There are many variants of rummy that are played world-wide; the classical version of rummy in India is the 13 card rummy variant. The love for rummy in India dates back to decades and it grew as a part of the traditions in India. It is pretty simple to learn the basics of the game but it can take a quiet a while to master the rummy strategies and tricks. As rummy is a game which requires certain skill sets to master, players need to practice by playing more games to achieve the required skill set. Players can play free classic rummy online to practice and slowly master the game.
Classic Rummy Rules
The Indian game of rummy is played between 2 to 6 player and every player is dealt with 13 cards. The players are supposed to meld their cards to sets and sequences to win the game. The winner of the game is the first player who melds his cards into sets and sequences. A valid classic rummy hand should have at least 2 sequences and the rest of the cards can be sets or sequences.
Sets are the combination of 3 or 4 cards of the same rank but different suits. For example, 9♥ 9♣ 9♦ and K♥ K♣ K♦ K♣ are considered as valid sets. Whereas sequences are the combination of 3 or more cards of the same suit and are in consecutive order. For example, 7♥ 8♥ 9♥ 10♥ and K♣ Q♣ J♣ are examples of valid sequences.
Game play of Classic Rummy
Two decks of cards are used to play classic rummy. After the players are dealt with 13 cards each, the closed deck is made by keeping the rest of the cards placed faced down. A card is randomly selected from the closed deck which acts as the wild card Joker. The joker can be used to substitute the missing cards while trying to meld cards into sets and sequences.
As discussed earlier the winning hand in classic rummy should have at least two sequences. One of the sequences in the hand should be a pure sequence. A pure sequence is obtained by melding the consecutive cards of the same suit without using a Joker. Adding a joker to the sequence will make it an impure sequence. The remaining cards can be arranged as sets or sequences. If a wrong declaration is made, the winner gets maximum points and the other players continue the game.