Rummy is a very popular game played throughout India. You can play with up to ten players, 2-6 players play with 2 packs of cards and if you play with seven or more players then you should use three packs of cards. You should play with the jokers left in the packs.
The seating positions are decided by dealing cards and seating people in order from highest to lowest. The lowest card sits to the right of the highest and the lowest card begins dealing. The job of dealing is then passed right. Seating positions should be refreshed every two to three rounds.
The dealer then deals to his left and deals thirteen cards to each player. The dealer places the pack face down and then lays one card face up on the table. This card then represents the joker card and is kept out of the pack, however, all other cards of that value in the pack then become jokers. The dealer then turns over one more card face up and the game is ready to begin.
The aim of the game is to get runs, sets and straight runs. Jokers can be used to represent any card but cannot be used in straight runs unless they are representing themselves. Runs are three or more numbered cards in a row, sets are three or more cards of the same suit and straight runs are three or more cards of the same suit with consecutive numbers. Aces can be played either before the two or after the king, however king, ace, two would be an invalid run. The aim is to have all of your 13 cards as sets and runs, however, before you call rummy you must also have a straight run and also have at least two runs (one of these can be the straight run).
The player to the left of the dealer makes the first move. He can either pick up the face up card or take one from the top of the pack. He must then return one card on the face up pile, if he has picked up the face up card he cannot put that same card back down. This trend then continues until someone calls rummy.
Players are able to 'pack' or fold if they do not fancy remaining in the game. If a player wants to pack before he has even picked up a card then he must pay 10 points to the winner. If a player packs after picking a card then he must pay 40 points to the winner. The winner is the person who calls rummy. Everyone else must then pay him the value of their cards (A,K,Q,J = 10 points; all other cards are worth their face value). If a player has a straight run in his hand though, he does not pay for the cards in that straight run or in any other runs in his hand. The value of each point is decided prior to the start of the game.
A final rule is that if a player calls rummy after picking up just one card then the other players pay just half the value of their hands to the winner. However, if a player calls rummy before he has even picked up a card then everyone else pays the winner twice the value of their hands.
This is the most popular version of the game and there are many more variations that people play.
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