How to play Rummy: rules for beginners, Rommé and Gin Rummy explained

01What is Rummy?

Rummy is a family of draw and discard card games. Every turn you pick up one card and throw one away, and in between you try to arrange your hand into melds: groups of cards that belong together. The first player to use every card wins the hand.

There are many versions. Basic Rummy, also called Rum or Straight Rummy, is the classic of British and American homes. Rommé is the German and Austrian version with two decks and jokers. Gin Rummy is a two-player duel with its own scoring. Once you know the core, every version takes only a few minutes to learn, and you can try all three in our free online Rummy game.

02What you need to play

Basic Rummy uses one 52-card deck, with or without two jokers, for 2 to 6 players. Rommé uses two 52-card decks plus up to six jokers, 110 cards in all, and also suits 2 to 6 players. Gin Rummy uses one deck with no jokers and is for exactly two.

How many cards each player gets depends on the version:

• Rommé: 13 cards each.
• Basic Rummy: 10 cards each with 2 players, 7 each with 3 or 4 players, 6 each with 5 or 6 players.
• Gin Rummy: 10 cards each.

03How to play Rummy step by step

After the deal, the rest of the cards go face down in the middle as the stock, and the top card is turned face up to start the discard pile. Play goes round the table, and each turn has three parts.

• Draw. Take the top card of the stock, or the top card of the discard pile. The discard is public information, so everyone sees what you take.
• Meld. If you can, lay sets or runs from your hand face up on the table. You may also add cards to melds already there, once you are allowed to.
• Discard. Finish by putting one card face up on the discard pile. You may not throw back the card you have just taken from that pile.

04Sets and runs: the two kinds of meld

A set is 3 or 4 cards of the same rank in different suits: three Jacks, or four 5s. Even with two decks, a set cannot contain two cards of the same suit.

A run is 3 or more cards in sequence in one suit: 4, 5, 6 of hearts, or 9, 10, J, Q of clubs. In Rommé an Ace can go low (A, 2, 3) or high (Q, K, A), but runs never wrap around, so K, A, 2 is not allowed. In Basic Rummy the Ace is usually low, and in Gin Rummy it is always low.

Jokers are wild: a joker can take the place of any card in a set or run. To stop melds made mostly of jokers, every meld needs at least two natural cards.

05Laying off and swapping jokers

Laying off means adding cards to melds already on the table, your own or other players'. If someone has 7, 8, 9 of spades on the table and you hold the 10 of spades, you can add it. If there is a set of three Kings, the fourth King can join it. In most rules, including ours, you may only lay off after you have put down your own first meld.

A joker swap is a special kind of play. If a joker on the table is standing in for, say, the 6 of diamonds, and you hold the real 6 of diamonds, you can put it in the joker's place and take the joker. The catch is that you must use that joker in a meld or a layoff in the same turn. It is one of the best feelings in the game, because a joker in hand is worth a lot.

06Going out and scoring

You go out when your last card is melded, laid off or discarded. The hand ends at once and the others count what they are still holding.

There are two common ways to keep score. In penalty points, the usual Rommé method, every player except the winner adds the value of their hand to their total, and when someone passes a target, such as 500, the lowest total wins. Penalty values are joker 20, Ace 11, picture cards 10 and number cards their face value. In winner collects, the classic Basic Rummy method, the player who went out scores the value of everyone else's cards (Ace 1, picture cards 10, joker 15), and the first to a target such as 100 wins.

Going out in one go, without having melded anything earlier, is a bonus in both. In Basic Rummy it is called going rummy and doubles the score. In Rommé it is Hand Rommé and doubles everyone else's penalty points.

07Rommé Regeln: how rummy is played in Germany and Austria

If you search for Rommé Regeln, this is what you will find on most German tables. The game uses 110 cards, two decks and six jokers, and each player gets 13 cards. The big difference from Basic Rummy is Rauskommen, coming out: your first meld or melds must be laid in a single turn and be worth at least 40 points.

For those 40 points, cards count Ace 11 (or 1 in A, 2, 3), picture cards 10, number cards face value, and a joker counts as the card it replaces. Three Queens (30) and a run of 2, 3, 4 (9) is only 39, so you would need one more card. Until you have come out you cannot lay off or swap jokers, which makes the opening of each hand a careful game of collecting.

Many families play with house rules, and the most common are a lower minimum (30 points, or none), fewer jokers (2 or 4) and a rule that a card taken from the discard pile must be used that turn. Our Rommé lets you pick each of these. When the stock runs out, the discard pile is shuffled once to make a new stock; if that runs out too, the hand is void.

08Gin Rummy rules in brief

Gin Rummy is for two players with one deck and no jokers. Each gets 10 cards and the Ace is always low. The big difference is that nobody puts melds on the table during play. You keep everything in your hand and try to reduce your deadwood, the total value of cards that are not in a meld (Ace 1, picture cards 10, numbers face value).

When your deadwood is 10 or less after discarding, you may knock. Both hands are shown, the defender lays off what they can on your melds, and you score the difference in deadwood. If the defender ends up with equal or lower deadwood, that is an undercut and they score the difference plus 25. Knocking with zero deadwood is gin, worth 25 plus the opponent's deadwood with no layoffs allowed, and melding all 11 cards after a draw is Big Gin, worth 31 plus deadwood.

A match usually goes to 100 points, and the winner adds a 100 point game bonus and 25 for every hand won. If the loser scored nothing at all, the winner's total is doubled.

09Rummy vs Gin Rummy: which should you play?

They share the same bones, draw, meld and discard, but play quite differently. Here is the short version:

• Players: Rummy and Rommé take 2 to 6. Gin Rummy is for 2 only.
• Melds: in Rummy they go on the table as you make them. In Gin they stay hidden until someone knocks.
• Jokers: common in Rummy and essential in Rommé. Never used in Gin.
• Ending a hand: in Rummy someone uses every card. In Gin a hand usually ends with a knock.
• Skill: Rummy rewards watching the table and timing your melds. Gin rewards counting cards and judging when to knock.

10Five mistakes beginners make

These are the habits that cost new players the most points:

• Holding high cards too long. A lone King or Ace is expensive if someone goes out before you use it.
• Picking up the discard just because it looks useful. In Rommé it may have to be used that turn, and it tells everyone what you are collecting.
• Feeding the next player. If they just took a 7 from the pile, do not throw them another 7.
• Melding everything at once without thinking. Runs on the table are open to everyone's layoffs.
• In Gin, knocking with 9 or 10 deadwood against an opponent who has been drawing well. That is how undercuts happen.

11Play now

The best way to learn is to deal a hand. Play Rummy online free against 1 to 5 computer opponents at Easy, Normal or Hard, or send friends a link or a 6-letter room code and play together with chat. Choose Rommé, Basic Rummy or Gin Rummy in the setup screen; the Suggest button will point out a meld in your hand while you learn, and a running total shows how close you are to the 40 points needed to come out.

If you enjoy melding, try a bigger cousin next: our Canasta rules guide explains the partnership game built from seven-card melds. For more ideas, see the best free card games to play with family online.