Online Rummy - The Ins and Outs of An Instant Classic
The game of Rummy is one of the most well known in the history of man, and is currently considered the 3rd most popular game on earth.
With its origins surrounded in a thick cloud of uncertainty, it's unclear as to where the game actually originated.
The game itself is played by 2 to 4 players with each player given a certain number cards. The goal in Rummy is to get rid of as many cards as possible by setting them up in certain combinations and then laying them on the table. The first player to get rid of all his cards is the winner.
The game itself revolves around each player taking a card and discarding a card in his turn. The goal is to have the cards circling around between the players. Once the deck has been finished, each player in his turn will take a card from the discarded pile.
The game itself has many popular variations. One of the most dominant variation is Gin Rummy.
Gin Rummy is fairly similar to some of the other variations, but with subtle changes the differentiate the game.
The Gin Rummy game is designed for 2-4 players. The goal is to lay down sets on the table. This game differentiates itself from traditional Rummy by having another goal aside from creating sets. The players must try and keep the the number of cards left without a set to a minimum. Each card has a different value and thus has a different penalty in the end.
When the game ends, the winner is determined as follows: In the case of 'Gin', there is one player who managed to get rid of all of his cards. The other players will be ranked based on how many penalty points they receive for their unset cards.
'Knock' is when a player has most of his cards set and a penalty for his inset cards that does not exceed 10.
'Undercut' is when a player will 'Knock', and his players will be able to add their unset cards into the Knocker's sets. If an opponent can get his penalty score lower the the knocker's, he will win the match and knocker will receive an extra 25 penalty points.
Kalooki 51, or Kalooki 40 are very similar, except in the kalooki games, a player has the option of 'going kalooki'. This means that a player will attempt to set all of his cards at once, as long as the total value of his cards does not exceed 51 or 40, respectively.
In this case, the penalty on opponent players is greater.
Another fairly popular variation of traditional Rummy is Rummy 500. It bears many similarities to traditional Rummy but has a few rules that make this game unique in its own right and adds exciting elements to the game.
Rummy 500 is intended for 2-8 players. If there are more than 5 players' 2 decks will be used, including the jokers. The goal of this game is to get 500 points or more. The game advances over a few rounds until one of the player hits the 500 point mark. In each turn a player will take a card from the deck or the discarded pile and build his sets. If a player chooses to take a card from the discarded pile, the must take all of the cards that were discarded after that card.
Each round ends when a player has gotten rid of all of his cards or the deck ends. At this point there is an evaluation of each of the players' cards. Positive points are awarded for set cards and negative points are given for unset cards. The game ends when one of the players will reach at least 500 points. If more than one player pass the 500 point mark, the player with the highest total score wins.
Rummy 500 also has a special move called 'Calling Rummy'. If a player will discard of a card that is useful to another player, the opponent may 'Call a Rummy' and take the card and continue their turn. This is allowed under certain condition:
1.The card must be used to complete a set.
2.The discarded pile will have at least 2 cards which can be used to form a set with the newly discarded card.
