Contract Rummy also commonly known as Liverpool Rummy and Pinochle Rummy is a rummy style game with a specific, set number of deals per game. During each of these deals, players attempt to obtain a specific combination of melds.
Contract Rummy can be played with from 3 to 8 players. The number of decks used in the game is dependent on the number of participating players:
- With three or four players, the game should be played with two standard 52 card decks. In addition one joker is added for a total of 105 cards.
- For five to eight players, three regular 52 card decks should be used, plus the addition of two jokers.
The rank of the cards in Contract Rummy is as follows (A,K,Q,J,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,A). The aces (
A) can be considered either high or low (being the lowest card before the
2 (Deuce) or the highest card after the King).
For purposes of scoring each card has a specific point value. Aces and
wild cards (Jokers) score 15 points each. Kings, Queens and Jacks are 10
points each and all other numbered cards (2 through 10) are worth a
number of points as per the numerical value as marked on the card.
To determine which player is to be the first dealer, each player should draw a card from the face down deck. The player whom draws the lowest card is the first dealer. For purposes of this draw the ace is considered low. For the next hand, and each one thereafter until the end of the game, the deal rotates clockwise from player to player around the table.
Once the dealer is selected he shuffles the deck and the player to the
dealer's immediate right should cut the cards. After the cut, the dealer starts by dealing one face-down card to each player, starting at the player to his left and continuing in a clockwise direction until each player (including himself) has the requisite number of cards for this deal (see below).
Once the initial hands are dealt, the dealer places the remainder of the deck in the center of the table face down as the stock pile. He turns over the top card of the stock pile and places it face up beside the stock pile. This is the upcard, which forms the first card of the discard pile.
In Contract Rummy players will attempt to meld cards to the center of the table in either groups or sequences in an effort to be the first to play all of their cards:
- A
group is 3 or more cards of the exact same rank, regardless of suit. i.e. 4 threes or 3 Jacks.
- A
sequence in Contract Rummy is 4 or more cards of the same suit that are in contiguous sequence. For instance, a player might meld the 3, 4, 5, and 6 of diamonds (
♦).
Jokers are considered wild cards and can be used to replace any other single card in a sequence or a group.
A game of Contract Rummy consists of exactly seven deals. What makes this game unique, is that during each of these deals, the player's first meld must constrain to a very specific requirement. The specific first meld requirements as well as the number of cards dealt in that hand to each player are shown in the following table:
| Deal Number | Number of Cards in Hand | Meld Requirements |
|---|
| 1 | 10 | Two Groups |
| 2 | 10 | One Group and One Sequence |
| 3 | 10 | Two Sequences |
| 4 | 10 | Three Groups |
| 5 | 12 | Two Groups and One Sequence |
| 6 | 12 | One Group and Two Sequences |
| 7 | 12 | Three Sequences |
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When fulfilling an initial meld requirement of two or more sequences, these sequences must be separate sequences. It cannot be one long sequence simply divided into two or three shorter ones. In other words, there must be a gap of at least one missing card between each sequence.
An Ace may be melded as either high or low in a sequence, but the sequence cannot roll over or go "round the corner" (i.e. a sequence containing a 2 would have the 2 as either the lowest or highest card in that particular sequence). Thus, a long sequence could possibly contain two aces, one at each end although it may not contain any other duplicate cards (other than possibly jokers, as appropriate).
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An example of a possible meld in the seventh hand in the game of Contract Rummy
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The player to the immediate left of the dealer is the first to play. His turn, and each subsequent turn by each player consists of several things.
First, the player decides if he wants to take the top, face-up card of the discard pile. If he opts to take this card he immediately adds it to his hand. If, however, he chooses not to take this card, he must indicate this and each other player, in the order of their regular turns, has the option to take this card. If any player, in this way, does take this card out of their regular turn, they must also immediately take the top card of the draw pile. They do not discard after taking these cards as this is not considered an actual turn for that player.
If the original player chose not to take the card, regardless if any other player took the card or not, the original player must then take the top card of the stock pile. After this, regardless of which card this first player took he continues his turn as normal.
A player may not lay down any melds or lay off cards on other player's melds until he plays the entire initial meld contract requirement for the deal on the table in front of himself. When laying down this initial meld, he must meld the required meld down exactly, no more or no less cards can be played when playing this original meld. Once a player has laid down this required initial meld, he may not meld any other entire melds, but may add to any melds already on the table (either his own or other player's melds).
After melding, if willing and able, the player must discard one card from their hand to the discard pile. However, on the seventh, last hand of the game, the player need not discard and can simply lay down his initial meld on the table in going out.
After discarding (unless it was the player's last card) the turn rotates clockwise to the next player.
When a player has no more cards after discarding at the end of the turn (or playing all his cards on the seventh hand) the hand immediately ends and scores are
totaled for each player.
Jokers: When a joker is played on the table, the individual playing the card must state what this card is to represent. If a player, on their proper turn, has the natural card for which the joker represents in their hand, they may replace the joker from the table with the natural card from their hand, taking the Joker into their hand. In order to make this exchange, however, the player must have already, on this hand, played to the table the initial meld for the hand. This Joker can then be used, at the player's option as any other card of their choice in melding.
Scoring and Winning the Game:
Once one player plays his last card the hand immediately ends and the hand is scored. The cards remaining in each of the other players' hands is then added to that player's score as per the scoring values given above. After the completion of the seventh hand, all the players' scores are
totaled and the player with the lowest score is declared the winner of the game.
If the stock pile is exhausted before any player has won the deal, the discard pile (all but it's top card) should be shuffled together by the original dealer and placed face down to start a new stock pile.
Twos Wild: In this version of the game, not only are the added jokers wild, but the deuces (2's) are wild cards as well. For scoring purposes, each 2 is scored as a joker at 15 points each. Any additional wild cards used however, cannot be exchanged for its' natural replacement card as can actual Jokers.
