Rummy Rules and How to Play Guide

The most popularly played format of Rummy is the 13-card game. In this format a standard deck of 52 cards is used and 2-6 players can play this game. 13 cards are dealt to each player at the start of the game and the rules are very simple.

Players have to pick and discard cards from the closed pile or the discard pile, until they are confident about making a valid declaration. A declaration in Rummy is considered valid if it has at least one pure sequence. The player who makes the quickest valid declaration wins the game.

In a standard deck of 52 cards, there are four suits - Clubs ♣, Diamonds ♦ Spades ♠ Hearts ♥ Each of the suits are ranked low to high in the game, with 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 being equal to their numeric values. Ace, Jack, Queen and King are all valued at 10 points each.

Objectives of the Indian Rummy Game

In a standard game of Indian Rummy, 13 cards are dealt to all the players. The basic objective of the game is to form sets and sequences with your 13 cards and make a declaration before all the other players. A declaration will be considered valid only if it contains a pure sequence. A pure sequence is a group of 3 or more cards of the same suit, placed in consecutive order.

Forming Sequences

In Rummy sequences are three or more consecutive cards of the same suit grouped together. Sequences can be of two types, pure and impure. Pure sequences have to be made of 3 or more cards of the same suit grouped together in consecutive order, they cannot contain any joker cards to complete the sequence. A pure sequence is a must to make a valid declaration and win a game of Rummy.

Pure Sequence

In a standard game of 13-card Rummy, a pure sequence is a group of 3 or more cards of the same suit, placed in consecutive order. A pure sequence cannot contain any printed joker or wildcard joker.

Examples of Pure Sequence:

2 ♠, 3 ♠, 4 ♠, 5 ♠ made with 4 cards.

7 ♦, 8 ♦, 9 ♦ made with 3 cards.

Impure Sequence

An impure sequence in a standard game of 13-card Rummy is a group of 3 or more cards of the same suit with one or more joker cards used to replace missing cards in the sequence.

Examples of Impure Sequence:

Say at the start of the game, it has been decided that ‘K’ is the wildcard joker - say a sequence is being formed and it has one card missing, so the impure sequence will look like this, 2 ♠, 3 ♠, K ♦, 5 ♠

Similarly, if you have a printed joker then the set will look like this, 2 ♠, 3 ♠, Joker, 5 ♠, but it will still be an impure sequence.

Forming Sets

Sets are usually a combination of 3 or 4 cards of the same value but different suits. You can make sets with printed jokers or wildcard jokers.

Examples of Sets:

K ♦, K ♠, K ♥, K ♣ - This is a complete set, which has all the kings of all four suits. If a player picks a card of any value and makes a set of all four suits, it is a complete set.

K ♦, K ♠, K ♥ - This is a set and it can be used for a valid declaration as well.

K ♦, K ♠, K ♥, K ♥ - When playing with two standard decks of 52 cards, sometimes players might have two cards of the same value and the same suit. If they make a set with two cards of the same value and the same suit as shown in the example, it is considered an invalid set and will end in a wrong declaration.

K ♥, K ♠, Joker - When you complete a set of Kings with a printed joker card. This is considered valid during a declaration.

K ♦, K ♠, K ♥, 3 ♠ - This set of kings is completed with the wildcard joker, which in this case is 3 of spades. This is also considered valid during a declaration.

How to Play Rummy?

A standard game of rummy is played between 2-6 players with a standard deck of 52 cards. The dealer at the beginning of the game deals out 13 cards to each participating player and a random card is chosen as the wildcard joker at the start of the game.

All players have to keep drawing and discarding cards while keeping 13 cards in their hands at all times. The player who manages to form valid sets and sequences from their 13 cards before their opponents and makes a valid declaration, wins the game.

Players can use the printed joker or the three wildcard jokers in the game to complete impure sequences and sets.

Pro Rummy Tips to Outsmart Your Opponents

Rummy is an easy game to understand and play as the rules are very simple. But there are some smart moves that you can make to stay ahead of your opponents.

Having a pure sequence is a must to make a valid declaration. Focus on making that pure sequence first, pick and drop cards accordingly to do so.

The discard pile is an open deck, where everyone can see what cards have been dropped. Avoid picking from here, because it gives away your strategy and what sets or sequences you’re trying to build.

Jokers play an important role. They can be used in two ways, firstly to make sets or impure sequences quickly when you’re missing a card. Secondly, you can drop a joker card if you’re trying to block your opponents from picking up a particular card. Joker cards, if dropped, cannot be picked from the discard pile. It also blocks the previous card that has been dropped, forcing the next player to pick from the open deck.

