Rummy 500 is one of the most popular variations of Rummy. In fact, this is thegame that many people think of as regular, normal or standard Rummy. The biggestdifference from the actual Standard Rummy is that players may draw morethan just the top card from the discard pile if they wish, although they mustplay the the bottom card of the stack they draw.

Another difference is that scoring is based on what the player has melded orlaid off, not just the deadwood left in their hand at the end of a game. Thisfact places Rummy 500 into a slightly different category of games from StandardRummy, which we'll call Meld Scoring Games.

Rummy games first appeared in the early twentieth century, and are probably derived from the Mexican game Conquian. This page describes basic rummy, also known in the card game literature as Straight Rummy.For other types of rummy, and related games, see the rummy index page.Note that many people use the name Rummy to refer to the game called 500 Rummy on this site. Rummy Players: 2,3,4,5,6 Type: Matching Card rank: K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A Objective Each player tries to lay all of the cards from their hands onto the table by forming matched sets. The rules of rummy are quite simple, and this contributes in large part to the popularity of the game in India and beyond. The rules also make for tantalising and exciting game play, as you are sure to discover very soon. Now, if you were unsure about the rules of the game. How to Play 500 Rummy: 500 Rummy is a fun game for all ages! The objective of the game is to lay down number sets in order to get the most points by the end of each round and to get rid of all your cards. The turn-by-turn game play in Rummy 500 is nearly the same as in Standard Rummy. The player starts by drawing either from the stock pile or the discard pile, optionally forms melds (a run or a set), optionally lays off cards onto other melds, and then discards one card to the discard pile. Since there is so much similarity, only the additions or differences will be described here.

Setup

Players: Rummy 500 can be played by 2 to 8 players.

Cards: A standard deck of cards is used, with 52 playing cards and 2 jokers.If 5 or more players are playing then a second deck should be used, with 108cards total.

The Deal: The number of cards dealt depends on the number of players. Ifthere are 2 players then they get 13 cards each. If there are 3 or more playersthen players then deal 7 cards each. The remaining cards should be placed facedown on the table and will become the stock pile. The top card should be flippedand placed beside the stock pile, this will be the start of the discard pile.

Objective: The object of the game is to get rid of all your cards by formingmelds or laying off cards on preexisting melds. Points are scored from the cardsplayed by each player.

Game Play

The turn-by-turn game play in Rummy 500 is nearly the same as in Standard Rummy.The player starts by drawing either from the stock pile or the discard pile,optionally forms melds (a run or a set), optionally lays off cards ontoother melds, and then discards one card to the discard pile. Since there isso much similarity, only the additions or differences will be described here.Please read the description of Game Play in Standard Rummy if you’re not alreadyfamiliar with it.

Drawing multiple cards from the discard

The most obvious difference from Standard Rummy is that more than one card maybe drawn from the discard pile. To facilitate this, the discarded cards shouldbe stacked to the side so the previous discards are still partially visible. Ifa player is able to make a meld or lay off a card that is not on the top of thestack then the player may take that card and all the cards above it in thestack. The bottom card taken must be played on that turn, (unless the playertook only the top card). The player should then play that card as well as anyother melds or layoffs they are able to do, and then discard a single card likenormal.

It is very important to understand how to use the discard pile for youradvantage. Suppose that you have these cards in your hand:2-4-5-8-J-K-K and that the discard pile is as follows:

You want to take the 4 and 4 from the discard pileto go with your 4 to make a group. To get these cards, you musttake all the cards from the 4 onwards, leaving only the 6 in the discard pile. You can then meld the 4-4-4, andyou have the following cards left in your hand: 2-5-7-8-J-Q-K-K-A. You can then discard something you don't need such as the 2 and the discard pile is then:

If you had taken only the 7 you would have been allowed to keepit in your hand and not meld it. Since you took the cards from 4onward, you must meld the 4.

End of Hand

The hand can end in one of two ways. First, when a player disposes of all thecards in their hand via forming melds, laying off cards, or adding a final cardto the discard pile, then the hand is done. Note that it is not required toinclude adding a card to the discard pile when going out, all the remainingcards in a player’s hand may be played if they are all going to valid melds orlay offs.

The other way that a hand can end is if the stock pile is exhausted and thecurrent player does not want to draw any cards from the discard pile. If theplayer is able to use something in the discard pile then they take their turnlike normal and play continues on to the next player.

Once the game has ended in one of the ways described above then the hand is overand other players may not meld or lay off cards even if they have validcombinations in their hand. Calling “Rummy!” also not allowed.