Jo: Jo is the variant of Contract Rummy which is most commonly played in Australia. It is sometimes also called Joker Rummy. Jo is played exactly identical to standard Contract Rummy with just the following differences:
- The number of decks is directly proportional to the number of players. For three or four players, 2 standard 52 card decks are used, for five or six players, 3 standard 52 card decks are used and for seven or eight players, 4 such decks are used.
- A number of Jokers are also added to the large deck used for the game. The number of Jokers should be exactly one less than the number of
participants in the game (for example with 5 players, there should be four Jokers so included).
- After the dealer has dealt each player the requisite number of cards for that round (the same as in the standard game), he places the remainder of the deck face down in the center of the table as the stock pile. However, he does not yet turn over the top card of the stock pile to start the discard pile. Instead the first player, on his first turn, only has the option to draw the top card in the face-down stock pile for his draw. On subsequent turns, players have the option to take the top card of the stock pile or the top face-up card of the discard pile.
- As in the standard game of Contract Rummy, another player may, if the current player declines the current top card of the draw pile, request he be allowed to take his card, out-of-turn. He does this by stating "May I?". If multiple players indicate they want to so take this card, the player who is nearest to this player (next in turn) is given the privilege.
- Once a player manages to deplete his hand through melds (including the required initial meld) on the hand, scoring for that hand occurs. The winning player earns a number of points based on the point value of all cards remaining in each other player's hand as per the scoring value as per standard Contract Rummy.
- After the completion of all seven hands which form a game, the player with the highest accumulated scoring total is declared the winner.
Progressive Rummy: Progressive Rummy is played very similarly to Contract Rummy. The main differences are in the number of cards dealt in each of the seven deals. The first deal starts with 6 cards dealt, the second deal
contains 7 cards to each player, and so on until the 7th deal where 12 cards are dealt. The initial meld requirements are the same as in standard contact rummy. The player generally completes the hand by playing all his cards to the table to meet the contract, as he will usually not have any additional cards in his hand (unless he opted, on another player's turn to take the current upcard, as described in the rules for Contract Rummy, above). If this is the case, the player may play cards to other melds on the table (if any) once they have made their initial meld. A player may also play their last card by discard, at which time they also win the deal. Scoring in progressive rummy is the same as in Contract Rummy, except that jokers are worth 25 points each.
King Rummy: This is a version of Contract Rummy that is specifically for four players. King Rummy is played with two standard 52 card decks, along with four jokers.
This game follows the same rules as Contract Rummy, described above, however, each hand consists of only four deals with the following initial meld requirements:
| Deal Number | Initial Meld Requirement |
|---|
| 1 | One Group and One Sequence |
| 2 | Three Groups |
| 3 | Two Sequences |
| 4 | Two Groups and One Sequence |
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Each hand consists of 10 cards dealt to each player. As in standard Contract Rummy a sequence must consist of four or more cards. When playing their initial, required melds, a player can also add additional cards to these melds. However, on the fourth and last hand, the initial meld must contain exactly ten cards, which is the player's entire hand.
When any player melds a joker to the table, all other players immediately have the opportunity to replace this joker with the actual natural card it represents. The player will add the joker into their hand and place the natural replacement card in its place. If multiple players are able and want to do this, the player closest to being next in turn is given the first opportunity to do this. After this exchange occurs, the original player continues their turn as normal.
The scoring in King Rummy is similar to the standard game:
- Jokers count 25 points each
- Aces are 15 points each
- Court cards (Kings, Queens and Jacks) are 10 points each
- All other cards count their face value
Shanghai Rummy: Shanghai rummy is another variation that is very similar to the basic game of Contract Rummy. The game is played identically, except for the following differences:
- Ten deals make up a complete game. On each deal, each player is dealt 11 cards. The initial meld contracts are a bit different than in Contract Rummy. The contracts for Shanghai rummy are as follows:
| Deal Number | Meld Requirements |
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| 1 | Two Groups consisting of three cards each |
| 2 | One Group of 3 cards and One Sequence of 4 cards |
| 3 | Two groups consisting of 4 cards each |
| 4 | One group of 3 cards and 1 Sequence of 5 cards |
| 5 | Three groups of 3 cards each |
| 6 | One Group of 3 cards and one Sequence of 7 cards |
| 7 | Three Sequences of 4 cards each |
| 8 | One group of 3 cards and one sequence of 10 cards |
| 9 | Three Groups of 3 cards and one Sequence of 5 cards |
| 10 | Three Sequences of 5 cards |
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- In addition to Jokers, twos are also considered wild cards.
- The number of wild cards allowed in a required meld is dependent on the type and length of the meld. This can be summarized in the following chart:
| Meld Type | Number Allowed |
|---|
| Group of 3 | 1 |
| Group of 4 | 1 |
| Sequence of 4 | 1 |
| Sequence of 5 | 2 |
| Sequence of 7 | 3 |
| Sequence of 10 | 4 |
- Aces are always considered high cards. They can only be played after a King in a sequence meld. All wild cards are worth 20 points when
totaling scores.
- A long singular run can be split into two shorter runs without the need of a gap. This might be done in order to fulfill a contract initial meld requirement of two or more sequences. Each sequence would still need to contain at least four cards however.
- Buy rule:
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Players can "Buy" the top card of the discard pile on another player's turn in the game of Shanghai Rummy
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A player is limited to taking the discard pile when it is another player's turn a certain number of times per deal dependent on which of the 10 deals is currently being played (see below).
To do this, when it is another player's turn to draw another player would state "Buy It". He must state this before the current player actually draws the card. If two or more players want to "buy" this card, the player who first states "Buy It" gets the privilege.
In the first 9 deals of the game each player is allowed 3 "buys". In the last deal of the game, a player is allowed 4 such "buys". This is called "buying" the card. As in the standard game of Contract Rummy, the player must still also take an additional card from the stock pile when "buying" the card without discarding at the time. In the later deals of the game, it can be seen that the number of cards required to meld for fulfillment of the initial meld requirement is greater than the number initially dealt. Thus a player will need to "buy" the upcard at strategic times during the deal.
