The rules of rummy are complex, yet manageable. If you are new to Rummy or if you want to brush up on your knowledge, everything is neatly explained here.
The aim in Rummy is to play your cards as melds. A round ends when a player discards their last card onto the discard pile. Now the scores are determined: Each player sums up the scores of each card left in their hand and lists them as penalty points. The winner gains the sum of everybody’s negative scores as positive points. The next round begins until the maximum number of rounds is reached or one of the players hits 500 negative points. The player with the highest score is the winner of the table!

It's perfect for two to six players. All you need to play is a deck of cards. Complete rules are also available for other games under the rummy umbrella, including gin rummy, Hollywood gin, Three Thirteen, Oklahoma gin, Phase 10, Manipulation, and canasta. Rummy is a card game that is played with two decks of cards with total of two Jokers. To win the rummy game a player must make a valid declaration by picking and discarding cards from the two piles given. Rummy is a game played between anywhere from two to six players. Indian rummy is played with 2 deck of cards with 13 cards distributed to each player. The required sequence of cards, as prescribed by the rules of the game should follow this strict order or 'sequence'.

The Deck: 2×52 Cards and 6 Jokers

How To Play 500 Rummy For Two

Tile rummy requires at least two players, no more than four. Place tiles face down in the center of the table and shuffle them. Each player draws 14 tiles and places them on a rack. Players then each draw one more tile from the pool; the player with the highest numbered tile on this draw plays first.

Rummy is played with 110 cards: 104 = 2 x 52 French playing cards + 6 Jokers.
Each card holds a certain score which matters for playing the first meld (at least three cards with a minimum score of 30 points in total) as well as for determining the scores of each player at the end of a round.

• The pip cards score points according to their depicted number – from two to ten.
• The face- or picture cards (Jack, Queen, King) each score 10 points.
• The Ace scores one point when melded in a sequence “Ace-2-3-4…” but eleven points when it follows a King, for example, “Queen-King-Ace”. An Ace in the hand scores eleven points as well.
• The Joker has varying values: When melding it takes on the value of the card it replaces. A joker in the hands scores 20 points.

Shuffling, dealing and round it goes

How To Play Rummy For Two Players

Correct shuffling and dealing are none of your worries at the virtual tables at the Rummy Palace: An algorithm takes care of it. Each player receives 13 cards. One card is revealed as the discard pile. The leftover cards are the stock.
The game goes clockwise. The first player, randomly chosen, checks their cards and plays their first turn:

• They must draw a card from the stock or the discard pile.
• They can play their first meld, if possible, and play further melds afterwards.
• They must discard one card from their hand onto the discard pile.

Now it’s the next player’s turn:

• They draw a card from the stock or pick up the card just discarded by the previous player.
• They can play their first meld, if possible, and continue with playing melds, laying off cards by adding them to existing melds, and swapping Jokers.
• Finally, they discard one card.

Melds can only be played or added to during the own turn. Possible melds are explained in the following section.

Playing melds: Sets and Sequences

Rummy knows two types of melds – sets and sequences.

Sets, or groups, consist of at least three cards of the same rank. Sets can be composed of all types of cards – pip cards (2 to 10), face cards (Jack, Queen, King) and Aces. Each suit (Clubs, Spades, Diamonds, and Hearts) can only appear once, so a maximum of four cards per set is possible.

Sequences, or runs, consist of three or more subsequent cards of one suit. The following order is in force: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. The Ace has two possible positions but each card, including the Ace, can only appear once in a sequence. A maximum of 13 cards per sequence is possible. This is especially relevant when playing with the custom rule “Cyclic Laying”.

The first meld must fulfill additional requirements: Each player’s first combination of cards during a round must score at least 30 points. At least three cards must be played. This can be achieved by playing a set of three 10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces of different suits. Playing sequences is also an option, for example, “10-Jack-Queen-King”, “Jack-Queen-King-Ace” or “7-8-9-10-Jack”.

HEADS UP: An Ace in a sequence scores eleven points when following a King, for example, “Jack-Queen-King-Ace”, but only one point when followed by pips, for example, “Ace-2-3-…”

After playing the first meld the player can use their turn to play any number of melds possible. Cards can also be added to existing melds, referred to as laying off. Details follow further below.

