History & How to Play Rummy

Rummy is a family of games all sharing the “draw and discard” structure. Besides this unique play pattern, the main goal is to get rid of all of the cards in your hand by forming either sets or runs. All of the Rummy games contain some kind of a scoring system making the play for money much more attractive. There are many theories regarding the origins of the Rummy games, each one attributes the invention of the game to different people or nations around the world.

The Orient

One of the earliest card games to incorporate this play pattern is the Chinese card game from the 18th century named Mahjong (see also, Mah-Jong, Mah-Jongg, Mai-Jiang). Soon enough, many western versions appeared worldwide, bearing names such Conquian, kanhoo and others. The common assumption regarding the swift spread of these card games and their variations is attributed to Chinese immigrants, British and Portuguese merchants who were familiarized with the game during their stay in the mainland.

Mexico

Some versions trace the Rummy origins to the Spanish game “Conquian”, brought to America by the Spanish communities to immigrate west. David Parlett considers this game to be the ancestor of all Rummy games, and mentions its similarity to the popular modern game of Gin Rummy.

Rummy is a family of games that share a similar structure. All these games include a similar game play pattern that consists of drawing and discarding a card during each turn. This is done in order to help players meld the cards in their hands into sets and runs. A set is a three or four cards meld of the same rank. A Run is a three or more consecutive cards of the same suit.

The most popular variant of the Rummy games is Gin Rummy. Most versions state that the game was invented in New York during the early decades of the 20th century.
It is believed the game’s name derives from its inventor’s fondness of the alcoholic drink of Gin. The game became most popular when it was adopted by Hollywood’s elite and famous movie stars back in the 1930’s for they enjoyed playing this exciting and quick game on the set during takes. Another reason for the Rummy games’ popularity is believed to result from the great depression period, when people did not have many financial resources to engage in outdoors entertainment activity, and turned for some indoors quality time with family and friends.

In the last couple of years, many Rummy variants have gone online, offering players from all over the world to join in play and enjoy the variety of Rummy entertaining qualities. Whether it’s about people who grew up playing the Rummy games, or the new ones to pick them up, the Rummy games are here to stay for many generations to come. Joining people in play and providing them with the ultimate quality time, the Rummy games continue to play a dominant role and always have a special, fun and exciting variation to offer to each and every one of us.

Gin Rummy Rules

Gin Rummy is a skill-based card game for 2-4 players. The game is played with one standard deck of 52 cards. In a 2 player game each player is dealt 10 cards. In a 3-4 player game, each player is dealt 7 cards. The goal in Gin Rummy is to be the first player to get rid of all the cards in your hand, by melding them into sets and runs and laying them down. A “set” contains 3-4 cards of the same value, while a “run” consists of 3 or more consecutive cards of the same suit.

The players must begin a turn by drawing a card either from the stick or discard piles, and adding it to their hand. To complete their turn, players must discard a single card from their hand onto the discard pile. There are three ways to win a round of Gin rummy: Gin, Knock and Undercut. Gin – is when players meld all the cards in their hand, laying them down on the table at once and discarding their last card onto the discard pile – while having no deadwood (non matching cards) left. Knock – is when players meld all the cards in their hand and their deadwood count’s total equals 10 or lower.

Finally, Undercut – is when players’ deadwood count is equal to the Knocker’s or lower. After players Gin, their opponents may lay their melds down onto the table, to decrease their deadwood count and therefore reduce their amount of penalty points. After players Knock, their defeated opponents may lay their melds down onto the table, and add matching cards to the Knocker’s original melds only. Therefore, the Knock move provides the defeated players with an opportunity to reduce their amount of penalty points far more than Gin. The winners of multi-round Gin Rummy games are the players to accumulate the highest amount of points. Gin is the move that rewards the winner with the highest amount of points. Players who Gin are rewarded with 25 points, while their defeated opponents receive double the amount of their deadwood count as penalty points. Undercut rewards the winners with 20 points, and their defeated opponents receive the difference in the counts of the winner’s deadwood and their own – as penalty points. The last winning move is Knock. This move rewards the Knocker with 10 points, and his defeated opponents are all credited with their deadwood count minus the Knocker’s deadwood count as penalty points. In Gin Rummy, Aces count as 1 point and all the face cards are worth 10 points, while all other cards are worth their face value.

Gin Rummy Strategy

Gin RummyGin Rummy is a classic skill-based card game that leaves much room for personal rummy strategy. The following tips can be seen as a list of basic guidelines that can help unravel some of the game’s basic elements that incorporate the use of skill.

A single standard deck of 52 cards is used in Gin Rummy. This determines certain aspects of the game as well as dictates some guidelines you want to pay attention to.
First, since only one deck of cards is being used, in case a card you need has been discarded onto the discard pile while you cannot pick it up, note that it is not likely to show up again in this round. Therefore, you might want to reconsider your melding strategy accordingly.

In addition, a Gin Rummy round is usually over after half way through the deck, therefore, at this stage you might want to get rid of any high cards that do not match any of your melds to reduce your deadwood count.
When drawing cards, it is advisable that you pick up cards from the stock pile rather than the discard pile. This way your opponents will have a much harder time keeping track of the cards in your hand. Another good reason to draw cards from the stock pile is related to the hands of your opponents. Since the cards discarded onto the discard pile are cards your opponents do not need, by picking up cards from the stock pile you may be preventing them from completing melds.

Pay attention to the cards your opponent draw from the stock pile so you can avoid throwing them cards they need to complete their melds.
To reduce their deadwood count, many players choose to avoid picking up card of high value. You can use this opportunity to form melds out of these cards easily.

In a multi-round Gin Rummy game catching your opponents off guard by knocking early during a round will pay off more than waiting for Gin in the long run.

  • In both ring games and tournaments, it is advisable that you knock early to avoid the risk of undercut.
    In case you achieved a significant advantage over your opponents during previous rounds, it is best to avoid any further risks, and so to maintain the current score status.

When forming melds you want to go for 4 card sets rather consecutive runs, to prevent your opponents from laying off their unmatching cards at the end of the round.
When it comes to ring games, the points are not accumulated after each round is over, and so it is advisable you go for a gin rather than knock, since this move pays more.

There are 7 variations of Rummy here that can be played. There is Gin Rummy, Rummy 500, Oklahoma Gin, Okey, Kalooki 40,  Kalooki 51, Vegas 3 Card Rummy and Canasta. This is a great game to play and interact with other players!

Try Vegas Three Card Rummy

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