Loba: Loba is a Contract Rummy type game which is popular in several Central American countries. It's rules are similar to standard Contract Rummy as described above. It should not be confused with another Rummy type game played in Argentina which also goes by the name Loba (described on another page).
The goal of Loba is similar to many of the other forms of Contract Rummy in which the players attempt, over a series of deals, to be the first to fulfill the requirement for the current deal in the series. Loba is designed to be played by 2 to 5 players and uses two standard 52 card decks plus four total Jokers. The ranking of the cards (for purposes of an Escalera meld, as described later) is as follows, from high to low; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. As will be noticed, an Ace can be considered high or low. Thus, an Ace could be the lowest card in an Escalera which built to the two, three and four, or an Ace could be the highest card in an Escalera which also contained the King.
Determination of seating positions and the first dealer can be performed in a number of ways, with drawing for low card a common method. The player who draws the lowest card would also be considered the first dealer.
Once the first dealer has been determined, he should thoroughly shuffle the deck and offer the deck to the player at his left to cut. After the cut, the dealer then begins dealing the cards, face-down and one by one in a counter-clockwise direction around the table, starting with the player to his immediate right. He continues dealing in this manner until each player (including himself) has 11 total cards. The remainder of the stock is then placed face-down in the center of the pile as the draw pile and the dealer's turns the top card of the draw pile, placing it face up next to the draw pile to start the discard pile. The player to the dealer's immediate left has the first turn and the turns proceed in a counter-clockwise direction around the table.
There are two allowable meld types in Loba, as follows:
- Trio:
A trio is exactly three cards of the exact same rank and of any suit (such as 5
of Diamonds, 5 of Hearts, 5 of Clubs, or Queen of Spades, Queen of Clubs, Queen of Spades).
- Escalera:
An Escalera is exactly four cards in sequential order, all of the same suit (such as 8
of Diamonds, 9 of Diamonds, 10 of Diamonds, Jack of Diamonds).
The game is played in a series of six hands, each with it's own specific requirements that all the players attempt to fulfill during the hand. The following chart shows each hand and the requirement for that hand:
| Hand Number | Hand Requirement |
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| 1 | Two Trios |
| 2 | One Trio and One Escalera |
| 3 | Two Escaleras |
| 4 | Three Trios |
| 5 | Two Trios and One Escalera |
| 6 | One Trio and Two Escaleras |
Each player's turn consists of several actions taken by that player.
First the player draws one card. He may either draw the top, face-down
card of the stock pile or the top, face-up card of the discard pile.
After drawing, the player may then make legal melds. Before a player can make any melds on a hand, however, he must first, on any of his turns, play the entire meld requirement for the hand. After doing so, on subsequent turns may make further melds. On the turn in which he makes this initial meld, he may not extend any other meld, either his own or that of any other player. However, on his subsequent turns he may add cards to any other melds on the table, his own or that of another player. New melds may not be played by any player after making his initial meld to the table, so the player must attempt to deplete any remaining cards in his hand by extending his own or other player's melds. Thus, once on the table, Escaleras and Trios may be extended far beyond the original 3 or four cards required for that initial meld. Note that on the last hand of the game, placing the initial meld will allow a player to go out (after discarding), thus winning the hand immediately. The last part of a player's hand is a discard, in which the player places any card remaining in his hand, face-up on the top of the discard pile.
The four Jokers included in the Loba deck are considered wild cards.
These cards can be used to substitute for any other card in an Escalera
or trio. However, on a player's initial meld, each Escalera or trio
included in the meld can contain a maximum of one Joker. On extending
those melds, however, any number of additional Jokers can be added to
the meld. If a Joker is found as the first or last card of an Escalera,
it's value could be changed by another player in assisting his play of
additional cards to the Escalera. In other words, if an Escalera were
created containing the nine of Clubs, ten of Clubs, Jack of Clubs, and a
Joker, the initial player of that meld may have intended for the Joker
to be a replacement for the Queen of Clubs in the meld. However, if
another player has the Seven of Clubs, he could move the Joker to the
other end of the Escalera (representing the eight of Clubs, and then play his seven on his turn or, the player might have the Queen of Clubs and could play it, moving the Joker to represent the King of Clubs in the meld). A Joker in the middle of an Escalera can never have it's value changed and players may not exchange a card in their hand to take the Joker into the hand which is allowed in some other Rummy type games.
The game continues, turn by turn, until a player manages to deplete his hand on his turn. When this occurs, the hand immediately ends and the remaining players accrue an accumulated score based on the cards still found in his hand. The following chart shows the value of each card that might be found in a player's hand:
| Card | Point Value |
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| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | Face Value Marked on Card |
| Jack | 11 |
| Queen | 12 |
| King | 13 |
| Ace | 14 |
| Joker | 25 |
If the draw pile is exhausted during play, the top card of the discard pile is set aside and the remainder of the discard pile is shuffled and placed face-down to begin a new draw pile. The previous top card of the discard pile starts the new discard pile and play continues.
After the sixth and final hand is played, the players compare the accumulated scores from each hand and whichever player has the lowest accumulated total score during these hands is declared the winner of the game.
Carioca: Carioca is an Argentinian game of the Contract Rummy family which is played almost identically to Loba, as described above. However, there are several key differences in the gameplay:
- The first difference is that Carioca consists of exactly seven rounds. The first six rounds are the same as in the standard game, but the seventh round requires three Escaleras. In this round, each player also receives 12 cards vice the usual 11. The following chart shows the meld requirements for each hand in a game of Carioca:
| Hand Number | Hand Requirement | Cards Dealt |
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| 1 | Two Trios | 11 |
| 2 | One Trio and One Escalera | 11 |
| 3 | Two Escaleras | 11 |
| 4 | Three Trios | 11 |
| 5 | Two Trios and One Escalera | 11 |
| 6 | One Trio and Two Escaleras | 11 |
| 7 | Three Escaleras | 12 |
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- Another difference in this version is the point value for each card in the deck which is added to the player's hand when another player depletes his hand. The following chart shows the point value for each card used in this game:
| Card | Point Value |
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| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | Face Value Marked on Card |
| Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| Ace | 20 |
| Joker | 50 |
- The last difference is in the movement of Jokers in an Escalera. In this version, a Joker can be moved by a player to any other location in an Escalera (and to represent any other card in the Escalera) as long as the resultant Escalera is still a valid Escalera meld.