A particular case: Going Rummy

Sometimes you are lucky and receive perfectly matching cards. Seize the chance while no other players have any melds: When you end the round by melding all your hand cards within one turn, you are going Rummy. That doubles the opponents’ penalty points as well as your gained points!

The Joker enters the game

When melding, the jolly minstrel gets a chance: Jokers replace a card missing in a meld.

• Example for a Sequence: “Jack-Queen-Joker-Ace” => The Joker replaces the King.
• Example for a Set: ”4 of Clubs-4 of Spades-Joker” => The Joker replaces the third 4 (either of Diamonds or Hearts).

The Joker entirely imitates the replaced card, including the score. Replacing a King the Joker scores ten points, replacing a 4 it scores four points. Keep this in mind when composing your first meld.

It is possible to play two consecutive Jokers if they don’t outnumber the natural cards and the Jokers’ position is obvious.

• A set of four is possible: “3 of Hearts-3 of Diamonds-Joker-Joker” => The Jokers replace 3 of Clubs and 3 of Spades.
• A sequence including two Jokers works as well. For example: “9 of Hearts-Joker-Joker-Queen of Hearts” => The Jokers replace 10 of Hearts and Jack of Hearts.

Laying off

After playing the first meld, a player can add one or more cards from their hand to any existing melds. If there is a set of three Kings, the fourth King can be added to this set. Likewise, a sequence can be extended. For example, “7-8-9-10” can be extended by the 6 or the Jack of the matching suit.

Swapping Jokers

During their turn, a player can also remove Jokers from existing melds, if they can replace it with the missing card. The gained Joker must be melded during the same turn!

Knocking

This is an interesting variation, popular among Rummy fans. If this rule applies must be declared before the game starts. At the Rummy Palace, it can be activated choosing from the custom rules.

Knocking is permitted only after playing the first meld. It enables you to pick up cards discarded by your fellow players outside of your turn.

If you see a card that could help you to form and play a meld, you knock and receive it. But there is a price to pay: Draw another card from the stock. To play your newly received cards you must wait until it is your turn.

How To Play Rummy Between Two Players

After knocking the game continues in its’ usual order. Should another player finish the game before the person who knocked could play any of their new cards, it is bad luck: Now there are even more cards to build up penalty points.

Rummy!

When a player melded, swapped or laid off all their cards and discarded the last one onto the discard pile, they exclaim: Rummy! They won the round.
The other players now each sum up the scores of the cards left in their hands. The scores are calculated as initially described: The score of the pip cards matches the number depicted on them, face cards score ten, the Ace scores eleven and the Joker tops them all with 20 points. Each player receives their hand’s score as penalty points. But the winner gains the sum of all scores.
And now that everything is clear – feel free to go ahead and try it out!

Rummy is a fun game and it can be played between two to six players on each table. Most people think that rummy needs many players to come together and then only cash games can be played. However, rummy can be played with a minimum of two players. Here is how the game of rummy is played.

1. Each player in rummy game will be given 13 cards from two decks of 52 cards.
2. The aim of the game is to form sequences and sets and make a valid declaration
3. When you are playing with two players, there is a random shuffle done and one of the players start playing.
4. The most important thing in the game is to form the pure sequence. For a pure sequence you need 3 or more cards of the same suit in a sequence. Without a pure sequence, you cannot make a declaration.
5. Once the pure sequence is made, you need to form the impure sequence and sets. For the impure sequence you once more need 3 or more cards of the same suit, however you can use a Joker. With the use of the Joker, you can make an impure sequence.
6. Finally, the players need to form sets that can consist of 3 or more cards of different suits but same value. It is important to know that in one set, you cannot use 2 cards of the same suit.
7. Once you have arranged all your cards in sequences and sets, you can click on the Declare button and win the rummy game.

Rummy game with two players move fast and is comparatively simpler to play. If you are beginning with rummy, try playing the two player game. it is the best way to get a hang of online rummy. If you are new to rummy my previous post “how to play 13 cards Rummy” will be helpful to you.

How To Play Rummy Royal Game

Have Fun!