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 one meld: 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. This version requires a final discard: you cannot go out by melding or laying off every card you hold. A discard picked up this turn cannot immediately be discarded again.

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. Melded and laid-off cards score nothing — melds never score in this version. The winner adds the opponents’ total to their score.

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 — under this version, when they discard their last card. 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. Multiple melds per turn, aces high (Q-K-A valid, aces then score 15, round-the-corner runs K-A-2 an unusual further step), a “going rummy” bonus for going out in one turn without melding or laying off first (double score or a fixed 10-point bonus), and a shuffled stock refresh. Some groups also bar laying off on other players’ melds until you have melded once, and some allow a player to meld every card without a final discard — this version requires the discard.

Block rummy is a distinct form: the discard pile is never recycled. If the stock runs out and the next player declines the discard, the hand ends and everyone scores their own remaining cards; the lowest total wins and scores the differences. This version recycles the pile 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.

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.
• Rummy (the call) — a house rule: when a discard could be melded, a player other than the discarder may call “rummy” to take and meld it. Variants only; not used in this version.
• Going rummy — going out in one turn without melding or laying off first, for a bonus. Variants only; not used in this version.

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

Can you call rummy on your own discard?

No. Under the common codified form of the calling-rummy house rule, the call belongs to any player other than the discarder, made before the next player draws — so the discarder is always excluded, and calling on your own discard is impossible in any of these forms. This version does not use the call at all: the top discard simply waits for the next player’s turn.

Must your final card be discarded?

Yes — in this version. You cannot go out by melding or laying off every card in your hand; the hand ends when you discard your last card. Allowing an all-melds finish is a variant some groups use (see Variants).