rummy

it is a game based on matching cards of the same rank or sequence (same suit)

number of players: two, three or four

deck : a standard deck of 52 cards

deal

each player receives a certain number of cards from the deck

• in games with two players each player gets ten cards
• in games with three players each of them is given eight cards
• in games with four players, each player is given six cards

cards are delt one-by-one turning round the table

the undealt cards are placed in a face down stack in the middle and called the stock

a single card from the top of the stock is turned face up and placed next to the stock where players discard or shed cards, and this is known as the pile

melds

a meld can either be

set

also known as a book. a set consists of at least three cards of the same rank, for example 4♥4♦4♠ or K♥K♦K♠K♣

run

consists of at least three consecutive cards of the same suit, for example J♣Q♣K♣ or 4♥5♥6♥7♥

in some variations the melds must be 3 or 4 cards, while other variations allow larger melds through the use of longer runs, for example: 8♠9♠T♠J♠Q♠

gameplay

players take turns adding and shedding cards from their hands picking a card either from the stock or from pile and discarding a card to the pile. player cannot take from pile and discard just the same card

if a player discards a card, making a run or set in the pile, it may not be taken up without taking all cards below the top one (variation: all cards between melded and after them must be taken)

melds are revealed to all players by placing them face up on the table

finishing

when

• the hand of some player is empty or
• the stock is empty

scoring

after a empting his hand, the winner (in some variations - all players) score their hand. deadweight scored as minus points

• numbered cards have certain assigned points
• the Royal cards (J-Q-K) have assigned 10 points
• the Aces assigned 13 points

scoring involves each player adding up points in their melded cards and deducting points from cards that have not been melded - deadweight

NB: a player may have a negative score if the unmelded cards total more than the melded ones

usually play continues until one player passes a threshold, for example 1000 points

variations

in some variations player may remove the card from his/her deadweight if s/he can attach it to winner's meld, and such cards dont count in score - neither plus or minus

sometimes player can add cards to his/her previous meld. ususaly this can be done when the size of meld restricted to 4 so player can add fourth card only and no more above that

show

once the winner has melded all his/her cards the other players reveal their entire hand and submit their hands to validation - all other players reveal their melds and deadweight. the action of submitting the cards is called showing

in some variations each player keeps their hand hidden until the show

in that case a player must put all of their cards into at least two melds though they may be allowed to shed one card to the pile before showing