Deal and melds
- Deal 10 cards each with two players, 7 each with three or four, or 6 each with five or six. Turn one card up to begin the discard pile and place the rest face down as stock.
- A set is three or four cards of the same rank. A run is three or more consecutive cards in the same suit.
- Aces are low in standard Rummy: A-2-3 is valid, while Q-K-A is not unless the table agrees otherwise.
A turn
- Starting left of the dealer, draw the top stock card or the top discard.
- You may meld one set or run, then lay off any number of cards onto valid melds already on the table. Many tables allow multiple new melds; agree before the deal.
- End by discarding one card. If you took the top discard, you cannot return that same card during the same turn.
- If the stock runs out, turn the discard pile over to make a new stock, normally without shuffling it.
Going out and scoring
- The hand ends immediately when a player gets rid of every card by melding, laying off, or discarding.
- Each opponent totals every card still in hand: face cards are 10, aces are 1, and number cards use face value.
- Add all opponents’ hand values to the winner’s cumulative score. Play to the target or for an agreed number of deals.
- Going rummy—emptying the entire hand at once without an earlier meld or layoff—commonly doubles the hand score.
Common house rules
- Allow multiple new melds per turn
- Require a final discard to go out
- Aces high or low
- Shuffle the discard pile when recycling it
- Double the score for going rummy
- Use penalty scoring with the lowest score winning