In all other aspects Carioca is played identically to the Central American game, Loba.
South African Kaluki:
A variation of Contract Rummy which is very popular in South Africa is the game South African Kaluki. Although sharing some resemblance to the game Caloochi (described
on the "Rummy" page) and a similar name, this game more closely resembles Contract Rummy and is thus described here.
This game is designed for three to five players. It uses two standard 52 card decks along with four Jokers. The ranking of cards in the deck is as in other Rummy type games (from high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. Aces can be considered high or low in this game, and can thus appear, as appropriate as the top or bottom card of a run. Jokers are wild cards and can be used to replace any other card in melds. Each card in the deck has a specific value used for calculating any penalties for cards remaining in a player's hand when an opponent plays his last card. These are detailed in the following table:
| Card | Point Value |
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| 2 to 10 | Value marked on card |
| King, Queen, Jack | 10 |
| Ace | 11 |
| Joker | 25 |
Seating positions and the first dealer are determined in a special method in this game. For each player a specific card is taken from the regular deck. These cards are one each of the following; Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10. This small packet is then shuffled face down and one card dealt to each player. Whoever receives the Ace is the first dealer and has first choice of seating positions at the table. The player who receives the King sits to the dealer's immediate left, the player receiving the Queen sits to that player's left, the Jack next in rotation and the player being dealt the 10 takes the last remaining seat. These cards are then added back into the regular deck for normal use during the game.
Once all players have been seated, the dealer then shuffles the deck and the player at his right cuts the deck. The player who cuts should look at the bottom card of the cut pack. If this card is a Joker, that player has the option to keep it and will add it to his hand when the cards are dealt.
After the cut the dealer then deals out 13 card hands, one at a time in a clockwise rotation around the table. If the cutter cut and kept the Joker, that player would only get 12 cards in the deal. After each player has the appropriate sized hand, the dealer turns up the top card of the stock to start the discard pile. The player to the dealer's immediate left will take the first turn, with the turns rotating around the table in a clockwise rotation.
On his turn, a player draws either the top face-up card of the discard pile or the top face-down card of the stock pile. He may meld if he can and wants to, and then finishes his hand by discarding one card face up on the top of the discard pile. There are two types of legal melds used in South African Kaluki:
- Run:
A run in this game consists of three or more consecutively ranked cards in the same suit.
- Group:
A group in South African Kaluki is three or more cards all of the same rank but in different suits. Because of this suit stipulation, the maximum size of any run would thus be four cards.
As in most other games of the Contract Rummy family, this game is played
out in a predetermined number of hands, in this case exactly seven.
The specific melding requirements for each hand and the ordering of these
hands are as per the following chart:
| Hand/Round | Melding Requirement |
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| 1 | All cards must be melded at the same time. Any combination of legal melds is allowed. The player may meld 11 cards or meld 10 and discard their last. No other players may lay off any cards when a player goes out. This is called Blitz. |
| 2 | A player must meld one group of three of a kind |
| 3 | A player must meld one run of three cards |
| 4 | The player must meld one run of three cards and one group of three cards |
| 5 | A run of four cards in the same suit |
| 6 | The player must meld one group of four of a kind |
| 7 | One run of five cards |
Except for the first hand, a player's first meld of each hand must consist of exactly the melding requirement for that hand, no less and no more. On subsequent melds he may meld any number of legal melds, as able. After making his initial meld, on later turns, a player may also add cards to his own or other player's melds on the table. As mentioned previously, the Jokers are wild cards and can be used to represent any other card in the deck. If a player, on his turn, has already made their first meld and has the card in which a melded Joker is replacing, they may substitute the card and take the Joker into their own hand.
A player can go out by either melding all their cards or melding all but their last card and discarding that card. When a player does go out, the other players may then lay off any legal melds they contain in their hands and may also lay off cards on any other player's melds. The players then count all the points for cards still remaining in their hands (as per the chart above) and this amount to their current score on the score sheet. On the first (Blitz) hand, however, players may not lay off cards on any other player's melds, although they may still lay down any of their own melds.
There are a few stipulations on the play of Jokers during the game. First and foremost, when a player is playing a Joker he must state exactly what missing card the Joker is set to represent. On rounds 2 to 7 only one Joker can ever be used in a player's initial meld. Also, on all rounds except 1 and 6, a Joker can only be used to represent a replacement for a card in which there is only one unplayed card that could be used to reclaim it. Thus, one or more of the cards it represents has already been played to a meld or discarded. This is called half-safe. A meld consisting of four cards or a run of 14 cards (a full run in one suit with an Ace at the top and bottom) is considered closed and cannot be modified in any way, including reclaiming a Joker from that meld.
If the deck runs out during play of the hand, all but the top card of the discard pile is shuffled together and turned over to make a new stock pile.
Another unique feature of this game is the concept of buying a card. This occurs when a player would prefer to add the current discard to his hand, but it is not currently his turn. In this circumstance, a player may have the option to buy the card. He may only do this if the actual player whose turn it is does not want the card. The opportunity to buy a card then proceeds in a clockwise rotation around the table from the player whose current turn it is. If any player except for the person whose actual turn it is, elects to buy the card, the following steps occur:
- The player whose actual turn it is, takes the discard pile as his draw.
- The player with the right to buy the card then takes the discard and also must draw one card from the stock.
- The game then continues as normal with the player whose turn it originally was, who may then meld and discard to finish his turn.
Note that the player who bought the card will now have taken an extra card. This is expected, and will require that player to be able to also meld an extra card during the round. A player may buy a maximum of four cards in any given hand.
