Rummy Guide

Detailed Guide to Rummy Game Rules

Rummy is a card game played with two decks of cards with a total of two Jokers. To win, a player must make a valid declaration by picking and discarding cards from the two piles given. One pile is a closed deck, where the player is unable to see the card that he is choosing, while the other is an open deck made of the cards discarded by the players. To win at a Rummy card game, players have to group cards in valid sequences and sets.

The cards in each suit rank from low to high, starting with Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen and King.
The Ace, Jack, Queen and King cards each have 10 points.
The remaining cards have value equal to their face value. For example, 4 cards will have 4 points and so on.

• The Goal
  

  The goal of the game is to arrange the 13 cards in valid sets and sequences. To win, you need to make a minimum of 2 sequences, out of which one needs to be a pure sequence and the rest can be any valid sequence or sets. Without a pure sequence you cannot make a valid declaration, this being one of the most important rules of the game.

• Forming Sequences
  

  A sequence is a group of three or more consecutive cards from the same suit. There are two types of sequences: a pure sequence and an impure sequence. To win a game, you need at least one pure sequence in your rummy hand.

• Pure Sequence
  

  A pure sequence is a group of three or more cards of the same suit, placed in consecutive order. To form a pure sequence, a player must not use any Joker or wild card.

• Impure Sequence
  

  An impure sequence is a group of three or more cards of the same suit with one or more Joker cards used to substitute the missing card in the sequence.

• Forming Sets
  

  This is a group of three or more cards of the same value but suits. When forming sets, you can use wild cards and Jokers to substitute missing cards in the set

• A Note
  

  Sets are formed with the same card of different suits. However, you can’t use two or more cards from the same suit in a set. This is an invalid declaration.
  Also, a set may have more than four cards, so if you have a set of four cards and you are looking to use an additional Joker, then it becomes a 5-card group and can still be a valid set. At no given time can the hand have more than 13 cards.

A FEW QUICK TIPS TO WINNING

Here are a few quick tips to win at any game and stay a step ahead

• Try to form a pure sequence at the very beginning of the game. Without one, you cannot make a declaration.
• Discard cards with high points such as Ace, Jack, Queen and King and replace them with Joker or Wild Cards. This reduces the point load, in case you lose the game.
• Avoid picking from the discard pile as it may give away what hand you are trying to form.
• Look for smart cards.
• Jokers play an important role, so try using them to replace other high value cards. Jokers and wildcards cannot be used to form pure sequences.
• When making a declaration, check and recheck your cards before you press the button. An invalid declaration may turn a winning game into a complete loss.