Rummy Tips and Tricks

Where’s the fun in a game of rummy if you don’t get to win? Winning a game of rummy requires a certain amount of skill. You need to able to calculate and analyze the game in order to succeed. Practice aside, there are some tried and tested techniques that can help you get better and win.

Here are the some tips of rummy and the various tricks of rummy that will not only help you improve on your game, but also help you beat your opponents and win big!

Group your Cards

Grouping of cards is a convenient option for quick game-play. When you are playing on RummyCentral, selecting any three cards enables a group button. Once you click on this button, you can group chosen cards. Once you’ve made a sequence or set, you can continue playing smoothly and uninterrupted.

Pure Sequence

Once the cards are dealt, your first focus should be completing your pure sequence. Standard rummy rules state that you need to have a pure sequence without the use of the joker. First create a sequence of 3 to 4 cards and later, you can focus on other sets and sequences to declare a game. This is one of the most important rummy tips to win.

Second Sequence

The difference between a pure sequence and the other sequence is that - a joker cannot be used in the former, while it can in the second sequence, although it’s not mandatory. With this out of the way, the game becomes much easier and you can focus on making sets.

3 to 7 card sequence

A common misconception about making sequences in rummy is that you can’t make a sequence greater than 3 cards. But the fact is that a sequence can be made with a minimum of 3 cards and a maximum of 7 cards. Whether you’re making a pure sequence or your second sequence, both can have up to 7 cards.

3 or 4 card sets

Another thing to keep in mind as a tip to win 13-card rummy is that sets need not be of only three cards. You can make sets with 4 cards. The only rule to remember is to have all cards of the same value but of different suites. Another rummy game tip is that you can also use a wild card joker or a printed joker as the fifth card in a set.

Discard high value cards

It is best to keep your score as low as possible in Indian rummy. If your opponent decides to show, you will have a minimal score that’ll work in your favour. All cards starting from Jack are valued high including the Ace. If these cards are serving no purpose and lying idle, the best thing to do is to discard them. Keep in mind that face cards cannot be melded easily with other cards. Focus on discarding them away as early in the game as possible.

Discard Duplicate Cards

Just like high value cards, if duplicate cards are lying idle and serving no purpose, they should be discarded, as they are unnecessarily adding to your points. Duplicate cards are of barely any use in Indian rummy unless you’re using one for a set and one for a sequence.

Keep your points low

Another important rummy strategy is to keep your points as low as possible. You can do this by discarding you high value cards as well as making your two mandatory sequences as early as you can in the game. Once you’ve made these sequences, This will be a boon especially if your opponent declares a show as the values of these sequence cards will not be added together while calculating your points in the round.

Jokers

Never underestimate the power of a joker. In a game of rummy, there are 2 printed jokers and 7 wild card jokers. If you end up with some jokers in your hand, make sure you use them well. Since it’s better to not use a joker in the pure sequence, make sure you use it either in your second sequence or to meld sets.

Avoid Joker in a Pure Sequence

Another interesting trick to win 13-card rummy is to avoid using a joker in a pure sequence. Use a wild card joker mainly when you have no other card to complete a set or sequence.

Cards that meld

Focus on using compatible cards to make sequences. Compatible cards are those which can easily be melded into sequences. For example, a 6 can meld with 4 and 5 or 7 and 8 of the same suit. Face cards on the other hand are less compatible since they cannot be melded easily.

Evaluate cards in hand

While it’s natural to wait for a good card to come along, it’s always better to first analyze all the possible options that you have with the existing cards and whatever you can draw. It is important to analyze and evaluate the cards in your hand and arranging and rearranging them to make a show. Don’t give time and opportunity to your opponent to win the game.

Organize and arrange

Being organized is a big part of rummy. In order to make sure that you don’t get confused or waste time looking for cards, it’s better to keep them organized from the start of the game itself. Everyone has their own technique of arranging cards. Choose one that suits your style of play. A good way to arrange cards is alternating by colour. For example – if you have a sequence of spades, you can follow that up with a sequence of diamonds and keep alternating in that pattern.

Keep an eye on your opponent

Keep a close eye on the cards your opponents are picking up and discarding. Based on this, you can make the odds work in your favour. For example, if any of your opponents has picked a 6 of clubs from the open deck, then you can easily assume that he’s either making a 3, 4, 5, 6 sequence or a 6, 7, 8, 9 sequence. If not either of these, then he is making a set of 6s.If you have cards that can meld in any way with these sequences, hold on to them. This will make it much easier for you to gauge another person’s game. Keep this is mind as another way to win a game of rummy!

Trick your opponent

In a standard game of Indian rummy, there are many tips to win and one among these is to try to confuse your opponent. Whenever you draw a card from the open deck, you leave behind a clue for your opponent about your next move. Hence, you need to come up with a way to throw them off guard. Discard a card that you may need or that might meld with what you’ve drawn. You can also choose to throw away a duplicate card if you have one. Another way to trick your opponent is to get them to discard a card you need. For example, if you are making a set of kings, and you require a king of spades, you should discard either a jack of spades or a queen of spades if you want your opponent to throw away his king of spades.

Take a drop

A drop is an advantage that you can choose instead of losing a game with high points. However, taking a drop comes with its own sets of rules and penalization. In any variant of rummy, you can choose to take a drop. However, be sure to evaluate your cards and analyze the game before doing so. If you take a drop before your turn, i.e. before you draw your first card, it is termed as First Drop and you gain 20 points in Pool Rummy 101 and 25 points in Pool Rummy 201. You can also choose to take a drop any time during the game if you feel the game is not working in your favour and that you may lose. This type of drop can be taken by not drawing a card during your turn. This drop is called Middle/Interim Drop and you gain 40 points and 50 points for Pool Rummy 101 and Pool Rummy 201 respectively. You can choose to play in the next game depending on the other players’ scores in the round.

Make a valid show

Before making a show, you need to make sure that all the requirements of the game have been met. This means that you must have 2 sequences – a pure sequence without a joker and one with a joker, if needed. Apart from this, you need to have valid sets and sequences. You also need to ensure that you have no duplicate card of same value and same suit in your sets, Sets can be of a minimum of three or four cards. Do a thorough proof-check of your cards. Make sure there are no diamonds in a sequence of hearts and vice-versa. All these small things matter while declaring a game in rummy.

These are some tips to win rummy however, kindly keep in mind that these are only suggestions and are not guaranteed ways to win a game of rummy. Consider these 13-card rummy tips and tricks as ways of getting better at the game. There are various other factors that play a role in winning such as mental ability, assessment and analytical skills, your comprehension of the rules of the game and your insight of the game, to name a few. RummyCentral.com cannot be held liable for any financial loss incurred by you in the course of your playing online rummy.

Apart from this, we urge to thoroughly go through the rules of rummy and how to go about playing it. You can visit our ‘how to play’ section to get a better understanding of the game. Unless you’re sure of what exactly to do, you could end up doing some serious damage, especially if you’re playing high stakes. We also suggest you be absolutely sure about playing for money and before you do, try our free versions especially if you’re a beginner. Here’s wishing you a lot of fun and a lot of winning big!