Scoring

All players count the value of the cards they have melded, and subtract thevalue of the cards remaining in their hands. Each player’s score is added totheir ongoing score for the series of games being played. Games continue untilone or more players reach a score of 500 points or better. Note that it ispossible to have a negative score if the value in the hand is more than thevalue of cards melded. Also note that unplayed melds still must be counted.

Cards have the following values:

Optional Rules and Variations

1. Playing without jokers: Rummy 500 was originally played withoutwild cards, and it certainly can still be played that way now. It makes for aslightly more challenging game, which some people prefer.
2. 5/10/15 card values: To make scoring simpler the cards 2-9 can be givena value of 5 instead of their face value. If an ace is played as a low card,such as a A-2-3 run, then it will have a value of 5 points instead of 15.
3. Card from discard pile must be played: With this variation the rule thatthe deepest card taken from the discard pile must be played also applies evenif only one card is taken from the discard pile.
4. New meld for discard cards: When cards are drawn from the discard pilethen the deepest card must be played in a new meld, not laid off on existingmelds.
5. Rummy in the Pile, or Calling Rummy!: This is a commonly played variant,although it is not regarded as part of standard Rummy 500 by most game books.The way it works is that if, for example, a player discards a card whichcould have been melded, or leaves the discard pile in a state where itcontains cards which can be melded without requiring a card or cards from anyplayer's hand, then before the next player draws, any player other than theone who just discarded, may call 'Rummy!' and take the discard pile as fardown as the relevant card. This player then completes their turn by meldingthat card and possibly others, and by discarding one card to end their turn. Theturn to play then passes to the player on the left of the one who called'Rummy!' and moves clockwise from there, possibly skipping some players ineffect. Note that it is not possible to call 'Rummy!' in this way when thegame has ended. When a player discards or melds their last card, the gameends and they need not have any regard to what is left in the pile. Here aretwo examples of how 'Rummy In The Pile' works in practice:
   • If there is a 3-4-5 on the board (i.e. in the meld area)and someone discards a 2 or a 6 then anyplayer, apart from the the discarder may call out 'Rummy!', take the cardand meld it.
   • If it is your turn and you have 7 and 8 inyour hand, you draw 6 from stock but there is already a 5 buried in the pile. If you meld your 6-7-8 inthis turn, then anyone can call 'Rummy!', take the 5 fromthe pile (and all cards above it) and add it to your meld. You cannot makethis call yourself immediately after placing your meld down, only the otherplayers may do this, but you may once the next player has taken his turn,in the unlikely event that no one else has spotted it and called 'Rummy!'.In situations like this you may want to hold on to your meld until yournext turn and then take the 5 from the pile (and all cardsabove it) in order to play the larger meld.
6. Calling Rummy for top card only: For this variation only the mostrecently discarded card is eligible for being stolen by another playercalling “Rummy!”
7. Discard required when going out: This variant requires a player who goesout to keep one card so that they can discard at the end of their turn. Inthis version of the game you are not allowed to meld all your cards, leavingyourself nothing to discard.
8. Floating: This variant also required that a player must discard in orderfor the hand to be ended, but they can meld all of their cards on their turn.When this happens the player “floats” until it is their turn again. Theplayer can then draw a card and discard it, draw from the discard pile andmake a meld and discard like normal, etc. If the player still has cards atthat point (because of drawing more than one card from the discard pile) thenplay continues like normal until a player is able to go out with a discard.
9. Unplayable discard required: if a player goes out with a discard thenthe card must be unplayable on any existing melds. Otherwise they will gointo floating mode as described above.
10. Must go out to win: If another player is the one to go out on a hand,then you can not be the winner even if you have 500 points or better. If theplayer who did go out does not have 500 points then play continues withanother round. It is possible for the winner to have less points than otherplayers.

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Types of Rummy

Rummy games first appeared in the early twentieth century, and are probably derived from the Mexican game Conquian. This page describes basic rummy, also known in the card game literature as Straight Rummy. For other types of rummy, and related games, see the rummy index page. Note that many people use the name Rummy to refer to the game called 500 Rummy on this site, in which more than one card can be taken from the discard pile, and points are scored for cards melded.

Basic Rummy

The game is best played with two to four players, but up to six can take part. Either a fixed number of deals are played, or the game is played to a target score. The number of deals or the target score needs to be agreed before beginning to play.

