Indian Rummy is a two player game played with one international deck where 13 cards are dealt to each player which they have to arrange as Sequences and Sets.


The Objective

The player’s objective in Rummy is to

• Arrange all 13 cards in hand as sequences and sets.
• Have at least one pure sequence with a minimum of 4 cards.

If the above two conditions are met by a player’s hand, the player can get ready to show his sets and sequences and claim victory.


Rummy Terms

Hand:  Each player is dealt 13 cards at the start of the game. These 13 cards are referred to as a player’s hand. The first 13 cards are the starting hand and the hand changes as the game progresses and the player picks and discards cards.

Joker:  It is decided before the deal. The joker is a wild card which can be used in place of any other card. If a joker is used for its face value, it is not seen as being used as a joker.   

The Closed Deck: This pile of cards is face down and consists of all the cards (26) except the 26 cards dealt out to the two players before the start of the game.

The Open Deck: This pile of cards is open (face up, though only the top card can be seen and used by both players) and consists of those cards which have been discarded by the players during their turns.

Sequence: A sequence is defined as a collection of three or more cards of consecutive numbers/values of the same suit. For instance A-2-3 , A-K-Q-J , J-10-9-8 and 2-3-4-5-6-7 are all sequences. A sequence can also be constructed with a joker, which is a card that can be used as any card. For example, if K is the joker, then 2-K-4-5 is a legitimate sequence if 2, 4 and 5 are of the same suit. Here K is used as the 3 of the same suit as 2, 4 and 5.

Pure Sequence: A sequence is defined as a collection of three or more cards of consecutive numbers/values of the same suit. For instance A-2-3 , A-K-Q-J , J-10-9-8 and 2-3-4-5-6-7 are all sequences. A sequence can also be constructed with a joker, which is a card that can be used as any card. For example, if K is the joker, then 2-K-4-5 is a legitimate sequence if 2, 4 and 5 are of the same suit. Here K is used as the 3 of the same suit as 2, 4 and 5.

Set: A set is a collection of a minimum of 3 cards and no more than 4 cards of the same face value. 3-3-3 and A-A-A-A are examples of sets. The joker can be used in a set as well. For instance, if K is the joker, then 3-K-3 is a legitimate set.


The Deal

Before the deal both the players draw one card each from the deck. The one who draws a card of higher rank becomes the Dealer and the other player becomes the Receiver and gets to pick the Joker after the dealer has dealt 13 cards to each of the two players. The Joker is picked from the remaining closed deck and is placed face up at the bottom of the closed deck. Thereafter, the top card from the closed deck is picked up and placed on the table face up to mark the open deck. Once this has been done the player other than the dealer starts the game and thereafter the players take turns alternatively.

Playing the Game

During any move, a player picks up the top most card from either the open deck or the closed deck. After the 14th card has been picked, a card must be discarded face up (open) onto the open deck marking the end of the player’s move, and leaving them with 13 cards as before. At any point, a player can arrange/move around the cards in his hand whether it is his turn or not. Once the player’s move ends, the other player makes his move in a similar fashion as described above. The players – the receiver and the dealer alternate moves by discarding face up in the open deck until one of them discards a card face-down. This marks the end of the game.

Ending and Scoring

The players arrange their cards and then place them on the table to show their hands to each other. The player who ended the game by discarding a card face-down should show a hand which meets the objective of the game described above. If the player’s hand meets the objective, he is declared the winner. If not, the opponent is declared the winner and the scores are calculated as follows:
Points in rummy reflect how far a player is from meeting the objective at the end of the game. So the more points you get the worse you have done.

• The winner gets 0 points.
• Points for the loser are calculated based on the cards held at the end of the game.
• Points associated with each card are – A is 1 point, the numbered cards have the same points as their face value and J is 11, Q is 12 and K is 13 points.
• The number of points associated with the joker is taken as the value of the card which is selected as the joker.
• If the loser declared at least one legitimate pure sequence, then the only points they get are for cards that are not declared as part of any legitimate set or sequence.
• In the event that the loser has not declared a legitimate pure sequence, his points are the sum of the values of all 13 cards in his hand.