Rummy Variations: The Top Rummy Variants You Should Learn

Rummy has been the most popular game after Poker worldwide. The evolution of rummy has actually resulted in many rummy variations; this is the main reason for its worldwide popularity. The most prominent variant of rummy that is played in India is the 13 card rummy. The other variant of rummy is the 21 cards rummy which is played in some parts of the country. There are more than a dozen variants for the rummy game which are played worldwide, but all of the games are evolved from the basic 'draw and discard' game play. It is interesting to note that there are only minor rule differences in each of the rummy variations. In this article, we will be talking about the most popular variants of rummy that are easy to learn and play.

Contract Rummy

Contract rummy is another popular variant of rummy that is played worldwide. Three to eight players are required to play in this variant of rummy. The contract rummy is evolved for its predecessor - Gin Rummy. The rules of Contract rummy are similar to the Gin rummy. Contract rummy is a very exciting game with 7 deals. Rules including the number of cards served in seven deals are different.  The objective of the game is to make sets and sequences but the contract requirement in each deal is different.

Point calculation in contract rummy is also a bit different to other rummy variants. The numbered cards hold the points matching their rank. The face cards like Jack, King and Queen except Ace holds 10 points each. Ace carries 15 points and 15 points are allocated to Joker.

Shanghai Rummy  

Shanghai rummy with the Chinese origin is the mix of both Contract rummy as well as the Gin rummy. The main difference of shanghai rummy and contract rummy is the number of deals played in the game. In Shanghai rummy, 10 deals are played instead of 7 in the other variant. Another important option of Shanghai rummy is 'Buying'. People can 'Buy' cards when it is not their turn to play, they can actually discard a card and pick a card from the discard pile.

Another important rule in Shanghai rummy is the usage of Joker. The Joker can be used only in scenarios where there is a missing card in a sequence of 4 cards or a missing card in a set of 3 cards. It is not legitimate to use the Joker in case of higher number of cards in sets and sequences.

Gin Rummy

Gin rummy is the most popular rummy variant which is usually a two player game. The gameplay is pretty straightforward and it is also one of the easiest forms of rummy game to learn. The objective of the game is to score 100 points or more as fast as possible. Ace in Gin Rummy is a low card and thus it cannot be used to meld it with Kings and Queens; it can only be used for Ace, Two, Three etc sequences.

'Knocking' in Gin rummy means that the player can declare the card by placing a card to finish slot with whatever sets and sequences he has. The cards that are unmatched are known as 'deadwood' and they should not exceed 10 points while knocking. The player who scores 100 points first, wins the game. As a gin rummy player, you have to make melds to improve your points. Melds can be sets or sequences. You can discard deadwood cards if you don’t have a nice hand to play in order to reduce the impact of lose.

Dummy Rummy

Dummy Rummy might have the coolest name in all of the rummy variants. This rummy variant has a different rule all together and it doesn’t relate to any variation whatsoever. The rules of Dummy Rummy are closely related to the Indian rummy with slight change in the gameplay. Similar to the Indian version of rummy, 13 cards are dealt to each player. The wild card Joker in this variant is fixed as '2'; the cards of all suits with the rank '2' act as the Joker along with the printed Jokers. The rules are simple – you have to discard all the cards in your hand before your opponents. Dummy Rummy game has 12 hands each with different runs and kinds.

The major gameplay of the Dummy Rummy is to get rid of all the cards in the players hand while playing. You can get rid of the cards as soon as you are able to make sets and sequences with the game.  The winner is the player who is able to get rid of the cards first. When a player finishes his game, the other players will get penalty on points. The player who finishes all 12 hands wins the game.

Indian Rummy

The popular variant of rummy, both online and offline is one of the most played rummy variant too. Now, almost 5% of Indian population is aware of the Indian rummy rules and game. In this 13 card variant of rummy, every player is dealt with 13 cards each. The objective of the game is to make sets and sequences with all the cards that are dealt to the player.

In the Indian rummy variant there is an option to drop the game. Points will be added to people who drop the game. 20 points will be added if the player decides to drop the game before making a move and 40 points if he drops in the middle of the game. 80 points will be given for the players who make a wrong declaration. The players who are not able to make at least a single pure sequence while an opponent finishes the game will also be given 80 points. The rules are simple – The player with least points at the end wins the game.

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