Rummy scoring explained

This guide uses the scoring on our Rummy rules page: melds never score, and only cards left in opponents’ hands count.

Card values

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

Ending a hand

The hand ends as soon as a player goes out, by discarding their last card or by melding all of their remaining cards. The winner scores the total value of every card left in the other players’ hands, whether or not those cards would form melds.

Worked example

Anna goes out. The other three players hold:

• Ben: K♦, 7♣, A♥ → 10 + 7 + 1 = 18
• Cy: 4♠, 4♦ → 8
• Dee: Q♥, J♣, 9♠ → 10 + 10 + 9 = 29

Anna scores 18 + 8 + 29 = 55 points.

Aces

Aces are low here. An ace is worth 1 point and can only appear in A-2-3, never after a king. If your table plays aces high, agree the ace’s value as well as which runs it can join.

Winning the game

Agree a target or a number of deals before the first hand. The player with the highest score at the end, or the first to the target, wins.

Going rummy

If the winner goes out in one turn without having melded or laid off earlier in the hand, opponents’ totals count double. In the example above, Anna would score 2 × 55 = 110.

Variants that change the score

• Aces high: agree the ace’s value and which runs it can join before the first deal.
• Related games: Gin Rummy and Rummy 500 score differently. See our Gin Rummy rules for its own scoring.

Say which of these you use before the first deal.