Rummy Versions: 7 Games

This lesson adds to your skill games education with 7 rummy versions to include rules, exceptions plus dealing and scoring for each game.
The 7 rummy versions are: Contract Rummy, 500 Rum or Pinochle, Double Rummy, Knock, Continental, Kalookie and Pan or Panguingue.

Rummy has been one of the most popular card games around the world for a long time and a major reason for this is the fact that rummy can easily be modified so that local players in various societies enjoy the game to their liking.
They can modify the wagers, the number of players, deals and combinations.
Here are the 7 accepted versions of Rummy that are enjoyed worldwide and online.

Contract Rummy: 
Contract rummy is perhaps one of the most played rummy games of all 7 rummy versions in this lesson. Though there are minor differences as to how it is played around the world, the basic rule is the same everywhere – a series of about five to seven hands are dealt out and each different hand has its own set of rules that determine how a player can go out and how one wins the points. This is the reason that the game is called Contract Rummy.
For example, a deal might require a player to have one set and one run before he/she can go out. Another might require two sequences or two sets, etc.
Contract Rummy can be played by three to eight players and the number of decks used depends accordingly.
If 3-4 players are playing, two decks plus a joker (105 cards in all) and for 5+ players, 3 decks and 2 jokers, etc.
Apart from this, most other aspects of the game are similar to standard rummy.

500 RUM or Pinochle: 
500 Rum is an enormously popular rummy game with the main distinction being that when two players are playing, each gets 13 cards (unlike the 10 cards that are dealt in standard rummy). The game is usually played by 2-8 players.
Highlights:
Points are counts for melded combinations and deducted for the players deadwood.
Whosoever reaches 500 points wins the game.
Most of the other rules including dealing and scoring are similar to standard rummy whereby one can go down by melding, laying off or discarding one’s cards.

Double Rummy Version
Double Rummy comes with its own set of exceptions that make the game unique.
The deck for this rummy version utilizes 106 cards where two of the four jokers are removed from the deck.
Dealing and Scoring: regardless of the number of players playing, most house rules have fixed the number of cards to be dealt at 10. Scoring is same as standard rummy except the value of an ace which is 11 and a joker which is equal to 15 points.
Forming melds: A matched combination can be structured from three or four cards of the same rank. Again, players are free to use the joker in any meld as they are wild.
Laying off: if a player wants to lay off their cards, a meld containing a joker is treated only when the joker is not present in the middle of the combination. It may only be moved when it is present on the end of a meld. For example, KQJoker or Joker789.
Additionally, a joker can be moved only once. 

Knock Rummy Version
Knock rummy is popularly known as Poker Rum because the game is best played by two to five players. When four players are playing, a single deck is used. However, with five or more players, a double deck is used.
Dealing and Scoring: the number of cards each player receives in knock rummy depends on players – two players=10 cards each; when three or four players play=seven cards and when five or more players are present=six cards a player.
An ace is one point, face cards are 10 points apiece and other numbered cards are counted according to their pip value.
The scoring is slightly different too – the player with the lowest points is actually the winner unlike other rummy games.
He/she wins points worth total difference in points of other players. If a player goes rummy, he wins another 25 points.
In addition, if another players ties with the knocker, then the other player wins and if the knocker does not have the lowest count, he/she has to pay the price of 10 points in addition to the difference in the counts of other players.
Therefore, knocking must be done very carefully within this game.
Playing Knock Rummy Version: the game is quite simple much like the standard game, the first player has to draw from the stockpile or take the up card and then discard to keep the total count even. However, one cannot form melds or lay off cards on other melds.
One may end the hand by knocking before they can discard and then the knocker displays his melds and unmatched cards. Others follow and the hand thus ends.

Continental Rummy Version:
The reason for the popularity of Continental Rummy is that the game can be enjoyed by a large group of players – from 2 to 12 players. The quantity of decks used depends on the number of players divided by two. Therefore, 3 to 4 players use two decks; 5-6 players use three decks, etc. Each is the usual 52-card deck to include one joker per deck.
Dealing and Scoring: Each player is dealt 15 cards in sets of threes and the objective of winning is to form sets and runs from all cards. An exception for this game is that only sequences are counted in Continental Rummy and not matched sets.
The player who goes down first with the least points is the winner and he takes a point from each player for the game, two points for each joker and another point for a deuce. Some house rules advocate bonus points for players who go out without drawing a single card or who have all the cards of the same suit.

Kalookie Rummy Version:
This rummy version, also known as Kaluki or Kalooki can be played by two to four players. Essentially, the Kalookie rummy has almost all the rules of standard Rummy but a few important exceptions make this variation refreshingly different.
The Deck: two 52-card decks are pooled together with four additional jokers to make a total of 108 cards.
Dealing and Scoring: Each person is dealt out 15 cards if four players are playing. With five players, 13 cards are dealt out each and with six, 11 cards.
Scoring: each numbered card has the same points as the pip number (five of spades is worth five points); an ace is worth 15 points and each face card has 10 points. A joker when used in a set or run has the same points as the card it stands for and if a joker remains in a hand, it equals 25 points.
Main exceptions come out regarding the first meld – it must be equal to 51 points or more before a player can lay off or discard it.
Also, a player cannot do this unless he or she has made their first combination.

Online Kalookie versions available at Rummy Royal:
Kalooki 51
Kalooki (also Kaluki or Kalookie) is a Rummy game available online that combines the use of wild cards - Jokers.
The Jokers spice up the game, providing players with many opportunities to apply the skill one has acquired.
For this card game, the melds in one's hand must reach a total count of 51 or more in order for them to lay down melds.
The winner is the first player to dispose of all the cards in his hand at once, called Hunt, or the first player to dispose of all the cards in his hand by gradually melding and building, called Going Out.
Kalooki 40
This British version of Kalooki 51 (also Kaluki or Kalookie) is a Rummy game that also combines the use of wild cards - Jokers.
With this version, the melds in one's hand must reach a total count of 40 or more in order for them to lay down melds for the first time. Another exciting rule makes it impossible to pick up cards from the discard pile without laying down one or more melds.

Panguingue (Pan)
Panguingue was a popular game in the 1800s and still remains as such in certain places around the world. The game is unique when compared to the other rummy versions.
Highlights:
Eight 40-card decks are used by removing the 8s, 9s and 10s. Each player receives 10 cards and before a game starts, each has to decide whether he/she will play the hand or not.
If not, he/she pays a small penalty that eventually goes to the winner.
The goal of the game is to meld all 10 cards including the final drawn card in melds by making sets or sequences.
A drawn card must be melded or discarded – it cannot remain in a player’s hand.
Some melds are called conditions that determine extra points for the player. These depend on the house rules decided beforehand.
The game is usually played by large groups and up to 15 can play at a time, though it is best enjoyed in groups of 6-8 players.

gamerisms offers a rummy game versions, terms-glossary and quiz

You can continue your rummy education with these lessons:
Classic Rummy Versions
Gin Rummy and Oklahoma Gin
Learn Canasta

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