Rummy

What you need & setup

1. Choose a dealer. Shuffle the full 52-card deck well.
2. Deal cards one at a time: 10 cards each with 2 players, 7 cards each with 3 or 4 players, or 6 cards each with 5 or 6 players.
3. Place the rest of the deck face down in the middle. This is the draw pile (also called the stock).
4. Flip the top card of the draw pile face up next to it to start the discard pile.
5. Everyone picks up their hand and sorts it. Grouping by rank and by suit makes melds easier to spot.

Turn sequence

1. Draw one card, either from the top of the face-down draw pile or the top of the face-up discard pile.
2. If you have a valid meld, you may lay it face up on the table in front of you (this is optional — you can wait).
3. You may also lay off cards: add matching cards from your hand to melds already on the table, yours or another player's.
4. End your turn by placing exactly one card from your hand face up on the discard pile.
5. Play passes to the left. The round ends the moment someone discards their last card.

Sets and runs (melds)

There are two kinds of melds. A set is three or four cards of the same rank — for example, 7♣ 7♦ 7♥ is a set. A run is three or more cards of the same suit in sequence — for example, 4♠ 5♠ 6♠ is a run.

A run must be all one suit. 4♠ 5♦ 6♠ is not a run, because the 5 is the wrong suit. In basic Rummy, Aces are low, so A♥ 2♥ 3♥ is a run but Q♥ K♥ A♥ is not.

Every card you play to the table must be part of a valid meld. Cards left in your hand when someone goes out count against you.

Drawing and discarding

Every turn starts with a draw and ends with a discard, no exceptions. You draw exactly one card: the unknown top card of the draw pile, or the visible top card of the discard pile.

The discard pile is public information. If you take from it, everyone sees exactly which card you picked up, which tells them something about your hand.

You cannot discard the same card you just took from the discard pile on the same turn. If the draw pile ever runs out, shuffle the discard pile (except its top card) to make a new one.

Melding and laying off

After drawing, you may place one or more complete melds from your hand face up on the table. Many groups allow only one new meld per turn — agree before you start.

Laying off means adding cards to melds already on the table. If a set of 9♣ 9♦ 9♠ is down, you can lay off the 9♥. If a run of 4♠ 5♠ 6♠ is down, you can lay off the 3♠ or the 7♠.

You may lay off on anyone's melds, not just your own, but you must have melded at least once yourself before laying off (a common rule — check your table's preference).

Going out and going rummy

You go out when you get rid of your last card, whether by melding it, laying it off, or discarding it. The round ends immediately and the other players are caught with whatever is in their hands.

Going rummy means melding your entire hand in one single turn, having laid nothing down earlier. Many tables reward this with double points against the opponents.

In most versions your final card must be a discard, so plan to keep one spare card for that last turn.

Counting up the round

When someone goes out, everyone else adds up the cards still stuck in their hands. Face cards (King, Queen, Jack) count 10 each, Aces count 1, and number cards count their face value.

The winner of the round scores the total of everyone else's leftover cards. Melds already on the table count for nothing against you — only cards in hand hurt.

Play several rounds and keep a running tally. First player to reach an agreed target, often 100 points, wins the whole game.

Scoring & how the game ends

• The player who goes out scores points equal to the total value of all cards left in opponents' hands.
• Card values: face cards (K, Q, J) = 10 points, Aces = 1 point, number cards = face value.
• Going rummy (melding your whole hand in one turn) typically doubles what you collect that round.
• Play to an agreed target score, commonly 100 or 500 points, across multiple rounds.

Winning: Win a round by being first to get rid of all your cards; win the game by being first to reach the agreed target score.

Common variations

These are genuine regional and house-rule differences — none of them is “the one true way” to play. Agree with your table before starting.

• Ace high or wraparound

  Some tables allow Aces to be high (Q-K-A is a run) or even to wrap around (K-A-2). Standard play keeps Aces low only.

  Common: House rule at many family tables; agree before dealing.

• Discard to go out required

  Stricter tables require your final card to be a discard — you cannot end the round by melding or laying off your last card.

  Common: Common in club play and many rulebooks.

• Round the corner rummy

  Aces count both high and low and runs may wrap from King through Ace to 2, with Aces scoring 11 against you instead of 1.

  Common: A recognized traditional variant, often played in the United States.

• Block rummy

  When the draw pile runs out, the round simply ends instead of reshuffling; everyone counts their hand and the lowest total wins the round.

  Common: A common published variant.

A little history

Rummy's exact origins are debated, but it is often thought to have developed in the early 20th century, possibly from earlier matching games played in Mexico and China.

Whatever its roots, it became one of the most widely played family card games in the world and spawned a large family of variants, including Gin Rummy and Canasta.