The Deck

One standard deck of 52 cards is used. Cards in each suit rank, from low to high:

Ace 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jack Queen King

The Deal

The first dealer is chosen randomly, and the turn to deal alternates if there are two players, and rotates clockwise if there are more than two. In a two player game, each player is dealt a hand of ten cards. Seven cards each are dealt if there are three or four players, and when five or six play each player gets six cards. The cards are dealt one at a time, and after the deal, the next card is placed face up on the table to start the discard pile, and the remainder of the deck is placed face down beside it to form the stock. The players look at and sort their cards.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to dispose of all the cards in your hand. There are three ways to get rid of cards: melding, laying off, and discarding.

• Melding is taking a combination of cards from your hand, and placing it face up in front of you on the table, where it stays. There are two kinds of combination which can be melded: sequences (also known as runs) and groups (also known as sets or books).
  • a sequence or run consists of three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive order, such as 4, 5, 6 or 8, 9, 10, J.
  • a group, set or book is three or four cards of the same rank, such as 7, 7, 7.
• Laying off is adding a card or cards from your hand to a meld already on the table. Thecards added to a meld must make another valid meld. For example to the 4, 5, 6you could add the 3 or the 7. You are not permitted to rearrange the melds in the process.For example, 2, 2, 2, 2 and 3, 4, 5 have been melded,you are not permitted to move the 2 from the group to the sequence, so as to lay off the A.
• Discarding is playing a card from your hand on top of the discard pile. You get rid of one card this way at the end of each turn.

Play

If there are two players, they take alternate turns starting with the non dealer. If there are more than two players, they take turns in clockwise rotation, beginning with the player to dealer's left.

Each turn consists of the following parts:

Rummy Card Game Rules Printable

1. The Draw. You must begin by taking one card from either the top of the Stock pile or the top card on the discard pile, and adding it to your hand. The discard pile is face up, so you can see in advance what you are getting. The stock is face down, so if you choose to draw from the stock you do not see the card until after you have committed yourself to take it. If you draw from the stock, you add the card to your hand without showing it to the other players.
2. Melding. If you have a valid group or sequence in your hand, you may lay one such combination face up on the table in front of you. You cannot meld more than one combination in a turn (but see House Rules). Melding is optional; you are not obliged to meld just because you can.
3. Laying off. This is also optional. If you wish, you may add cards to groups or sequences previously melded by yourself or others. There is no limit to the number of cards a player may lay off in one turn.
4. The Discard At the end of your turn, one card must be discarded from your hand and placed on top of the discard pile face up. If you began your turn by picking up the top card of the discard pile you are not allowed to end that turn by discarding the same card, leaving the pile unchanged - you must discard a different card. You may however pick up the discard on one turn and discard that same card at a later turn. If you draw a card from the stock, it can be discarded on the same turn if you wish.

If the stock pile has run out and the next player does not want to take the discard, the discard pile is turned over, without shuffling, to form a new stock, and play continues - but see the variations section for a discussion of alternatives and problems that can arise.

A player wins an individual hand by either melding, laying off, or discarding all of his or her cards. Getting rid of your last card in one of these ways is called going out. As soon as someone goes out, play ceases. There can be no further melding or laying off, even if the other players have valid combinations in their hands.

Scoring

When a player goes out, the other players add up the value of all the cards still remaining in their hands, as follows:

• Face cards (K,Q,J) are worth 10 points each
• Aces are worth 1 point each
• Number Cards are worth their face value - for example a six is worth 6 points, a four is 4 points, and so on.

The total value of all the cards in the hands of the other players is added to the winner's cumulative score.

The game continues with further deals until a player reaches the points target that was decided before the game began, or until the agreed number of deals has been played.

Optional House Rules.

These optional rules should be discussed and decided by the players before the beginning of the first deal.

Multiple Melds

1. Some people play that you can lay down as many melds as you desire in each turn.
2. Most people allow a player who has not previously melded or laid off any cards to earn a special bonus if they can go out in a single turn by melding or laying off theirentire hand. This is called going rummy, and the score for the hand isdoubled, or in some versions the winner gets a bonus of 10 points.

Laying off

Some play that you may not lay off any cards on other players' melds until you have laid down at least one meld of your own.

Ace High or Low

In the standard game, aces are low. A-2-3 is a valid run but Q-K-A is not. However, some play that aces can be counted as high or low, so that Q-K-A is also a valid run. When playing with this rule, aces are given the higher value of 15 points instead of 1 point, reflecting their greater usefulness.

A few players go further and allow 'round the corner' runs with an ace in the middle (K-A-2), but this is unusual.