After all seven rounds have been completed, the player with the lowest grand total is declared the winner of the game.
Caribbean Kalooki:
Caribbean Kalooki is played somewhat similar to South African Kaluki, but also has a number of differences. This Contract Rummy type game is commonly played in Jamaica and also, but less often, in the surrounding areas.
Caribbean Kalooki is designed to be played by three to six players, each playing independently. The deck used for
Caribbean Kalooki consists of two standard 52 card decks to which four total Jokers have been added. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. It should be noted that the Ace is considered as the highest and the lowest card. Thus, a sequence of cards (called a four in this game) could have as the highest card in the meld an Ace, or the lowest card in the meld an Ace.
Any method can be used to determine seating positions and the first dealer. One common method of doing this is a draw for high cards, with players selecting a seat of choice at the table in the order of cards drawn (from highest to lowest). The player drawing the highest card of all is set as the first dealer. For each hand thereafter, the deal rotates in a clockwise direction from player to player.
Once the first dealer has been determined this player should thoroughly shuffle the cards and offer the deck to the player at his right to cut. After the cut the dealer begins the deal (called sharing the cards). He deals the cards one-by-one and face-down in a clockwise direction around the table starting with the player at his left. The number of cards dealt to each player is directly dependent on the current hand which is to be played (see chart further below). After the requisite number of cards for the hand have been dealt, the dealer places the remainder of the undealt deck in a face-down pile in the center of the table to form the stock. He then turns over the top card of the stock to begin the face-up discard pile.
The two types of melds that a player will use to fulfill the meld requirement of a hand are as follows:
- Three:
A "three" is three or more cards of the exact same rank, of any suit.
- Four:
A "four" is four or more cards in direct sequence, all of the same suit.
Jokers: The Jokers are wild cards and can be used to represent any other card in the deck in a meld. However, there are several restrictions on their use. First, a "three" must include at least two non Joker cards. The second restriction is that, in a "four" two Jokers may not be used for two consecutive cards in the sequence. A Joker can never be discarded by any player.
A player's turn consists of three actions he can take, in the following order:
- First, the player draws one card. He may draw the top, face-up card of the discard pile or the top face-down card from the stock. However, once a player has made his initial meld in this hand, he may only take the top card of the stock, never electing to take the top card of the discard pile.
- Next, the player may opt to make a meld after drawing a card. The first meld a player make on any hand must fulfill the meld requirement for that particular hand. Once a player plays his initial meld, on that or later turns, he may lay down new melds "threes" or "fours" or may extend existing melds on the table. However, a player may never lay down a second "three" of the same rank as one he has already
laid down during the current hand. Similarly, a player may never lay down a second "four" of the same suit as a "four" he has already
layer down during this hand. Adding cards to another meld already on the table is called "tacking on". A three can be tacked on by adding additional cards of the same rank (or a Joker). A four can be tacked on by adding the next higher card in the current sequence of that four. However, if the highest card of a four is the Ace, lower cards can then, and only then, be tacked onto the four. If a four contains a Joker and a player, on his turn has the card which the Joker is set to represent, he may also tack onto the meld by replacing the Joker with the card from his hand and moving the Joker to the top of the four. If the highest card in the meld is the Ace, he may instead move it to the lowest card in the meld. This cannot be done, however, if this would cause the four to contain two sequential Jokers.
- Finally, after making any melds, the player discards one card still
remaining in his hand, face-up to the top of the discard pile to end his turn.
The meld requirements for each hand and the number of cards dealt to each player for that hand is shown on the following table:
| Hand | Melding Requirement | Cards Dealt |
|---|
| 1 | Three "threes" | 9 |
| 2 | Two "threes" and One "four" | 10 |
| 3 | One "three" and Two "fours" | 11 |
| 4 | Three "fours" | 12 |
| 5 | Four "threes" | 12 |
| 6 | Three "threes" and One "four" | 13 |
| 7 | Two "threes" and Two "fours" | 14 |
| 8 | One "three" and Three "fours" | 15 |
| 9 | Four "fours" | 16 |
Calling: Calling is a feature of Caribbean Kalooki which will allow a player, out of turn, to claim the most recent discard. To do this, the player, would state "Call". The player whose turn it would actually be has two options when another player calls in this manner. He may either Allow or Refuse the call. If this player allows the call, this player then gives the top card of the discard pile to the calling player. The calling player must also draw one more card, as a sort of penalty, from the top of the stock pile (this player will now have two additional cards in his hand). The play then immediately resumes with the player whose turn it should have been, who begins his turn by drawing the top card of the stock. The second option for the player is to refuse the call. He may only refuse the call if he has not yet laid down any melds. If refusing the call, he must take this top card of the stock into his own hand as his draw and then continues with his turn as normal (optionally melding and then discarding). Once a player has made any melds to the table he may no longer call and must always accept a call by other players when that player calls during his turn. A player may not call until the card has been fully discarded,
the discarding player having fully removed his hand from the card. If multiple players call the card, the first player to call has the right to take the card if the call is accepted. The card under the one last called (after an accepted call) cannot also be called by the same or another player. That card must then remain on the discard pile. A specific player may only have three accepted calls per hand.
After having called three times (which were "Allowed") he may no longer
call during this hand.
If the stock pile runs out during play, the top card of the discard pile is removed and the remainder of the discard pile is shuffled and turned over to start a new stock pile. The top card removed from the discard pile resumes its position as the current top card of the discard pile. If the stock pile runs out twice during the same hand, the hand is dead and all the cards are thrown in and no scores are accumulated. The same dealer deals for the same hand again (and the same meld requirement for the hand).
Once a player manages to deplete his hand of all his cards, the hand
immediately ends. The cards found remaining in the other player's hands
is added to those player's accumulated score. The following chart shows the point value for each card found in the deck:
| Card | Point Value |
|---|
| Red Ace (Ace of Diamonds and Hearts) | 1 |
| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | Value Marked on Card |
| King, Queen, Jack | 10 |
| Black Ace (Ace of Clubs and Spades) | 15 |
| Joker | 50 |
If a player manages to meld all his cards on the same turn (including the meld requirement for the hand), he is said to have "bent the table". In this case, the card points added to the opponent's scores are all doubled for this hand.
