6 Powerful pointers that help play Rummy profitably

The game of Rummy has been legally declared to be a game of skill or mere skill. It is all about applying the concepts of mathematics and probability. Probability plays a big role right from the moment cards are dealt with every player. But as the number of players increases it can get tricky to do a fruitful probability analysis.

Playing card Mathematics:
·         Each deck of cards has 52 cards - 4 suits of 26 cards each.
·         When 2 decks of cards are used, there is a total of 104 cards + 2 printed Jokers.
·         The wild card Joker is selected at random which makes it 8 Jokers (1 from each suit x 2 decks).
·         The total number of Jokers = 10 in a rummy game (2 printed Jokers + 8 wild card Jokers).

Estimating the Jokers:
·         Calculate the number of Jokers with your opponents by closely monitoring your hand and the discards section.
·         For Example - If you hold 4 Jokers, you can be sure that there are 6 Jokers which will be distributed with your opponents and the closed deck.
·         Assuming that your opponents have a few or none of the Jokers in hand, you can find out a rough estimate of getting a joker from the closed deck.

Versatile Middle cards:
·         Middle cards can be more valuable than low or high point cards.
·         A '5' is strategically more valuable than an 'Ace' since it can be used in more combinations.
·         For Example - An 'Ace' can only make a run with 2-3 or Q-K while a '5' can make a run with 3-4, 4-6 or 6-7.

Probability of Melding :
·         Use probability to calculate the chances of melding the cards together and discard those cards of minimal chances of melding.
·         For Example - If you have cards like 9 of hearts and 10 of hearts, chances are that you can get 8 of hearts or Jack of hearts. In this scenario, you should understand that it is worth holding these cards.
·         On the contrary, if you have 3 of spades and 10 of Spades, you should consider that it highly unlikely that you will be able to make a sequence.

Card Color Probability:
·         If you happen to receive many red cards, you can easily assume that there are many black cards with the opponent or in the closed deck.
·         You can analyse this further by noticing the colour of the cards that are discarded by your opponent.
·         However many cards of the same colour means that there are only two suits available, to form Sets and Sequences.

Cards Number Probability:
·         If you are playing a game with a single opponent, you could calculate that 79 cards are left on the closed deck, as 26 cards are dealt with the players combined and 1 card is turned upside down from two decks of 106 cards.
·         If you are dealt with many odd numbered cards, the chances are that your opponent will be dealt with many even numbered cards. This assumption will give you a good insight into the value of cards your opponent holds.
·         If your opponent discards a 5 of hearts, it is highly probable that he does not have cards close to the discarded one. So it is a safe move to discard 3, 4, 6 or 7 of hearts, as your opponent has already discarded a similar card.
Use the concepts of mathematics and probability in Indian rummy games and improve your strategies and become a pro player at rummy games.