If you’re struggling to make sets, get rid of high value cards which hold 10 points, like the King, Queen, Jack and Ace. In case you’re on the verge of losing, this will allow you to reduce the point load you have.

Terms Used in Indian Rummy

Table/Lobby: The Rummy table or lobby is the in-game table or game lobby where the game is played. 2-6 players can play on this table at a time.

Printed Joker and Wildcard Joker: There is one printed joker used in a standard 52-card deck of rummy and another joker is randomly selected from the cards after all cards have been dealt before the start of a game. This randomly selected wildcard joker also has the same powers as the printed joker and can be used to form sets or impure sequences.

Draw and Discard: In a standard game of Rummy after the cards have been dealt, there are two piles from which players can draw fresh cards - The open deck and the discard pile. All players must draw a card and use it to form sets and sequences, but have to discard a card after each draw keeping the number of cards in hand to 13 always.

Card Sorting: Sorting is an option that players can use at the start of a game to put their cards in order after the 13 cards have been dealt. That way the cards are already placed on their way to form sets and sequences and it is easier to understand and not get mixed up.

Drop: If a player feels that they were not dealt decent cards and it is really difficult to form sets or sequences during the game, they can choose to drop that hand. This is basically an act of quitting the game. This personal choice has a penalty attached to it - if the player is dropping their hand at the start of the game, they are penalized 20 points, in the middle of the game it is 40 and at the end of the game it is 80 points.
This personal choice has a penalty attached to it - if the player is dropping their hand at the start of the game, they are penalized 20 points, in the middle of the game it is 40 and at the end of the game it is 80 points.

Invalid Declaration: An invalid declaration happens when a player hits the declare button without having proper sets and sequences. This results in the player making the declaration losing the game.

Types of Invalid Declaration:

Wrong set: K ♦, K ♠, K ♥, K ♥

In this case the set needs to be 3-4 cards of the same value but different suits. But, the player made a mistake by completing the set with two king of hearts and thereby made the declaration invalid.

Only sets: K ♦, K ♠, K ♥ | 3 ♦, 3 ♠, 3 ♥ | 7 ♦, 7 ♠, PJ | Q ♦, Q ♠, Q ♥, Q ♣

In this case this is an invalid declaration as per the rules. The player has only made sets and the game of Rummy demands both sets and sequences in a valid declaration, inclusive of one pure sequence.

No pure sequence: K ♦, K ♠, K ♥ | 2 ♦, 3 ♠, PJ | 7 ♦, 7 ♠, PJ | Q ♦, Q ♠, Q ♥, Q ♣

In this case there are sets and sequences, but the sequence is impure with a printed joker in it. This declaration is invalid because the rules of rummy demand that there be a pure sequence.

Valid Declaration - Possible Combinations

Calculation of Points in Indian Rummy

The calculation of how points are added to the losing player’s total:

The calculation of points for all players after a player has won:

Calculations of Winning Amount in Real Cash Rummy

Players can now play their favourite Rummy variants in a competitive online environment for real cash prizes. Rummy Apps like Rummydamaka offer real cash Rummy, giving the players an opportunity to use their Rummy skills for big wins. But, how are the cash prizes calculated in the different variants of Rummy, let’s have a look:

Calculations of Winning Amount in Points Rummy

In Points Rummy the winning amount is calculated on a pre-decided cash value attached to each point won or lost by players. In a 6-player game, the winner gets all the money lost by the five other players.

Example: If the pre-decided value is Rs.2 per point and the five players who lost that round, they received penalty points of 45, 75, 23, 20 and 40. Then the winner will get 2 x (45+75+23+20+40) = 406 rupees as the winning amount.

Calculations of Winning Amount in Pool Rummy

The calculations in Pool Rummy are simple as the players have to pay a buy-in fee for the particular table and that forms the prize pool for that cash rummy table.

Example: There are 6 players and the buy-in fee for this particular game is Rs.50 per person. Then the player who wins the game gets the entire prize pool which is 50 x 6 = 300 rupees as the winning amount.

Calculations of Winning Amount in Deals Rummy

In Deals Rummy players are given a pre-decided amount of chips to play each round with. Players lose or win these chips as per their points. The winning amount is as much as the amount of chips a player has at the end of the game.

Example: If each chip is equal to Rs.2 in value and there are 6 players in the game. Five players have lost chips in the following order 20, 23, 45, 75 and 30. Then the winner will collect all that and get 2 x (20+23+45+75+30) = 386 rupees as the winning amount.