The most popularly played format of Rummy is the 13-card game. In this format, a standard deck of 52 cards is used, and 2-6 players can participate. 13 cards are dealt to each player at the start of the game, and the rules are very simple.

Players must pick and discard cards from the closed or discard pile until they are confident about making a valid declaration. A declaration in Rummy is valid if it has at least one pure sequence. The player who makes the quickest valid declaration wins the game.

In a standard deck of 52 cards, there are four suits—Clubs ♣, Diamonds ♦, Spades ♠, and Hearts ♥. Each suit is ranked low to high, with 2 to 10 being equal to their numeric values, while Ace, Jack, Queen, and King are valued at 10 points each.

Objectives of the Indian Rummy Game

In a standard game of Indian Rummy, each player receives 13 cards. The goal is to form sets and sequences and make a valid declaration before your opponents. A declaration is valid only if it contains a pure sequence—a group of 3 or more consecutive cards of the same suit.

Forming Sequences

In Rummy, sequences consist of three or more consecutive cards of the same suit. They can be either pure or impure. A pure sequence must be made of consecutive cards from the same suit without using jokers. A pure sequence is necessary to make a valid declaration.

Pure Sequence

A pure sequence is a group of 3 or more cards of the same suit in consecutive order, without any joker.

Examples of pure sequence:

2 ♠, 3 ♠, 4 ♠, 5 ♠
7 ♦, 8 ♦, 9 ♦

Impure Sequence

An impure sequence includes joker cards to replace missing cards in the sequence.

Examples of impure sequence:

2 ♠, 3 ♠, K ♦ (wildcard joker), 5 ♠
2 ♠, 3 ♠, Joker, 5 ♠

Forming Sets

Sets consist of 3 or 4 cards of the same rank but different suits. Sets can include jokers.

Examples:

K ♦, K ♠, K ♥, K ♣
K ♦, K ♠, K ♥
K ♥, K ♠, Joker

How to Play Rummy?

A standard game of rummy is played between 2-6 players with a standard deck of 52 cards. The dealer at the beginning of the game deals out 13 cards to each participating player and a random card is chosen as the wildcard joker at the start of the game.

All players have to keep drawing and discarding cards while keeping 13 cards in their hands at all times. The player who manages to form valid sets and sequences from their 13 cards before their opponents and makes a valid declaration, wins the game.

Players can use the printed joker or the three wildcard jokers in the game to complete impure sequences and sets.

Pro Rummy Tips to Outsmart Your Opponents

Form a pure sequence first. It's essential for a valid declaration.
Avoid picking cards from the discard pile to keep your strategy hidden.
Use jokers wisely to form impure sequences or sets.
Discard high-value cards like the King, Queen, Jack, and Ace to reduce point load if you are about to lose.

Terms Used in Indian Rummy

Table/Lobby: The Rummy table or lobby is the in-game table or game lobby where the game is played. 2-6 players can play on this table at a time.
Printed Joker and Wildcard Joker: There is one printed joker used in a standard 52-card deck of rummy and another joker is randomly selected from the cards after all cards have been dealt before the start of a game. This randomly selected wildcard joker also has the same powers as the printed joker and can be used to form sets or impure sequences.
Draw and Discard: In a standard game of Rummy after the cards have been dealt, there are two piles from which players can draw fresh cards - The open deck and the discard pile. All players must draw a card and use it to form sets and sequences, but have to discard a card after each draw keeping the number of cards in hand to 13 always.
Card Sorting: Sorting is an option that players can use at the start of a game to put their cards in order after the 13 cards have been dealt. That way the cards are already placed on their way to form sets and sequences and it is easier to understand and not get mixed up.
Drop: If a player feels that they were not dealt decent cards and it is really difficult to form sets or sequences during the game, they can choose to drop that hand. This is basically an act of quitting the game. This personal choice has a penalty attached to it - if the player is dropping their hand at the start of the game, they are penalized 20 points, in the middle of the game it is 40 and at the end of the game it is 80 points.
This personal choice has a penalty attached to it - if the player is dropping their hand at the start of the game, they are penalized 20 points, in the middle of the game it is 40 and at the end of the game it is 80 points.
Invalid Declaration: An invalid declaration happens when a player hits the declare button without having proper sets and sequences. This results in the player making the declaration losing the game.
Types of Invalid Declaration:
Wrong set: K ♦, K ♠, K ♥, K ♥
In this case the set needs to be 3-4 cards of the same value but different suits. But, the player made a mistake by completing the set with two king of hearts and thereby made the declaration invalid.
Only sets: K ♦, K ♠, K ♥ | 3 ♦, 3 ♠, 3 ♥ | 7 ♦, 7 ♠, PJ | Q ♦, Q ♠, Q ♥, Q ♣
In this case this is an invalid declaration as per the rules. The player has only made sets and the game of Rummy demands both sets and sequences in a valid declaration, inclusive of one pure sequence.
No pure sequence: K ♦, K ♠, K ♥ | 2 ♦, 3 ♠, PJ | 7 ♦, 7 ♠, PJ | Q ♦, Q ♠, Q ♥, Q ♣
In this case there are sets and sequences, but the sequence is impure with a printed joker in it. This declaration is invalid because the rules of rummy demand that there be a pure sequence.

Calculations of Winning Amount in Real Cash Rummy

Players can now play their favorite Rummy variants in a competitive online environment for real cash prizes. Rummy Apps like Rummyprime offer real cash Rummy, giving the players an opportunity to use their Rummy skills for big wins. But, how are the cash prizes calculated in the different variants of Rummy, let’s have a look:

Calculations of Winning Amount in Points Rummy

In Points Rummy the winning amount is calculated on a pre-decided cash value attached to each point won or lost by players. In a 6 player game, the winner gets all the money lost by the five other players.

Example: If the pre-decided value is Rs.2 per point and the five players who lost that round, they received penalty points of 45, 75, 23, 20 and 40. Then the winner will get 2 x (45+75+23+20+40) = 406 rupees as the winning amount.

Calculations of Winning Amount in Pool Rummy

The calculations in Pool Rummy are simple as the players have to pay a buy-in fee for the particular table and that forms the prize pool for that cash rummy table.

Example: There are 6 players and the buy-in fee for this particular game is Rs.50 per person. Then the player who wins the game gets the entire prize pool which is 50 x 6 = 300 rupees as the winning amount.

Calculations of Winning Amount in Deals Rummy

In Deals Rummy players are given a pre-decided amount of chips to play each round with. Players lose or win these chips as per their points. The winning amount is as much as the amount of chips a player has at the end of the game.

Example: If each chip is equal to Rs.2 in value and there are 6 players in the game. Five players have lost chips in the following order 20, 23, 45, 75 and 30. Then the winner will collect all that and get 2 x (20+23+45+75+30) = 386 rupees as the winning amount.