Points Rummy

There are 3 types of rummy that you can choose to play from on RummyCentral.com. You can pick a table of your choice and start gaming right away.

Points Rummy: This variation of rummy is played by assigning different values to cards.
Deals Rummy: In this variation of rummy, players play certain number of deals to conclude the game.
Pools Rummy: In this variation of rummy, the objective is to have the least score in each game. It is played between 2 to 6 players.

What is Points Rummy?

Points rummy is one of the most popular variants of the Indian 13-card rummy and also the most fast-paced. In this rendition of rummy, Players play for points which have a pre-decided rupee value.There is one winner who takes home all the cash in the end. The winnings include the sum total of points of all the opponents multiplied by the pre-determined value of the points minus the rake (RummyCentral fees). Before we move on to the rules of 13-card Points rummy, let’s understand some basics about the game.

Basic rules on how to play points rummy:

Every game lasts for 1 deal
Each player is dealt a set of 13 cards randomly.
First Drop = 10 points * bet value; Middle Drop = 40 points * bet value; Full Count= 80 points * bet value maximum
The game is played with 2 decks.
Each deck has 54 cards including a printed joker.
A toss decides which player gets to go first.
A joker which is selected at random from the closed deck is placed on the table. In case the joker picked turns out to be the printed joker, an ace card can be used as a joker for the game.
A random card drawn from the closed deck is placed in the open deck slot to start the game.

How scoring works in a game of Points rummy:

Players play for points which have a pre-decided rupee value. The objective of the game is to have the least number of points. The person with 0 points is declared the winner.
The player that loses the game gets points equal to their hand score.
Face cards i.e. J, Q, K and Ace are of 10 points each.
The numbered cards carry the same value as their rank. For example - 5 carries 5 points, 4 carries 4 points and so on.
Jokers are all assigned 0 points.
A losing player's hand is scored by adding points for cards that are not grouped as sequences or sets at the end of the game. This might not apply in the following cases:

When the player does not have a pure sequence
Only the pure sequence does not add to the score in case the losing player has not made a second sequence.

In a game a player gets a maximum of 80 points only. For example, if a player's score is 90 the maximum score he can get is still 80 only. In case a player does not declare cards that meet all the objectives of the game, he/she is dropped from the game with 80 points.

Points and objectives of Points rummy:

Based on the standard rules of 13-card Indian rummy, the points and game-play in this variant of rummy work in the following way:

The player picks a card either from the open or closed deck whenever his/her turn comes.
They player must make his/her move in time allotted failing which that turn is discarded and is called a ‘missed move’. In case a player misses three consecutive turns, they are dropped from the game. He/she also gets 40 points - which is the middle drop score.
Once a player is dropped, the rest of the players continue playing. In case the game was only between two people, the opponent wins by default.
A player must pick a card first and then discard a card in order to finish a move.
Once all the cards from the open deck slot are exhausted, they are picked up, reshuffled and placed back as the closed deck, except the face up card which is already in the open deck slot.

Winning and Declarations in Points Rummy:

If the losing player has not had his first turn before the opponent has made a valid declaration, then:

He/she get points equal to half their hand score. For example, if the hand score is 40 points, then he/she gets 20 points as their score.
The minimum points a losing player can get in this case is 2 (for scores 2, 3, 4, & 5).
The maximum points for a losing player in this case are 40 (for scores 80 or more)
If a player misses 3 turns in a row i.e. he/she is unable to take a decision on what card to move, he/she is dropped from the game automatically. A middle drop score of 40 points is assigned to this player. If a player meets the objective of the game but does not (or forgets to) declare, he/she gets a score of 2 points.
In order to finish the game, the player has to discard a card on the open deck slot. A player must show the cards in hand by grouping them in sets/sequences. Once done, the player can click the 'Declare' button.
Any player who fails to declare by grouping the cards in hand in the allotted time is dropped from the current game and is given 80 points as penalty.

Valid sets and sequences:

A valid set contains 3 or more cards of different suits with the same face value.

A valid pure sequence contains 3 or more cards that belong to the same suit but do not include a joker. A joker should be used in a pure sequence only if it belongs to the same suit and is part of a run. Either way, using a joker in a pure sequence is not encouraged. It’s best to save a joker for emergencies.

Some terms to remember while playing Points rummy online:

It is better to learn and understand the terminology before learning how to play Points rummy. Here are some terms that will come handy, while playing.

Toss:

To decide who gets to go first in a game of rummy, each player is dealt a card. The card with the highest face value gets to play first.

Seat Shuffling:

Once the toss is in place, the player’s seating arrangement is reshuffled according to the player with the highest face value card to the lowest face value card. The one with the highest face value card wins the toss and gets to play first and the lowest value card player plays last. If there is a new player at the table, there is a new toss in the next game. However, if a player leaves the table; the seating arrangement remains the same.

Dealer:

The dealer in rummy is the player who plays last i.e. the person who has the lowest value card in the toss. If the seating arrangement is not reshuffled, the player who played 1st in the previous game becomes the dealer.

First Drop:

If anyone drops a rummy game in the very first turn, without picking a card, they lose with 20 points * bet value.

Second Drop:

If anyone drops the game after the first turn or drops after picking a card, they will lose with 40 points * bet value.

Three consecutive misses:

If anyone misses three consecutive turns, they are automatically dropped out of the rummy game with 40 points.

These are the basic Points rummy rules. Kindly note that versions and rules may differ from portal to portal, so in order to understand the game of rummy further, you can visit our ‘how to play’ section to gain a better insight.

Apart from just learning the rules of Points rummy, you can click on Tips and Tricks of Online Rummy and learn the best ways to beat your opponents at this fast paced game.

You can choose to play Points rummy either on our classic and user-friendly web portal or on our easily accessible mobile app.