Rummy
Rummy (also called Basic Rummy or Standard Rummy) is the foundational draw-and-discard game from which Gin Rummy, Canasta, and many other games descend. Unlike Gin Rummy, melds are placed face-up on the table during play and anyone may extend them.
Rummy — table layout
Players and Cards
2–6 players. Standard 52-card deck. Aces are low: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A is not. Aces count 1, court cards 10, and number cards their face value.
The Deal
| Players | Cards dealt |
|---|---|
| 2 | 10 each |
| 3–4 | 7 each |
| 5–6 | 6 each |
The rest of the pack is the stock, face down. Its top card is turned up to start the discard pile.
Melds
A meld is either:
- Set (Group): 3 or 4 cards of the same rank (e.g., three 7s)
- Run (Sequence): 3 or more consecutive cards of the same suit (e.g., 4♥–5♥–6♥)
The Turn
On each turn a player:
- Draws the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile
- Melds, if they wish, laying one or more melds face up on the table
- Lays off, if they wish, adding cards to any meld on the table, their own or anyone else’s
- Discards one card face up on the discard pile
A player who took the top discard may not discard that same card on the same turn. If the stock has run out, the discard pile is turned over, without shuffling, to make a new stock.
Going Out
A player goes out when they have no cards left, by melding, laying off or discarding their last card.
Scoring
When a player goes out, the cards left in everyone else’s hands are counted, and the total is added to the winner’s score. A player who goes out in a single turn, without having melded or laid off anything before, has gone rummy, and the score for that hand is doubled. The first player to reach 100 wins.
Attribution
Rummy. Rules written from Pagat.com, Rummy (John McLeod, © 2003–2012), which is the source for the deal, the turn, going rummy and the scoring above.