Rummy

Rummy is a generic term for card games of the same family as gin rummy. One can speak of the rummy family of games; to refer to rummy is probably to mean gin rummy, but strictly there is no one rummy game. more...

It is perhaps more satisfactory to describe these as matching card games. The family extends to include Canasta, for example. David Parlett (The Penguin Book of Card Games, 1978) describes the Mexican game of Conquian as being ancestral to all rummy games.

Basic Rummy

There are many variations of the card game Rummy. They all share a common set of features found in the basic game. A standard deck of 52 cards is used. The cards rank from A (low) to K (high). Rummy can be played to a certain score, or to a fixed number of deals.

The Shuffle and Deal

Each player draws a card. The player with the lowest card deals first. The deal then proceeds clockwise. The player on the dealer's right cuts (this is optional).

In two player rummy, each player gets ten (10) cards. Starting with the player to the dealer's left, cards are dealt clockwise, face down, one at a time. The dealer then puts the rest of the deck, face down, between the players. This forms the stock. A single card is then drawn and placed face up next to the stock. This is called the discard pile.

In three or four player games, seven (7) cards are dealt to each player. Five or six players may also play, in which case each player receives six (6) cards.

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