Rummy

Rummy is a group of matching card games notable for similar gameplay based on matching cards of the same rank or sequence and same suit. The basic goal in any form of rummy is to build melds which consists of sets, three or four of a kind of the same rank; or runs, three or more cards in sequence, of the same suit. You can also have mixed runs in all types of rummy so long as all 7 cards are in order. The original form of rummy is called Sai rummy, Straight Rummy, Standard Rummy, Traditional Rummy, or Basic rummy. The Mexican game of Conquian is considered by games scholar David Parlett to be ancestral to all rummy games, which itself is derived from a Chinese game called Khanhoo and, going even further back, Mahjong. The Rummy principle of drawing and discarding with a view to melding appears in Chinese card games at least in the early 19th century and perhaps as early as the 18th century and is, in fact, the essence of Mah-jong. Rummy is also very popular in India. It is most likely that Indian Rummy is an extension of Gin Rummy and Rummy 500 which originated from the USA. It is played with 13 cards, one or two decks, two or more players and with or without jokers.

In Rummy the number of cards dealt varies based on the type of rummy game being played as well as the number of players. The person left of the dealer is the first person to play. The dealer switches from person to person going to the left. The dealer flips one card and places it next to the pile to begin the game. The first person to go takes a card from the deck or the card placed beside it. When the player has done that, they may either put three cards of the same number or a run. After this is done, or if they do not make a play at all, a card from their hand is discarded onto the pile beside the deck. If another player has cards down, the others can add additional cards to the discard pile as long as this creates or continues a set or run. The winner declares the game by making requisite pure sequences, impure sequences and/or sets as governed by type of rummy game variation. In addition, if all cards are put down at once and in the same suit it is an auto win for that player.