The card games like Poker, Bridge and Rummy have been highly enjoyed by people in India ever since the rule of Britishers. These games have caught the imagination of people throughout India. Indians enjoy these games both in their communities as well as families. The game Indian Rummy is specifically savored in card rooms and casinos. Being treated as a betting game Rummy is legally not permitted in certain locales. The roots of this game are not much clear but it is generally perceived that it has taken birth from a South Asian game called Celebs Rummy.

Indian Rummy may also have come from USA as it is much like a version between Gin Rummy and Rummy 500. It shares a few common features with Rummy 500 set of one or two decks, presence of thirteen cards, two or more players and the acceptance of jokers. In terms of the ease of playing this game is the next of kin of Gin Rummy. One who savors Gin Rummy is highly likely to savor Indian Rummy. The rules which are now going to study have been framed for offline, practical playing conditions. You are welcome to apply them even for online version.

Laying off melds on the playing table is allowed only when someone goes out. Laying off melds on the table in the course of the game is not allowed. It is also not allowed to lay off cards onto other melds at any point of time in the game. The draw and the discard of the cards are the only simple jobs done in playing Indian Rummy.

Drawing (Compulsory) - The player who starts the game draws only one card from either the stock pile or the discard pile and adds it the thirteen cards in his hand. The discard pile is face up but only the upcard is visible. If a player opts for a card from the stock pile his opponent cannot view it.

Discarding (Compulsory) - One studies one’s cards after taking a card and comes to a conclusion as to which one is the card that is needed the least. In the sense that should be the card least likely to form either a Set or a Run. You do not need it and you are not likely to be in need of it. This card thus chosen is discarded face up onto the discard pile.

If the stock pile diminishes to just one card and if a player on his turn does not opt for it and if does not opt for the discarded card too then all the discard pile is taken, shuffled and turned all over to start the new stock pile.

In the event of a player Going out without fulfilling the condition of at least one pure sequence then all other cards are treated as unmatched and all the other melds become automatically invalid.

Face cards (Jack, Queen, King) score 10 points each, Aces score 10 points and Joker are worth 0 points. The rest of cards of the deck score their rank value i.e. their pip value. For example: a 5 worth 5 points, a 8 worth 8 points, etc.

Aces are always the highest value in Indian Rummy. The ranking of cards is in the order of 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A. Since Ace is high in Indian Rummy A 2 3 is a valid sequence and also Q K A is a valid sequence. Aces do not move both the ways and hence K A 2 is not a valid sequence.

In the absence of knocking, line bonus and game bonus etc scoring in Indian Rummy is similar to Gin Rummy and it is very simple. The dealer makes a total of the rank value of the unmatched cards of each player and negative points are given to deadwood count. The winner of game gains the combined deadwood count as positive points. Indian Rummy can be played as a single hand, for a fixed number of deals or for a set amount of time.

The players going for the online version of the game Indian rummy need not go beyond, as the rules mentioned below are few house rules employed by some players for an offline (real life) play. These are optional rules and are introduced in to the game at the discretion of the players. Most of the variations of rules when compared to the standard Indian rummy are with the different scoring methods followed. The rule (1) below is one of the rules followed by a large number of people around the world.

(1) At the end of deal after a card is put face up for the discard pile, an extra card is picked and made a wild card. The cards similar to the rank value of this wild card irrespective of the suit are considered as wild cards. These wild cards do whatever a joker does and more over are in addition to the jokers in the play.

Another important thing to consider here is Indian rummy at times is played without engaging jokers in the play.

(2) Some house rules do not allow the players to discard the same card picked from the discard pile i.e., one cannot draw and discard the same card from the discard pile.

(3) According to one of the house rules, the game has to end once the stock pile runs out and the scoring has to be done.