After all nine hands have been completed, the scores for each player are compared. The player with the lowest cumulative score is declared the game winner.
Russian Rummy: Russian Rummy is a form of Contract Rummy which seems to have modified over time. It seems to have originated in Russia and spread to other locations. It features many exciting features of various other forms of Contract Rummy.
Russian Rummy is designed to be played by 2 to 8 players. The number of decks used is directly dependent on the number of
participants in the game. The following chart shows the decks required for differing numbers of players:
| Number of Players | Decks Required |
|---|
| 2 | 1 |
| 3, 4 | 2 |
| 5, 6 | 3 |
| 7, 8 | 4 |
Each deck to be included consists of one standard 52 card deck plus two Jokers. The ranking of the cards in the deck used for this game is as follows (from high to low); Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King. Each Joker is a wild card and can be used to replace any other card when used in a meld.
Determination of first dealer and seating positions can be done using any method, with drawing for high card being quite common. Once determined the dealer then
thoroughly shuffles the deck and deals 13 face-down cards to each player, one by one in a clockwise direction starting with the player to his immediate left. After dealing the requisite cards to each player he then places the remainder of the deck in a face-down pile in the center of the table as the stock pile. Lastly, he takes the top card of the stock pile and places it face-up next to the stock pile to start the discard pile. However, if a player on his turn opts to take the top card from the stock, he must pause for a moment after doing so to allow another player to "claim" the top card of the discard
pile. The first player to state "I want it" has the right to the card. That player then takes the top card of the discard and also the top card of the stock as a penalty. The player whose actual turn it was then continues his turn as normal. In addition, a player on his turn may, if he holds a card that can be replaced for a Joker in a meld already on the table, replace the Joker with the actual card, adding the Joker to his own hand.
The objective of each hand is to be the first player to manage to meld all his cards on the table in legal melds. As in most forms of Contract Rummy, however, this objects is complicated by the fact that a player may not make any melds to the table until he is able to make the meld requirement for the hand. Russian Rummy consists of 5 such hands, each with its own required melds. The following table shows the meld requirements for each of these five hands:
| Round | Melding Requirement |
|---|
| 1 | 2 Sets |
| 2 | 1 Sequence |
| 3 | 2 Sets and 1 Sequence |
| 4 | 3 Sets |
| 5 | 1 Set and 2 Sequences |
The valid meld types in Russian Rummy are as follows:
- Set:
A set in Russian Rummy is 3 or more cards of the same denomination. Suit is
irrelevant in a Set.
- Sequence:
A sequence (also called a Straight) is 4 or more cards in sequential order, all of the same suit.
The player to the dealer's immediate left has the first turn and the turns rotate around the table in a clock-wise rotation. To begin his turn, each player draws a card. He may either draw the top card of the stock into his hand or take the top face-up card of the discard pile. After drawing the player then selects any card as a discard from his hand. He places this card face-up on the top of the discard pile. The turn then rotates to the next player. A player may also, make valid melds to the table in front of himself. Before making any meld, however, he must first make the initial required meld for the particular hand. Once he makes this meld, he may continue to make additional melds or add to his own melds during his turn.
Once a player melds or discards his last card at the end of a turn, the hand instantly ends. The remaining players must then add to their current cumulative score based on the cards
remaining in their hand. Cards the player has previously melded on the table do not add to this score, only all cards
remaining in the hand. The following shows the scoring value for each card in the deck:
| Card | Scoring Value |
|---|
| Jokers | 25 |
| Ace | 15 |
| King, Queen, Jack | 10 |
| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | 5 |
After all five hands have been completed, the player with the lowest grand total is declared the winner of the game.
Telefunken: Despite it's very German sounding name, Telefunken actually originated in South America and is widely played in Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, and Ecuador as well as other nearby areas. It is thought that
the game may have been brought to this area by the many Germans who fled to that region during World War II.
The deck used for this game is comprised of two standard 52 card decks as well as four total Jokers, creating a 108 card deck. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. As will be noted the Ace can be considered the lowest card in a meld or the highest card. The Jokers are special cards which can be used to represent any card in a meld.
Telefunken is designed for play by four players each playing for himself. Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed in a variety of methods, with draw for low cards a common method. Players each draw a card and the players have choices of seats from lowest card drawn to highest (Ace is considered low for purposes of this draw). The player drawing the lowest card of all is set as the first dealer. After each hand the role of dealer rotates around the table in a counter-clockwise direction.
To begin the game, each player is supplied with seven tokens or chips. These chips can be used to "buy" discards during course of the play. Once a player uses his last chip he is not provided any more so these should be used carefully throughout the course of the game.
After the players are seated the first dealer then thoroughly shuffles the deck and offers it to the player at his immediate left to cut. The cut, in this case, consists of that player taking a section from the top of the deck and laying it face-down beside the remaining portion of the deck. The player who cut the cards is entitled to look at the bottom three cards in the top section of the deck he had removed. If any of these three cards are Jokers, he must show the Joker(s) to the other players and is then entitled to set them aside to be included in his own hand. The dealer then picks up the bottom portion of the deck (from which the cutter had removed the top portion for the cut) and begins dealing with this lower section. He proceeds to deal the cards in a counter-clockwise direction, one by one and face-down around the table until each player has a total of 11 cards. If the player who cut the deck had taken any Jokers, that player should only receive enough additional cards to also bring his hand to 11 cards. To complete the deal, the dealer then turns up the top card from this portion of the deck he has been dealing from and turns it face-up to start the discard pile. If the top portion of the deck had exactly enough cards to complete the deal to each player and the up-card, the player who cut is entitled to add one extra chip for a total of 8. If this top section did not contain enough cards, the dealer must then begin dealing from the top portion of the deck. If the top portion had more then enough for each player, the dealer places the remainder on top of the top portion cut by the cutting player. The player to the immediate right of he dealer has the first turn and play rotates around the table in a counter-clockwise direction around the table from player to player.
