RULES OF RUMMY CARD GAME

Rummy is a card game that you play with two decks of cards and two Jokers. A player needs to make a valid declaration from two piles by picking and discarding them. One of them is a closed deck, where the player cannot see the cards that they are picking, while the other one is an open deck with discarded cards. To win a game of rummy, the players have to group the cards into valid sets and sequences.

The objective of rummy is to arrange the 13 cards in valid sequences and sets. To win, the player has to make at least one pure sequence out of the minimum of two sequences. The rest of them can be any valid sequences or sets. The player cannot make a valid rummy declaration if there is no pure sequence. This is among the most important rummy rules to remember.

The Rules of rummy are as follows:

1. 2 to 6 players are required to play the rummy game with 2 decks. Every player gets 13 cards, and a random card becomes the wild joker or joker card of the game.
2. To form valid sets and sequences, the player has to draw and discard cards at every turn. They can also use the wild joker or the printed joker of the deck to make an impure sequence and sets.
3. In Indian rummy, once a player arranges all 13 cards in 2 valid sequences- one being a pure sequence and more groups of sequences and sets. Once that is complete, they can make a declaration and win the game.
   Important Rummy Terms
   Table: The rummy table is the virtual or the physical table to play rummy. Each table has 2 to 6 players. On MPL, one table can seat a maximum of 5 players.

Deck: A deck has 52 cards and a printed Joker. Each deck has four sets of 13 cards of 4 different suits- Clubs, Hearts, Spades, and Diamonds. All these cards have Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and others from 2 to 10.

Joker Cards and Wild Cards: A wild card is selected randomly after the cards are distributed. Each open deck has a printed Joker. The joker and the wild card are used as replacements for the desired card to make impure sequences and sets. At the end of the game, all these cards carry zero points. For example, if the Joker is a printed one, the Aces can be wild cards.

Sorting: Arrangement of cards at the beginning of the game after the cards are dealt. To prevent mixing of the cards, every user sorts their cards in a certain manner to help form sets and sequences.

Draw and Discard: Each player has 13 cards in every rummy game. In addition to that, there are 2 stacks from which each player can choose a card. In rummy terms, it is called “drawing a card”. The moment a player draws a card, they have to get rid of another. It is called “discarding”.

Rummy Points: In the rummy card game, there are dedicated points for each and every one of them. Face cards like Ace, King, Queen, and Jack have 10 points each. The cards carry the same points as their face value. For example, a 7 (spades) will have 7 points.

Sequence: A group of three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive order is a sequence. A sequence can be pure or impure. Example: 6 (Clubs) 7 (Clubs) 8 (Clubs)

Pure Sequence: A sequence that contains no Joker is a pure sequence. However, if there is a wild joker of the same suit, it can make a pure sequence. Example: 7 (hearts) 8 (hearts) 9 (hearts)

Impure Sequence: A sequence with the joker card is always an impure sequence. Example: K (Spades) PJ J(spades) 10 (spades), where PJ is a printed joker. Another example: K( Clubs), Q (Clubs), J (clubs), 7 (diamonds), where 7 (diamonds) is a wild card.

Set: A set is a group of three or four cards of the same rank but different suits. You can also use a wild card or a joker to form a set.

Drop: A player can drop out of a rummy game, but they have to pay a penalty. There are different penalty points for dropping out at different times during the game.

How To Form A Sequence In Rummy?
A sequence is three or more consecutive cards that belong to the same suit. Basically, sequences are of two types- a pure and an impure sequence. According to the rummy rules, you need one pure sequence.

Pure Sequence
A pure sequence is formed when a group of three or more cards are of the same suit which are placed in consecutive order. A player cannot use any Joker or wild card while forming these. Here are a few examples:

6♥ 7♥ 8♥ (It is a pure sequence with three cards)
5♠ 6♠ 7♠ 8♠ (It is a pure sequence with four cards)
Impure Sequence
A group of three or more cards of the same suit where one or more Joker cards are used in an impure sequence.

Examples of impure sequence.

7♦ 8♦ Q♠ 10♦ (Here Q♠ has been used as a wild Joker replacing 9♦ to form an impure sequence.)
6♠ Q♥ 8♠ 9♠ PJ (Impure sequence with Q♥ as wild joker that is replacing 7♠ and the Printed Joker is replacing 10♠.)

How To Form Sets In Rummy?

A group of three or more cards of the same value but of different suits are used to form sets. While forming sets, you can use wild cards and Jokers.

Examples of sets

2♥️ 2♠️ 2♣️ 2♦️ – This set is formed using 2s of different suits, and without a Joker.

A♥️ A♣️ A♦️ – In this set, three Aces of different suits are used to make a valid set.

4♦️ 4♣️ 4♠️ PJ – This set is formed using 4s of different suits and a printed Joker to replace 4♥️.

7♠️ 7♣️ K♥️ – This set is formed using 7s of different suits and K♥️ as a wild Joker.

Valid Sets And Invalid Sets

Examples of valid sets

A♥ A♣ A♦ – In this set, all the Aces are of different suits; make a valid set.
6♠️ 7♠️ 8♠️ – Consecutive numbers of the same suit
Examples of invalid sets

Q♥️ Q♥️ Q♦️ – This is an invalid set as it includes two Qs of the same suit.

8♠️ 8♥️ 8♦️ 8♠️ K♥️ – This is an invalid set as it includes two 8s of the same suit (Clubs). The K♥️ is a wild joker.

Valid Declaration

A valid declaration means that a player has to make two sequences, with one being a Pure Sequence (excluding Jokers). The remaining cards can be organized into sets or sequences. Before clicking the ‘Declare’ button, it is essential to double-check the cards. An early declaration lacking valid or containing incorrect combinations will be considered invalid, meaning the player will lose points.

A valid declaration must consist of two sequences—one pure and one impure—with the remaining cards forming a combination (set or sequence).

For example, a valid set could look like:

6♠️ 7♠️ 8♠️ | A♥️ 2♥️ PJ | 6♣️ 7♠️ 7♥️ | 4♠️ 4♥️ 4♦️

During each turn, players must draw a card and discard one from their hand, choosing from the topmost card in the closed deck or the card discarded in the previous turn.

Invalid Declaration

As per rummy rules, when a player declares a hand, having one pure sequence out of two sequences is mandatory. When that does not occur, the declaration becomes an invalid declaration. There cannot be more than two sets in a valid declaration. There are some examples in which minor mistakes can cause you to lose points. Here are some examples where the set is an invalid declaration.

4♦️ 4♥️ 4♥️. Here, the declaration is invalid because it contains 2 fours of hearts.

5♠️ 5♠️ 5♥️ 5♦️. It is an invalid declaration because of 2 fives of spades.

The provided combination, 3♣️ 4♣️ 5♣️ 6♠️ | 7♦️ 8♦️ PJ | 5♣️ 5♠️ 5♥️ | 7♠️ 7♥️ 7♦️, is considered invalid because it lacks the required pure sequence according to the game rules.