the Rummy games is the Gin Rummy. The Rummy Game is actually a game of arranging and matching cards. Conquian is described as the first version of Rummy and the origin of the other type of card games. The Conquian game was born in Mexico.

The features of the Rummy games are the same and they include:

Melding

A series is considered one only with at least 3 cards of the same value, but a different shape, this series is called a Set. Another matching of a series is a consecutive series in which the cards are arrange in a running up way of at least 3 cards with the same shape, this series is called a Run. In the different versions of the Rummy games, the player needs to combine series of 4 cards minimum and the joker card can be used as well as in different type of games there are different number of jokers in each deck.

Dealing

In some versions of the Rummy game there can be even 5 different decks of cards in which some contains a certain amount of jokers. Each player is dealt 10 cards, the rest of the cards are piled to a deck which is faced down on the table and the cards of not visible. Next to the main deck of cards, the discard pile deck is located and the cards are faced up and visible to the players.

During the game

In each round the player draws a card either from the main deck pile or the discard pile (depends on the type of game, there are certain games who do not allow to draw cards from the discard pile and if they do allow, only when the same player melds and reveals his cards right after drawing the card from the discard pile). After drawing the card, different moves can be performed. Either to go ahead and meld and then you reveal your cards to the other players and then add cards to existing series on the table, of course, this depends on the type of Rummy game and if possible you can combine more cards before you meld or not. When a player discards a card he actually ends his turn. The turn then goes to the next player who usually sits on the left of the player who just ended his turn, and he has the right to use the card which the last player discarded.

Winning

The player reveals all the cards in his hand arranged by series, except for one card which he also has to discard at the end of that move. In some Rummy games, the other players have the option of melding and leaving only the unmatched cards only in their hand which eventually are counted against the player. Positive points are counted in favor of the winning player who is left with no cards and negative penalty points to the players who are left with unmatched cards. In some cases high bonuses are given to players who put together a special hand and end the game in a unique way.

Basic Rummy

As we mentioned before there are many version to the Rummy game but the main goal is the same in all of them – to put together series and matching cards from the cards in the hand of the player. Each deck of cards contains 52 cards and the numbers between them are Ace (one point) to King (10 points). Each player is dealt one card. The player with the highest card is the one who begins to play first. The game is played clockwise usually. In a 2 player's game, 10 cards are dealt to each player. The game begins with the player sitting left to the dealer, the rest of the deck is placed face down between the 2 players, when one card remains exposed next to this deck and starts the discard pile. In a 3-4 players game, 7 cards are dealt to each player. In a 5-6 players game which is also possible, each player is dealt 6 cards. The game begins with the player sitting left to the dealer. The player draws a card from one of the deck, melds series or ends his turn without revealing his hand discarding a card. A player's melding and revealing the cards to the other players is optional during the entire game, depends on the game strategy of that player. Of course, the goal is to finish first or to stay with as many cards in the hand in order not to be caught with a large number of negative points.

Laying off

A player can add cards to existing series which are already placed on the table. In some versions of the Rummy game you can't complete the cards for other players until that player who wants to complete melded himself and reveals his cards to the other players. A player can add to an existing series in 2 ways, if it's a running series of for example a heart shaped 2,3 and 4 the player can add 5 heart or Ace of heart, or in a different way of adding to a set series, for example a series of 4,4 and 4 with different shapes, the player can add the missing 4 card with the missing shape.

Discarding

Discarding a card is an obligation of each player at the end of each turn. The player can discard any card in his hand except for the same card which he drew from the discard pile, if he collected it at the same turn. Even if that same player finishes all the cards in his hand and wants to win he will have to finish the move discarding one final card to the discard pile and end the move with that.

Deck of Cards

If a the deck of cards runs out during the game, the player whose turn to play can choose whether to draw the last card from the discard pile or to remix the deck pile and get the first card on the top of the newly mixed deck.

Winning Move

A player can perform the winning move in 2 ways. One way is to reveal all the ordered cards in his hand, and the rest of the non matching cards to complete existing series on the table. Another move is to simply meld all the series in his hand without adding any cards to existing series, this is a much difficult move to perform because that same player can wait for a single card to perform this move and that same card which he needs was already been discarded and he has no way to finish and win this way, unless he changes his strategy and tries to build his hand in a different way towards winning.

Scoring

When the game ends, the cards in the hands of the loosing players are counted, this score is against the loosing player. In each version of Rummy there is a different scoring. For example: In the game of Gin Rummy, the ace is considered with a value of 1, and in the game of Kalooki, the Ace is considered to have the value of 11. The scoring method is different from one version to the other and in some games, certain moves entitle the players to additional bonus points in some moves and some versions.

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