Card games like rummy have long been a popular form of amusement. It is a well-known game that is played all around the world. Due to advanced technology, simple access to extremely fast internet, and a surge in the variety of online rummy portals, the game’s popularity has recently expanded.

Online rummy games are played daily by players worldwide, including newbies, who look to learn about the game. Many online rummy platforms, like Rummy Circle, RummyCulture, Junglee Rummy, etc., enable you to play the card game, irrespective of whether you are a rookie or an expert. But hold on! Even if you do not hold much knowledge about the game, you may count on this segment to master the rummy card game as we thoroughly explain the game of rummy in this section.

Is Playing Online Rummy Legal In India? comes to mind when we hear about online rummy. It is, indeed! Rummy is a skill-based game that is totally legal. It is vital to remember that since there are no centralised rules prohibiting gambling in India, the legitimacy of rummy and other online gaming practices is a subject matter of individual states

The Public Gaming Act of 1867 only sets forth penalties; it does not outright forbid gambling. This does not, however, apply to “games of skill.” Gambling is defined by these regulations as wagering and betting on games of chance and uncertain occurrences where chance plays a significant role. However, certain states do not allow clear exemption on the game of skills, and the respective state’s law is applicable.

As per the statement by the Supreme Court of India:

• A competition where chances of success depend on a significant degree of skill is not gambling
• (ii) Despite the fact that there is an element of chance, rummy is preponderantly a game of skill and thus may be considered a game of ‘mere skill.’

Aims and Objectives:

If you regularly play poker, blackjack, and other casino card games, this game could be a little different from what you’re used to. The goal of Indian rummy, to put it simply and briefly, is to make sequences and sets out of the cards you have in your hand. You have a better chance of winning the game if you can generate valid patterns and combinations faster than any of your competitors.

Basics of Rummy:

It’s crucial that you comprehend certain rummy principles and concepts before we get into the instructions on how to play Indian rummy and the depths and peculiarities of the game.

1. The number of players in a game of rummy can range from two to six.
2. Each player receives 13 cards from the two decks of cards used to play Indian rummy.
3. The required order of cards, as specified by the game’s rules, must be strictly adhered to: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, and King.
4. An Ace can be regarded as either a face card or the number one (‘1’) for creating sequences.
5. A sequence is a set of three or four cards that are presented in a row (as mentioned above), but they must all be the same suit. (Example- 2♦ 3♦ 4♦ 5♦, Ace♣ King♣ Queen♣ Jack♣, etc.)
6. A set consists of three or four cards with the same value or “face card” but from separate suits. (8♦ 8♥ 8♣ 8♠, Queen♣ Queen♦ Queen♥, etc.)
7. Jokers: When playing rummy using jokers, players can use a joker in place of any other card to complete a set or sequence.

• A joker can be of two types:

1. Wild Joker: This card is simply drawn at random from the closed deck by the players, and it serves as the Wild Joker for that particular game. (5♦ 6♦ 2♣ 8♦ [Wild Joker used in place of 7♦])
2. Printed jokers: Cards that come from packs of playing cards and have the word “Joker” printed on them. (6♣ 6♦ 6♥ Joker [Printed Joker used in place of 6♠])At the beginning of the game, a player is randomly selected to be the “dealer” or the person in charge of dealing with the cards. Each player will then have a chance to serve as the dealer for each consecutive game.

Playing Rummy:

After thoroughly understanding the game’s foundations, let’s move on to the regulations and understand how to play rummy.

1. The first step is shuffling the pack of cards (the number of packs depends on the number of players; see point ‘b’ above).
2. The dealer then deals 13 cards in a rotational movement to each participant.
3. After each player receives their 13 cards, the additional cards are laid facing down on the table/floor and are referred to as the closed deck.
4. One card is dealt face-up into the open deck to start the game of rummy, and a card is chosen at random to serve as the defined or chosen wild joker. In the open deck, the cards are arranged “face up.”
5. Following the distribution of the cards, each player, in turn, may either draw (pick up) a card from the closed deck or toss away one from their own 13 cards to the open deck.
6. One from the open deck, where the card being drawn may be seen, or one from the closed deck, where the cards are all face down, are the options available to the player pulling the card.
7. A player must surrender one of his/her hand’s cards to the open deck each time he chooses a card from the open or closed deck. Thus, a player may not be in possession of more than 13 cards.
8. This process of “drawing and dropping” of cards continues until a player creates legitimate sequences and sets and “shows” or “declares” it to all the other participants by revealing the sequences and sets to them all.
9. For every game, the Card Joker is a card drawn at random from the deck for every Rummy game. The Ace cards of all the suits function as the Card Joker for that specific game if, by chance, a printed Joker is chosen during the process.

• Two sequences, one of which must be pure, must be part of a legal declaration or display, and the rest cards may be placed in sets.
• A Pure Sequence is a legitimate grouping of at least three cards from the same suit without a joker.
• An Impure Sequence is a grouping of at least three cards from the same suit with a joker.