Section 1: Introduction
Rummy is a family of draw-and-discard games built on one idea: arrange your hand into melds — sets of the same rank, or runs of consecutive cards in a suit — and get rid of every card before anyone else.
This page describes Basic (Straight) Rummy, the common ancestor of gin rummy, canasta, and 500 rum. It is traditional and in the public domain.
Section 2: The Deck
- One standard 52-card deck for two to four players; add a second deck for five or six.
- Aces are low in straight rummy — A-2-3 is a valid run, Q-K-A is not.
- Jokers are usually excluded; when included they act as wild cards.
Section 3: Setup & Deal
- Two players: 10 cards each. Three or four: 7 each. Five or six: 6 each.
- The rest forms the stock, face down.
- Turn the top card face up beside it to start the discard pile.
- Play begins to the dealer's left and moves clockwise.
Section 4: Gameplay
A Turn, in Order
- Draw one card — either the top of the stock, or the top of the discard pile.
- Meld if you can (optional).
- Discard one card face up. Every turn ends with a discard.
Valid Melds
- Set: three or four cards of the same rank — 7♥ 7♠ 7♦.
- Run: three or more consecutive cards in one suit — 4♣ 5♣ 6♣.
Laying Off
Once a meld is on the table, any player may lay off matching cards onto it — adding the 8♣ to a 5-6-7♣ run, for instance. Whether you may lay off before making your own first meld is a house decision; agree first.
Going Out
A player goes out by melding or discarding their final card. If the stock runs out before anyone does, turn the discard pile over to form a new stock.
Section 5: Scoring & Winning
The player who goes out scores the value of the cards left in every other hand:
- Face cards (K, Q, J): 10 points each
- Aces: 1 point
- Number cards: face value
Going Rummy
Melding your entire hand in one turn, having laid nothing down previously, is going rummy and traditionally doubles the score for that hand.
Play to an agreed target — commonly 100 or 500 points.
Section 6: Variants & House Rules
- Gin rummy: strictly two players, melds stay hidden until the end, and you "knock" with 10 or fewer points of unmatched cards.
- 500 rum: you score your own melds as you lay them, not just the opponents' leftovers.
- Canasta: two decks plus jokers, partnerships, and seven-card melds.
- Rummy 500 / Michigan / Contract: regional scoring and meld-requirement variations.
- Ace high or low: some groups let the ace play both ways — agree before dealing, since it changes which runs are legal.