How to play 13 Cards Rummy?

Rummy is one of the most popular card games in India played by students, housewives, software professionals and retired people. The skill-based game needs you to arrange the cards in sequences and/or sets. Would you like to acquire rummy playing skills besides improving your gameplay? Here are the guidelines for you to follow after which you not only will learn how to play rummy games but also become an expert rummy player.

Indian Rummy

Indian Rummy is a rummy card game played in India with slight differences from the original rummy game. It might be regarded as a combination of Rummy 500 and Gin rummy. It is played with 13 cards and a minimum of two decks along with jokers and wild cards, which is optional. Also, it is believed that Indian Rummy originated from a variant of Rummy in South Asia.

13 Cards Rummy

Playing 13 Cards Indian Rummy requires you to follow these guidelines and tips for a better experience. You can play in rooms already available or a private room could be created by inviting your friends and relatives.

Rules to Play:
  • It is played with 2 or up to 6 players.
  • A pack of 52 cards is needed to play a 2 player rummy game.
  • Play with 2 or more packs of 53 cards each for more number of players.
  • It is must to have 13 cards randomly dealt with each player.
  • Arranging all 13 cards in sequences and/or sets is the motive.

Note: Two kinds of sets are possible with 13 card rummy game. Firstly, a run of consecutive suited cards along with three or four of a kind (with no duplicate suits.) Secondly, the minimum requirement for winning a hand is to have at least two sequences, one of which must be “pure” formed without using any jokers.

Basics of the game:

Indian Rummy is played with two pack of cards along with two jokers (printed and wildcard). Given below is a description of the cards along with their values mentioned in detail.

  • Cards displayed in each category rank from low to high: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen and King.
  • Ace is the only card used as 1 or a face card depending upon the formation of the sets.
  • Card values are as mentioned: Face cards, (K, Q, J) – 10 points, Ace – 10 points

Is it legal to playrummy online?

The Supreme Court of India has declared that rummy is a game of skill rather than a game of luck or chance. Delving further into the details, the game offers equal chance of winning for all the players based upon their skill levels.

How do you draw and discard cards?

During each turn, a player is allowed to draw either the top card (face-up) from the open deck or the card from the closed deck, which has been discarded by other players. The same player must discard a card from his/her hand into the open deck in the same turn.

What to do if there are no good cards to complete the game?

You can prefer to drop a specific game if it seems that your cards are not good. It can be done only when your turn comes prior to the drawing of a card. Certain pools allow the player(s) to drop the game in the middle but the penalty is certainly more than what a player pays for dropping at the start of the game before picking his first card.

Note:

  • Case 1: 101 Point game
    1. 20 Points: Before picking a card (1st Drop)
    2. 40 Points: If player had picked a card in that game (Middle Drop)
  • Case 2: 201 Point game
    1. 25 Points: Before picking a card (1st Drop)
    2. 50 Points: If player had picked a card in that game (Middle Drop)

What is a Joker and how helpful it is?

A single card from the rest of the deck (rest of the cards after distributing the cards to the players) is selected and will be a Joker for that game. All other cards of the exact rank in any suit similar to the joker are considered as Jokers. Also, there will be two extra cards which contain the symbol of a Joker.

You can make use of a Joker in place of any other card when having a set. He/She must ensure that he has a sequence without a Joker card to be eligible to use the Joker as mentioned above.

What is the wild card Joker if it is an open Joker?

When deck Joker has been drawn as the open joker. All Aces are considered as jokers.

When do you declare a SHOW?

You win a game when you call or declare a SHOW. If there are 13 cards available which can be shown in particular sets and are in line with the rules of the game, then the player can call for a SHOW. To ensure a player must win, he/she must have 14 cards of which he selects to close one card before calling for a SHOW. After declaring SHOW, the player has to club the 13 cards into sets and put it before the rest of the playing group for validation.

Auto Play Rules:
  • Players would be enabled with “Auto Play” option in case of Internet Disconnection/Idle condition during Game Play.
  • “Auto Play” will draw a card from closed deck and discards it (same card) after using normal time for 3 consecutive turns giving a chance for the players to connect back and take control of the game again.
Case1: Before picking first card:

For Pool Rummy:

  • If the player is in idle status before picking up the first card, he/she will be considered as ‘Dropped’ (First drop: 20 points-101, 25 points-201) and game would not go into “Auto Play” mode.
  • If the player gets disconnected before picking up the first card, the game will go into “Auto Play” mode.
  • The game will progress in this mode until he/she is eliminated from the game and / or reconnected to the system again.
  • If both the players, on a heads up table get disconnected then Auto split would happen and bet amount would be split between these players equally. Rake would be collected as per terms & conditions.

For Points Rummy:

  • If the player is in idle status before picking up the first card, he/she will be considered as Dropped (First drop: 10 points) and the game will not go into ‘Auto play’ mode.
  • If he/she gets disconnected before picking up the first card, the game will go into ‘Auto play’ mode.
  • The player is navigated to the Lobby, if he/she could not reconnect to the system for the next round.
  • If both the players, on a heads up table get disconnected then Auto split would happen and bet amount would be split between these players equally. Rake would be collected as per terms & conditions.

For Deals and Leagues Rummy:

  • For League and Deals game, the game would always go into auto play irrespective of the players’ actions, if gets disconnected.
  • This would be continued until he/she is eliminated from the game or reconnected to the system.
  • If both the players, on a heads up table get disconnected then Auto split would happen and bet amount would be split between these players equally. Rake would be collected as per terms & conditions.
Case2: After picking the first card:

For Pool Rummy:

  • ‘Auto play’ would be enabled for a player, who has at least withdrawn a card from open or closed deck.
  • If the disconnected player is not connected after 3 chances then the player would be dropped (Middle Drop) from the game and respective drop points (40 points in 101 pool, 50 points in 201 Pool) are awarded.
  • For cases when the player is disconnected after he/she discards a card and some other player places a show before it’s the player’s turn again, ‘Auto play’ will not be applied and player score is decided upon the saved cards.
  • This is continued until the player is eliminated from the game or reconnected to the system.

For Points Rummy:

  • ‘Auto play’ would be enabled for player, who has at least withdrawn a card from open or closed deck.
  • If the player is not connected after 3 chances, then he/she would be dropped (Middle Drop) from the game and respective drop points (30 points) are awarded.
  • For cases when a player is disconnected after he/she discards a card and some other player places a show before it’s the players turn again, ‘Auto play’ would not be applied and the score is decided upon the saved groups.
  • Player will be navigated to the Lobby, if he/she does not reconnect to the system for the next round.

For Deals and Leagues Rummy:

  • For League and Deals game, the game would always go into ‘Auto play’ irrespective of the player’s action, in case of disconnection.
  • This is continued until he/she is eliminated from the game or reconnected to the system.