Here is an easy guide on how to play rummy
Getting a required card and the thrill of declaring your hand is two of the important aspects of playing rummy online or offline. However, many players stay away from the game as they don’t understand the requirements and rules of the game. Furthermore, there are so many versions available that make the game much more confusing to the new players. So, we have decided to break it down for you and help you understand how to play rummy with your peers.
Rummy card ranks
A standard deck of playing cards has 13 cards of each suite. Each suite or color has 4 face cards namely, King, Queen, Jack, Ace, and nine number cards from 2 to 10. In most Rummy variants, King has the highest point and Ace has the lowest point and if we arrange the cards in terms of their value in the game, they will be:
K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A
Game objective
The objective of the game is very simple where each player tries to arrange and match the cards by drawing and discarding the cards in their hands. A game is considered complete when a player matches a set of cards by making a group of kinds or sequences of more than three cards of a suit.
However, the game is incomplete if the player fails to match even one card in their hand. Many versions require the players to achieve a score of 100 points by arranging the combination.
The game deals
This is the aspect where most players get confused while understanding the rummy rules. The dealer provides each player with cards facing down one at a time. If two players are playing, each gets 10 cards and the card number reduces to 7 cards when four people play. Six cards are distributed to players if there are more than 5 participants.
The remaining cards are faced down as a stock that becomes the drawing pile. After the game commences, each player needs to pick a card from the pile and arrange it with the existing cards. If the card is not useful to them, they can discard the same into the discard pile. If they want to keep the card, they need to throw any other card.
If you are playing with a joker, the top card is unveiled and is used as an upcard. The card becomes the joker and the same can be used in any combination if the player is missing one card.
Game score and winning
The objective is to either get rid of all the cards in hand or get to the score of 100 points before others. A player can either rid of all the matched cards at once or may lay off any matches or sequences likewise. In the event of ‘rummy’, when the player gets rid of all the cards at once, the others have to pay twice the amount that the opponent owes. At other times, the players need to pay the pip value of the cards they are holding. The face cards have a value of 10 points, ace has 1 point, and other cards have their pip value.