How to play Rummy

Objective

Empty your hand by making melds, adding to existing melds, and discarding. Agree a score target or number of deals before starting. This version uses one standard 52-card deck, aces low, and the rules on this page. Gin rummy and rummy 500 are separate games with their own rules — see Related forms.

Setup

Use 52 cards, no jokers. Deal 10 each for two players, 7 for three or four, or 6 for five or six. Turn one remaining card face up for the discard pile; the rest form the stock. Play clockwise, starting left of the dealer.

Turns

1. Draw the stock’s top card or the top discard.
2. Optionally lay down melds: three or four equal ranks, or three or more consecutive cards of one suit.
3. Optionally add cards to existing melds, including other players’ melds. Do not rearrange them.
4. Discard one card. A discard picked up this turn cannot immediately be discarded again. If every card left in your hand is matched, you may instead lay them all down without discarding and go out.

Aces are low: A-2-3 works; Q-K-A does not. If the stock runs out and the next player declines the discard, turn the discard pile over without shuffling to become the stock.

Meld examples

A meld is a set — three or four cards of equal rank — or a run — three or more consecutive cards of one suit. Suits never matter for a set; a run is always one suit. Worked examples:

Meld	Verdict	Why
7♦ 7♥ 7♠	Valid	Three of a rank is a complete set
J♣ Q♣ K♣	Valid	Three consecutive cards of one suit
A♥ 2♥ 3♥	Valid	Aces are low, so this run works
Q♠ K♠ A♠	Invalid	No Q-K-A in this version — aces never run high here
K♥ K♣ K♠ K♦	Valid	All four of a rank is also a set
9♥ 9♠ 9♣ 5♣	Invalid	A set is one rank; the 5 belongs in its own meld
5♥ 5♠ 5♣ 6♦	Invalid	The 6 is not part of this set

Laying off extends an existing meld, and the meld itself never changes: you cannot rearrange melded cards to accept a new card. If 5♠-6♠-7♠ is melded, other players may add the 4♠ or the 8♠ — not a 5♦ borrowed for a set.

Scoring

When someone goes out, each opponent totals the cards left in their hand, whether or not those cards would form melds. Melded and laid-off cards score nothing — melds never score in this version. The winner adds the opponents’ total to their score.

Going rummy: if the winner gets rid of their whole hand in one turn, without having melded or laid off any cards earlier in the hand, every opponent’s total counts double.

Card	Points
Ace	1
2 through 10	Face value
Jack, Queen, King	10

Deal again with the winner of the hand as dealer (two players) or the deal moving left (three or more).

Winning

The hand ends immediately when someone goes out — by discarding their last card or by melding all of their remaining cards. The winner scores the opponents’ remaining cards at the values in the table under Scoring. Highest score after the agreed deals, or first to the target, wins.

Variants

House rules exist for most of these points; agree them before play. In many forms of Rummy the ace may rank high or low; this page keeps aces low. Some groups also require a final discard to go out, or shuffle the discard pile before reusing it. This version follows the standard rules: an all-melds finish is allowed, and the pile is turned over unshuffled.

Related forms

Gin rummy and rummy 500 are distinct games, not house rules of this one. Gin rummy is a two-player, ten-card form where a hand ends by knocking with 10 points or less in unmatched cards (deadwood), or by going gin with none. Rummy 500 (500 Rum) scores melded cards as you play them, allows taking several cards from the discard pile, plays to 500 points, and often uses jokers. Each has rules of its own beyond this page.

For a partnership game using two decks, wild cards and seven-card melds, see Classic Canasta rules. Canasta uses matching ranks rather than runs, and scores melded cards as well as bonuses.

Glossary

• Meld — a set or run laid face up in front of you, where it stays.
• Set (group) — three or four cards of equal rank, any suits.
• Run (sequence) — three or more consecutive cards of one suit.
• Lay off — add a card or cards to any meld already on the table, without rearranging it.
• Stock — the face-down pile players draw from; when exhausted, it is rebuilt from the discard pile.
• Discard pile — the face-up pile each turn ends by discarding onto.
• Going out — emptying your hand by melding, laying off, and discarding, which ends the hand at once.
• Going rummy — going out in one turn without having melded or laid off earlier in the hand; opponents’ totals count double.

Beginner tips

Keep flexible combinations such as adjacent suited cards. Watch discarded ranks before committing to a set. Count the stock: if it is nearly gone, plan for the hand ending early — under this version the pile recycles unshuffled.

Common questions

What does going rummy mean?

Going rummy means getting rid of your whole hand in one turn without having melded or laid off any cards earlier in the hand. Every opponent then pays double: their remaining card totals count twice.

Must your final card be discarded?

No — in this version. If every card left in your hand is matched, you may lay them all down without discarding, and the hand ends. Requiring a final discard is a house rule some groups use (see Variants).

Can a run have different suits in Rummy?

No. A run needs at least three consecutive cards of the same suit. A set instead uses three or four cards of the same rank in different suits.