Last discard

Some people play that in order to go out, you must end your turn by discarding your last card. You are not allowed to meld all your cards, leaving nothing to discard.

End of the Stock

Some play that when the stock has run out and the next player does not want the discard, the discard pile is shuffled before reusing it as a stock. This is the version now given in most books. If there is no shuffle, players who can memorise the order of cards in the discard pile will clearly have an advantage.

It is just about possible, though very unlikely, that a repetitive situation could occur where each player is holding on to cards wanted by the others. Each player draws from the stock and discards the card they just drew. In this case, recycling the discard pile as a new stock, whether shuffled or not, will not help. If the players are stubborn, the game could be endless. To avoid this, it may be a good idea to limit the number of times that the discard pile can be reused as a new stock. I suggest that after the stock becomes exhausted for the third time, the play should end if the next player does not want to take the discard. Alternatively, you could agree that the discard pile gets reused only once and the play ends when the stock is used up for the second time.

In the version known as Block Rummy, the discard pile is not reused at all. If the stock has run out and the next player does not want to take the discard, the game ends at that point. Everyone scores the value of the cards remaining in their hands.

If the game ends without anyone going out, all players count the value of the cards remaining in their hands. The winner is the player with least points, and scores the sum of the differences between this and the points in each other player's hand. Example: A has 6; B has 15; C has 7; D has 21. A is the winner and scores 25 = (9 + 1 + 15). If two or more players tie for lowest, they share the winnings equally.

Players are allowed, at their turn, to count the number of cards remaining in the face down stock if they wish. As a courtesy (to save others having to count as well), a player who counts the stock should correctly announce to the other players how many stock cards remain.

Scoring

Some play that instead of the winner scoring points, each of the losers score penalty points according to the cards left in their hand. If the game ends without a winner then everyone scores their cards as penalty points. When someone reaches 100 or more, the player with the lowest score wins.

Some play that each loser pays the winner according to the number of points in their hand (or the difference between their score and the winner's score if no one went out). This method is appropriate when playing for money. The session would last for a set number of hands rather than be played to a target score.

Wrotham Rummy

Daryl Brown describes the following variant payed in Wrotham, Kent, UK. A 55-card pack is used, including three jokers which are used as wild cards. A joker can be used as a substitute for any card needed to melded a set or run. A player who holds the card that a melded joker represents can, during her turn, exchange the real card for the joker.

Six deals are played. Eight cards are dealt to the starting player and seven to each other player. On the first turn the starting player does not draw, but just discards a card (or melds and discards). In the first three rounds players meld and lay off as usual, but in the last three rounds, players may not meld any cards until they are able to lay down all seven at once.

Other Rummy WWW pages

Randy Rasa's Rummy-Games.com has rules for various rummy games, as well as reviews of many rummy software packages and on-line servers.

In several card game books the British author George Hervey published rules for basic Rummy and a variant that amounts to Knock Rummy under the name Colonel. You can read the rules of Colonel on Howard Fosdick's page (archive copy).

Rummy.ch is a German language site offering rules for many rummy games, strategy articles, reviews of online rummy sites and a forum.

In the early 2000's the Deutsche Skatverband organised Rommé events and championships and published Rommé tournament rules.

There are rules in French on Jean-François Bustarret's Rami page.

For other types of rummy see the Rummy Games index page.

Rummy software and on line games

At Game Duell you can play Rommé (German) or Rami (French) online for fun or real money: they offer a variant using two decks and 6 jokers, in which a player's first meld must be worth at least 40 points.

German Rommé, with two decks, 6 jokers and a minimum of 40 points for the initial meld, can also be played at online sunnygames.de.

A Rummy program for Windows (a two-player game against the computer with 10 cards dealt to each player) is available from Card Games Galore.

Rummy Card Game Rules Ace

The Rummy program from Special K Software supports ten Rummy variants, which you can play against computer opponents.

You can play Rummy online against the computer or against live opponents at VIP Games.

Windows software for Italian Rummy (Ramino) is available from Alberosa.

Antonio Ferraioli has written a Rummy (Ramino) app for iPhone or iPad.

A version of Basic Rummy can be played online at CardzMania.

Rummy can be played online at TrapApps.

Gameslush.com offers an online Rummy game against live opponents or computer players.

Rummy Card Game Rules For Two

Sylvain Labbe's Free Card Games includes Net.Rummy, an online Rummy program with customisable rules for play against live opponents. It can be used both on desktop computers and on mobile devices of several types.