Helpful Hints and Top Tips for Playing Rummy

Author: Neha Agrawal

Rummy is just one of those games where there are plenty of rules and regulations that can altered and switched for the benefit of those playing the game. Rummy is both a game of skill and luck, and because of that there aren’t too many Rummy strategies out there that players can incorporate into their game to better their chances of success. That being said however, there certainly are a number of tips and hints that can be learnt by the player to ensure a fair game at the very least.

The first thing that must be said, is that because there are so many different house rules that are optional, it is imperative that all of the player at the table know what additional rules, if any, are going to be included into the game of rummy. One thing you must also decide before you begin to play is whether the ultimate victor will be determined by him being the first to amass a certain amount of points, or whether the victor will be decided by however has the most points are a certain number of hands or games have been played.

In order to create a decent game of Rummy, a few of these tips can be incorporated into your game, in regards to the optional rules that might be proposed at the table.

When it comes to multiple melds, it is best to avoid them. It simply saves aggravation, unhappiness and chance to have the rules regarding multiple melds being set to the default for Rummy. What this means is that a player can only lay down one meld per turn.

The laying off rule, meaning that you can only layoff cards into another’s meld after you’ve laid off cards into your own, should be avoided for an open and rapid game. Similarly, to avoid confusion the aces high or low rule should dictate that aces are low, again to avoid confusion.

The last discard rule in Rummy– which stipulates that you can only finish on one card, and therefore you cannot create a meld that will win you the game with your final cards, should be avoided. If you are seeking a quick game (best chance of winning unless you are skilled), there is no reason to have this optional house rule activated.

When it comes to the end of the stock pile, unless you have been keeping track of the discarded deck, and are good at memorizing cards, it is advised that you ask for the discarded pile to be shuffled before it becomes the stock pile. Other players might memorize the cards, and then you’ll be in trouble if you didn’t. If the discard pile is shuffled, other players cannot do this.