As in most other games of the Contract Rummy type, the object is to be the first player to fulfill a number of contracts through a series of several hands, and earn points for cards remaining in other player's hands. The legal types of melds which can be made are as follows:
- Set:
At set is a collection of three or more cards all in exactly the same rank, irrespective of the suit. Three such cards is called a trio, four a cuarteto and five a quinteto. During the hand, there is also a special kind of set which is part of the requirement on the first deal called a pure trio (limpio). In a limpio set, each card in the set must be of a different suit and no Jokers can be included in that set.
- Sequidilla:
A sequidilla is three or more cards, all of the same suit in direct sequential order. If any Sequidilla contains an Ace, it must be the highest or lowest card in the Sequidilla (i.e. Ace, 2, 3, 4 of Diamonds or Queen, King, Ace of Spades.)
In most cases (except for a limpio which may not contain any Jokers), any particular meld may contain at most one Joker.
As with most games of this type, each of the seven deals which makes up a complete game of Telefunken has a different specification which the players attempt to fulfill during the hand. The following are the types of melds which the players will strive for during these deals:
- First Deal:
On the first deal, the required contract is one trio which must be pure (limpio).
- Second Deal:
On this deal the requirements are two of any type of trio.
- Third Deal:
During this deal the players attempt to be the first to meld one cuarteto.
- Fourth Deal:
On the fourth deal, the players attempt to first meld two cuartetos.
- Fifth Deal:
On this deal the players attempt to be the first to meld one quinteto.
- Sixth Deal:
On this deal, the required contract is two quinteros. On this deal, however there is also one special rule. After the initial deal, after each players has had the opportunity to review his dealt cards, he may select any number of these for discard. He places these cards face-down in the center of the table. Each player may discard as few or as many from the hand as wanted. Once all the players have so discarded, these discard cards are shuffled together and each player is redealt a number of cards, by the dealer, as he had originally discarded.
- Seventh Deal:
On the last deal of the game the required contract is one trio and one sequidilla consisting of seven or more cards. On this hand, in order for a player to win the hand, he must meld his entire hand on one turn (or he may meld all but one card from his hand and discard his last card).
Each player's turn consists of first, drawing the top card from the face-down stock,
next melding if willing and able, and lastly ending his turn with a discard to the top of the discard pile. The first legal meld a player may make on any hand must consist of the exact required contract for that hand (no more or less cards in those melds). Once he has made such a meld, on that turn or subsequent turns, he may make additional new sets and sequidillas. In addition, he may add to existing melds (made by himself or other players) by laying off cards onto those melds. He may not add to his original meld on the first turn but may add cards to those melds on later turns.
If a melded set contains a Joker, a player is also entitled, during the melding portion of his turn (providing he has already melded the required meld for the hand), to take the Joker from an existing meld on the table. If the Joker is part of any set, in order to trade for the Joker, the player must replace the Joker with two cards of the rank as the other cards in that set
from which the Joker was removed from. The Joker may then be added to
that player's hand. A Joker may not be removed from a sequidilla,
however if the Joker is one of the end cards in the sequidilla, a player
may move the Joker to either end of that extended meld and replace the
card the Joker had represented with the corresponding card from his
hand. A Joker which is part of a sequidilla may only be moved once for
that meld, and thus, once moved, it must remain in that position for the
remainder of the game.
As mentioned previously, players also have a number of chips or tokens which they may use to "buy" the discard. After a player ends his turn with his discard to the discard pile, any other player may then ask to "buy" that discard. If multiple players want to "buy" this card, the precedence is for the player closes to the discarding player in a counter-clockwise direction. To buy a card, a player must give one of his chips to a pile in the center of the table. He then takes the discard and must also draw one card from the top of the stock pile adding both cards to his hand. The turn then resumes with the normal player whose turn it should be. If the player buying the card is the player next in turn, he must draw a card as usual to start his actual turn. A player may only "buy" a card during a hand if he has not yet melded during this same hand.
There is one exception to the requirement that a player must buy a card. If the first player on the first turn of each hand would prefer to draw the turned-up card on his turn rather than draw from the stock pile, this player is entitled to take this card as his draw without the requirement to give a chip or draw a second card from the stock pile.
The hand continues until one of the player manages to play his last card from his hand during his turn, or playing all but one card which he then discards as normal at the end of his hand. Play immediately ceases for that
hand and scores are calculated for the hand. If the stock pile becomes exhausted during the hand before any player manages to deplete his hand, the top card of the discard pile is laid aside, which remains the discard pile and the remainder of the stock is shuffled and turned over to start a new stock pile.
Once a player has so depleted his hand, the cards remaining in the other players' hands are then added to a cumulative penalty score kept for him during the game. The following chart shows the value of each card in the deck:
| Card | Point Value |
|---|
| Joker | 15 |
| Ace | 11 |
| Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | Value marked on card |
After the seven deals have been finished, making a complete game, the player with the lowest cumulative score in these penalty points is declared the winner.
Farmer's Rummy: Farmer's Rummy is a game which is very similar to Telefunken but which is
more commonly played in the United States. Farmer's Rummy can be played
by 4 to 8 players. For four players, two standard 52 card decks are
used, for five players three standard 52 card decks are used and for
six, seven or eight players three 52 card decks are used. For each deck
used in the game, two Jokers should also be included.
The game is played very similarly to Telefunken, with the following differences:
- At the start of each turn, each player is provided with 10 tokens with which that player can buy the top card of the discard pile.
- In addition to the normal Jokers being set as wild, all twos are also wild in Farmer's Rummy. Any particular meld may contain one or more wild cards, however, a meld must contain more natural (non-wild) cards than wild cards. A wild card may never be added to an existing meld on the table. A player can also discard a wild card if preferred.
