13 cards - 13 rules - 13 logics
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Recorded history suggests that, right from the British era, rummy has greatly ensnared Indian card game lovers. With a few rules modified, this moderated basic rummy is full of excitement and entertainment and carries a traditional touch simultaneously.
Rummy is a wonderful card game that involves certain rules to be followed during the gameplay. Rules of an offline, real life rummy game hold good to online versions which can be played today. These rules have some simple & straight logic. Understanding these logics behind every rule of a game will not only aid us to play the game in a better manner but also serve as a way to appreciate the deeper logic of the game.
Online Rummy Rules Book
| Rule No | Rule Name | Rule | Rule Logic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rule 1 | Random Toss | Each player gets a random open card generated from one pack. The player with the highest value card gets the first turn and the one with the lowest value card gets the last turn. | Players consider random toss, a chance of luck and hence quite fair. |
| Rule 2 | Dealing Cards | Rummy online makes use of certified RNG (Random Number Generator) to deal 13 cards to each player. This step makes sure that the shuffling and dealing is unpredictable and uniformly distributed. | To avoid petty arguments or any disagreements between the players, this rule is followed. |
| Rule 3 | Ace as Joker | When a printed Joker card is picked as a Joker in a rummy game, the Ace card is used as Joker for that game. | If this alternative is not implemented, all the players would have access to just one Joker. |
| Rule 4 | Discard pile initiation | The first card from the draw pile is kept in the discard pile which marks the commencement of the game. | Logic is to ensure that the player to have the first turn also has the advantage of having a choice between an open card and the closed one. |
| Rule 5 | Draw and Discard | This is the basic rule of Indian rummy where a player has to draw one card each turn and discard one. | Had the rule been reversed, the game would not have been a game of skill but of sheer luck. |
| Rule 6 | Sequences before a Set | This is a useful tip rather than a rule. It is considered good to form a sequence before a set. | Reasoning behind this rule can be the fact that the melding of sequences is reasonably more difficult than the melding of sets. |
| Rule 7 | Restricted Joker usage | It is mandatory that a winning hand has two sequences, with at least one pure sequence without a Joker.<td> | Possession of too many Jokers can give a player an unfair advantage as a Joker Printed/Wild is a game changer. |
| Rule 8 | Duality of Ace | The Ace card can be used as one in the sequence either as a high card or a low card though not at the same time. Eg - Both A-2-3 and A-K-Q are valid sequences. | There has to be one card that can act both as a high card & a low card, the Ace card was the logical choice. |
| Rule 9 | Discarded Joker restriction | Indian Rummy holds that a discarded Joker cannot be picked by the opponent player. | Any player is prevented from taking undue advantage of an inadvertent mistake of the opponent player like the loss of connectivity or unintentional click. |
| Rule 10 | Discard pile shuffling | If the draw pile gets depleted before a player has won the rummy game, then the discard pile is shuffled and used again as a new deck. | This recycling of the discarded cards to access them later helps the players to select the random cards over again. |
| Rule 11 | Game Drop | In this skill based game, a player gets an opportunity to save his points by dropping his game, just in case, he is not having a strong hand. | Dropping ensures that rummy remains as a game of skill rather than luck or chance. |
| Rule 12 | Wrong show penalty | When a player shows a hand which does not meet the game objective, A wrong show is declared. | Lackluster attitude on the player’s part should not be encouraged. |
| Rule 13 | Counting of points | All number cards carry the same points as the number printed on them. Dual role played by the Ace, grants it 10 points. Each face card carries 10 points too. | Logic, why face cards are made to carry 10 points, is that having them carry more points would spoil the balance and beauty of the game. |
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