How to Play Rummy: Sequences, Sets and a Valid Declaration

On this page

1. The aim of the game
2. Sequences
3. Sets
4. Jokers
5. What makes a declaration valid
6. How points are counted
7. Dropping
8. A sample turn, step by step
9. Common mistakes
10. Five habits of good players
11. Playing rummy on Drem
12. Frequently asked questions

Rummy looks complicated for about ten minutes. After that it comes down to one idea: arrange your thirteen cards into valid groups before anyone else does. This guide covers the rules of 13-card Indian rummy, with examples of every kind of group.

The aim of the game

Each player is dealt 13 cards. On your turn you draw one card — from the face-down closed deck or the face-up open pile — and discard one. The first player to arrange all 13 cards into valid sequences and sets, and declare, wins the deal.

Sequences

A sequence is three or more consecutive cards of the same suit.

Type	Example	Valid?
Pure sequence	5♥ 6♥ 7♥	Yes — no joker used
Pure sequence of four	9♠ 10♠ J♠ Q♠	Yes
Impure sequence	5♦ 6♦ Joker 8♦	Yes — a joker fills the gap
Mixed suits	5♥ 6♠ 7♥	No

The ace can sit at either end: A♣ 2♣ 3♣ and Q♣ K♣ A♣ are both sequences. In most rule sets it cannot wrap around, so K♣ A♣ 2♣ is not valid.

Sets

A set is three or four cards of the same rank in different suits: 8♥ 8♠ 8♦, for example. Two cards of the same suit cannot be in one set, so 8♥ 8♥ 8♠ is invalid even when two decks are in play. A joker can stand in for a missing card.

Jokers

• Printed jokers are the joker cards in the deck.
• The wild joker is a card turned up at random at the start of the deal; every card of that rank becomes a joker for the deal.
• A joker can replace any card in an impure sequence or a set. It can never make a sequence pure.

What makes a declaration valid

1. At least two sequences.
2. At least one of them must be a pure sequence.
3. Every remaining card must belong to a sequence or a set.

A valid hand might be: 4♠ 5♠ 6♠ (pure), 9♥ 10♥ Joker Q♥ (impure), K♣ K♦ K♥ (set), 2♦ 2♠ 2♥ (set). That is 3 + 4 + 3 + 3 = 13 cards.

Declaring without meeting the rules is a wrong declaration, and it carries the maximum penalty. Count twice before you declare.

How points are counted

Rummy points are bad: the winner scores zero and everyone else is charged for the cards they could not group.

Card	Points
Ace, King, Queen, Jack	10 each
Number cards	Face value (a 7 is 7 points)
Jokers	0
Maximum for one deal	Usually 80

If you have no pure sequence when someone declares, all your cards count. With a pure sequence and a second sequence in place, only the ungrouped cards count. That is why the pure sequence always comes first.

Dropping

You may leave a deal instead of playing it. Dropping before your first draw costs a small fixed number of points — commonly 20 — and dropping later costs more, commonly 40. With a poor hand, an early drop is often the cheapest result available. The exact values are in the rules of the table you join.

A sample turn, step by step

You hold 4♠ 5♠ and 7♠, a pair of Kings, and assorted single cards. The open pile shows the 6♠.

1. Draw the 6♠ from the open pile. It completes 4♠ 5♠ 6♠ 7♠ — a pure sequence of four, the most valuable thing you can make.
2. Choose the discard. Your loose cards include a Queen with no neighbours. She is worth 10 points against you, so she goes.
3. Think about what you revealed. Your opponents saw you take a spade. They will hold on to spades near it; expect fewer of them to be thrown your way.

Drawing from the open pile gives information away. Do it when the card completes a group, not merely because it might be useful later.

Common mistakes

• Collecting sets first. Sets feel like progress, but without a pure sequence they are worth nothing at the count.
• Holding a pair of high cards for too long while waiting for the third.
• Declaring in a hurry. Check the pure sequence, the second sequence and every remaining card before you press the button.
• Playing a hopeless hand to the end when an early drop would have cost far less.

Five habits of good players

• Build the pure sequence before anything else.
• Discard unconnected high cards early — they are worth 10 points each against you.
• Keep middle cards (5, 6, 7): they connect with more neighbours than a 2 or a King.
• Watch the open pile. What an opponent picks up tells you what not to throw.
• Use jokers to finish the second sequence or a set, never waste them in a group that is already complete.

Playing rummy on Drem

Drem has Points and Deals tables for two to six players, with entries from ₹8 when we checked, plus coin tables for practice. Table sizes and point values are on our Drem Rummy page.

Frequently asked questions