Play Rummy the Indian Style!

Rummy being a popular card games, there are many versions of the game. Some popular ones include Gin rummy, Rummy 500, Kalooki rummy etc. But one of the most popular and challenging kind of game in rummy is the Indian rummy, also called as the 13 card game of rummy.

This game is not only played in India as a pastime, but is also an important ritual in festivals. The rules of rummy may be simple, but it gets challenging as you play. Here’s how you play the game –

The main aim of the player while playing this rummy card game is to improve the meld dealt to him/her. The one to build a winning meld first with a spare card to seal the game wins. You need at least 2 players to play the game and a deck of 52 cards. In case the players increase to 5 or 6, then you need to use two decks of cards. Each player is dealt 13 cards from the deck. The remaining cards are stacked in the center. You have to build a winning meld by drawing cards from the stacked cards and discarding the ones you don’t want.

The meld can be improved by –

• Building consecutive sequences of three or more cards of the same suit Or

• By arranging three or four cards of the same rank.

*Note – If you are using two decks of cards, the set may include two identical cards of the same rank and suit.

The player to build a meld as per these rules is the winner.

You need to keep in mind the category rank of the cards. The order from low to high is as follows – Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen and King. You can use the Ace card as 1 or the face card when you form a set. In case you plan to make a sequence then you need 3 or more colors of the same suit like 5 ♥ 6 ♥ 7 ♥ etc. To make a set you need 3 or more cards of the same face value e.g. 3 ♥ 3 ♠ 3 ♣.

The joker plays an important role in this card game. It is selected by pulling any card at random from the deck. The joker can be used to complete any sequence or set you want. Also, sometimes the deck already has cards that are printed as Joker; even then a card can be pulled at random. So the game is played with 2 kinds of jokers.