How to play online rummy
New to rummy? Fascinated by the game? Want to learn how to play online? Well, you have come to the right place.
Rummy comes in many variants, each with its own specific rules, but there are certain guidelines and terminologies that are common across the board. The overall objective of the game is to match your cards so that you build melds. Melds can be sets or runs.
A set comprises three or four cards of the same rank (number), but different suits; while a run is a collection of at least three cards of the same suit, and in consecutive numerical order. To illustrate these definitions, let us consider the following examples.
The suits in a typical card game are hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds; while the ranks, arranged in sequential order, are A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,K,Q. Note that in some rummy variants, the ace card (A) can be taken as the card with either the lowest rank or highest rank, depending on the option that favors the player.
Rummy is a great game for the mind, as it challenges our concentration, and ability to come up with solutions under pressure.
From the definitions of sets and runs above, an example of a set is a group of cards that includes a heart, spade, and diamond, all with a rank of 8; while a run maybe four diamonds with ranks of 5,6,7 and 8.
After the players have been dealt their cards, another card is placed face up at the center of the table, starting off the discard pile, while the remaining cards are placed face down. The cards that are placed face down form the stockpile.
The basic principle is to draw and discard cards from either the stock or discard pile, with the aim of forming as many melds as possible. Usually, the first player to meld all his cards wins the game. Unmatched cards are called deadwood. The scoring system is dependent on the variant, as we will see later in this article.