- To buy a card a player must give one token and draw two additional cards from the top of the stock pile into his hand. If the player buying the card is next in turn, he must also draw the top card from the stock to start
his turn as normal (unless he opts to "buy" the top card from the discard
pile as well).
- In winning the game, a player must use his last card to discard. Thus, a player may never play his last card in a meld to the table.
- Only sets of equally ranked cards are legal melds in this game. A player may never make a meld consisting of sequential cards.
- The game consists of exactly eight deals. The contract requirements for each of these eight deals is as follows:
- 1 set of 3 cards. On this first deal, this initial set may contain no wild cards.
- 2 sets of 3 cards.
- 1 set of 4 cards.
- 2 sets of 4 cards each.
- 1 set of 5 cards.
- 2 sets of 5 cards each.
- 1 set of 6 cards.
- 2 sets of 6 cards each.
- The value of each card in the deck, as added to each player's accumulated penalty points for each card in the deck is as follows:
| Card | Point Value |
|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| 2, Ace | 20 |
| 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 5 |
In all other aspects Farmer's Rummy is played identically to Telefunken as described above.
Push: Push or "Push Rummy" is a Rummy game that is played similarly to many other Contract type Rummy games but also has several unique differences. Push is designed for play by four players in two partnerships
consisting of two players each. Each player should be seated at the table directly across the table from his partner. The role of dealer rotates in a clockwise direction around the table after each hand.
Push is played using two standard 52 card decks shuffled together with the addition of four total Jokers. The ranking of the cards in the deck as used for sequence melds are as follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. It should be noted that Aces can be considered high (the highest card after King) or low (the lowest card before the two), but a meld may never have an Ace as a middle card in a meld (such as King, Ace, Two, three of diamonds). All Jokers and twos are considered wild cards in this game and may be substituted in a meld for any other card. A two can also be used as an actual, natural two as appropriate.
The dealer should thoroughly shuffle the cards and offer the cards to the player at his right for the cut. After the cut, the dealer then begins distributing the cards, starting with player at his immediate left and continuing in a clockwise rotation around the table. The number of cards dealt is dependent
upon which round in the sequence is being played. As in most other games of this type, the game is played over a series of rounds, with the melding requirements different on each of these rounds as is the number of cards dealt to each player. The following chart shows the five rounds played during a game of Push, the
specific number of cards dealt to each player, and the specific initial
melding requirements on that round:
| Round | Cards Dealt to Each Player | Initial Melding Requirement |
|---|
| 1 | 6 | 2 Sets of Three Cards |
| 2 | 7 | 1 Set of Three Cards and 1 Run of Four Cards |
| 3 | 8 | 2 Runs of Four Cards |
| 4 | 9 | 3 Sets of Three Cards |
| 5 | 10 | 2 Runs of Five Cards |
After the dealer has dealt the appropriate number of cards for that
round, he then places the remainder of the deck in the center of the
table as the stock pile and turns over the top card of the deck to start
the discard pile. If this card is a Joker or two, he adds that card back
into the deck (buries the card) and turns over the next card instead
from the top card of the stock (repeating the process if the next card is also any wild card). The player to the immediate left of the dealer has the first turn.
Each turn consists of a number of actions for which a player will take:
Draw: To start his turn, each player will have the opportunity to draw a card. If the player wants the top, exposed, card from the discard pile, they can thus take this card and add it to the hand. However, if the player prefers not to draw the top card of the discard pile, he follows a different procedure. He takes the top, face-down card from the stock
pile, turns
it over and places it on top of the current top-most, face-up card of the discard pile and passes both of these cards (called pushing) to the player at his immediate left. That player on the left than adds both cards to their hand. The player who "pushed" the cards then takes the next top card from the face-down stock adding it to his own hand.
Optional Melding: After the draw, a player on his turn may then meld cards, if willing and able. A meld consists of legal combinations of cards. The following are the legal meld types allowable in this game:
- Set:
A set is a collection of three or four cards all of the same rank. No two cards in this Set can be of the same suit, however.
- Run:
A Run is a collection of three or more cards all in direct sequential order and all of the same suit. It should be noted, unlike in most Contract Rummy type games, in Push, a Sequence of three cards is generally a legal meld.
The first meld any player makes to the table must fulfill the Initial Melding Requirement from the chart above. Thus, a player is not entitled to make any melds to the table until first making a meld that fulfills that initial requirement. Once that initial requirement has been fulfilled by that player, he may then, on the same turn or subsequent turns play additional, legal melds to the table. A player may also add cards (laying off) to other melds on the table, which had been melded by any player. If a meld contains any wild cards and there is any doubt as to what card (rank and/or suit) that card represents, the player making that meld must state this. If a player on his turn (who has already made an initial meld on the current hand) has the actual replacement card for a wild card in an existing meld on the table, he may replace the wild cards (taking it into his hand) and replace it with that natural card (this is called rescuing the wild card). If a 2 is actually representing itself in a meld, this card cannot be so rescued.
Discard: Each player then ends the turn by discarding any card from his hand face-up to the top of the discard pile.
The game continues in this manner until any player manages to "go out" by either melding all of his cards (over one or more turns) to the table, or by melding all but one card and then, discarding his last card as his normal discard to end the turn. Once any player manages this, the game immediately ends. In addition, if the stock pile is
exhausted, and a player would want to draw from this pile (which has no cards), the game also immediately ends.
Once the game so ends, scoring is performed for that hand. The partnership containing the player who managed to deplete his hands scores zero for the hand (regardless of the cards still remaining in the hand of the partner of the player who depleted his hand). The opposing partnership however, must add to their current accumulated score a number of points based on the cards left remaining in both of those partners hands:
| Card | Point Value |
|---|
| Wild Card (2 or Joker) | 20 Each |
| Aces | 15 Each |
| 10, Jack, Queen, King | 10 Each |
| 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 5 Each |
After all five rounds have been completed the accumulated scores for both partnerships are thus compared and the partnership with the lower score is declared the game winner.
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