Indian Rummy – Learn How to Play 13 Cards Rummy

Christo Thomas | March 24th, 2014 | How To Play Rummy

Rummy is one of the widely played card games in the entire Indian subcontinent. It is hard to find a card player who is not aware of rummy games. With millions of players, Indian rummy remains as one of the favourite leisure games played in parties, get-togethers, clubs and other gatherings.

Indian Rummy is called by many other names. Mostly known as ‘Paplu’ or ‘13 Cards Rummy’, the game is said to have evolved from the variation called as “Celeb Rummy”, which is a popular game played in the South Asia. The rules are quite similar due to which many theorists have concluded that Indian Rummy is a close variant of Celebs Rummy.

How to Play Indian Rummy?

In order to learn how to play rummy, you need to have two standard decks of 52 cards along with its Printed Jokers. Under the broad category of card games, Indian rummy is considered as a game of picks and discards. You need to arrange all the cards in your hands in valid sets and sequences by picking and discarding cards during your turns.

Basic Concepts

There are some basic concepts you must know before you proceed to learn how to play rummy.

Sequence: A sequence is a group of three or more cards arranged consecutively in the same suit. For example, 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ is a group of consecutive cards in ♥ suit. Or A♣ 2♣ 3♣ 4♣ 5♣ is a group of consecutive cards in ♣ suit arranged together.

Set: A set is a group of three or four cards of the same rank but belonging to different suits. For example, K♥ K♣ K♦ is a group of three Kings belonging to different suits. 5♦ 5♣ 5♠ 5♥ is a group of four cards of same rank belonging to different suits.

Jokers: Jokers play an important role in Indian Rummy games. They can be used to replace any other cards to form sequences and sets. For example, if 10♣ is the Joker, then 10 of any suit can be used to form a sequence like 2♣ 3♣ 10♥ 5♣. Similarly Jokers can be used to replace other cards to form sets; for example, 10♣ has replace K♣ to form a set of K♥ 10♣ K♦.

Pure Sequence: A sequence which is formed without the help of Jokers is called as pure sequence. For example, A♣ 2♣ 3♣ 4♣ 5♣ is a pure sequence formed without the use of any Joker.

Impure Sequence: A sequence which is formed with the help of Jokers is called as impure sequence. For example, A♣ 10♥ 3♣ 4♣ 5♣ is an impure sequence formed with the help of Joker.

Objective of the Game

As mentioned earlier, through picks and discards, you need to arrange all the cards in sequences and sets. However, in order to win in rummy, you need to make at least two sequences, out of which there has to be at least one pure sequence and all the other cards arranged in sequences and/or sets.

The Gameplay

A game of Indian Rummy can be played with two to six players. The game begins with a random toss to decide who will be the first player to draw the cards and a wild joker is selected from the deck. 13 cards are distributed to each player and the top card from the deck is placed face up to form the Open Deck. All the other cards are placed face down to form the Closed Deck. Each player has to pick a card from either Closed or Open Deck and discard one of the cards from the hand on the Open Deck.

Through picks and discards, players need to complete the objective of the game. Once, a player meets the objective of forming two sequences along with a pure one and all the cards arranged in valid sequences and/or sets, he has to discard one of the card as face down to declare the game. The cards are shown to the opponents and if valid, he wins the game of rummy.

Points in Rummy

Points in Indian Rummy games are calculated on the basis of points carried by each card. The winner wins the game with zero points and the other losing players get points based on the points carried by their hand cards.

• Jokers have zero points
• All the face cards like Kings, Queens, Jacks and Kings have ten points.
• All the numbered cards have points according to their face value. For example 8♦ has 8 points and 2♣ has 2 points.

Drop Points

A player may opt to drop out of the game during his turn. If he drops out of the game during the first turn without drawing a card, he gets a first drop of 20 points. And, if he drops out of the game after seeing the cards, he gets a middle drop of 40 points. A player gets 80 points, the maximum one can get, if he makes a wrong declaration. So, always check your hands for pure sequences, sequences or sets and then only opt to declare.

So, now you know why Indian rummy is so widely played – its rules are so simple! However, it may look very easy to play; many complex strategies are used in the game. To learn the best strategies and tips to gain your first win on the rummy tables, visit our category Rummy Strategies. You can either get your decks of cards ready for an offline rummy experience with your friends or join any of the online rummy websites for free and start playing for real cash prizes as well as to polish your game.