Pull jokers first
Wild jokers and printed jokers are removed from the deck before the deal. Their rank is determined by the joker card flipped face-up.
Any card of the matching rank in your hand is also a wild joker for the hand.
Rules handbook · Issue 04
How to play 13-card rummy, in the order you meet it at the table.
Adult players do not need a marketing pitch. They need the deal, the draw, the meld, the show, the drop, in that order, with the unambiguous rules each step requires.
Chapter 01 · The deal
The 13-card deal, written as it is dealt.
The first hand of the night is the hand where most procedural errors happen. Read it once, refer back when needed.
13 cards, one at a time
Each player receives 13 face-down cards, one at a time clockwise. The remaining deck becomes the closed stock.
The top card of the closed stock is flipped face-up to start the discard pile.
First turn goes to the player left of the dealer
Subsequent turns rotate clockwise. Each turn requires one draw and one discard.
Some rooms shuffle the dealer each hand, others hold the dealer for the full session.
Chapter 02 · The draw
Take from stock or discard, and the room signals.
The draw is the only public commitment in the round. Read the room before you read the discard.
Drawing from the closed stock
Pull the top card of the face-down deck. No signal, no cost. The card is added to your hand without being shown.
This is the safe draw. Most hands should default to it unless you have a specific set you want to complete.
Drawing from the discard pile
Pull the top card of the face-up discard pile. Some rooms require you to immediately lay down a meld that uses the drawn card. If no meld is possible, the draw is voided and the card returns to the top of the discard pile.
Other rooms expose the draw and let you hold it for one turn. Always read the room card before sitting down.
- Wild jokers replace any rank
- One draw per turn
- Discard pile visibility is public
- Drop before the show
Chapter 03 · The meld
Build sets and sequences before declaring.
A valid declaration has at least one pure sequence, one impure sequence or a second pure, and sets of equal rank. Anything in your hand costs you points at show.
Same suit, consecutive, no jokers
Three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive rank. No wild jokers allowed. This is the anchor of every valid declaration.
Without a pure sequence, the rest of the hand does not count for declaration.
Same suit, consecutive, with at least one joker
Three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive rank, with at least one wild joker filling a gap.
You can keep both a pure and an impure sequence, or two pure sequences over two suits.
Editor's note
The full meld guide covers the variation matrix: how jokers count, what happens when two players declare in the same turn, and how rooms handle the loose-card penalty. Read the meld guide before your first declaration.
Chapter 04 · The drop
When to drop, and what each drop costs.
The drop is the most undervalued decision in rummy. Drop early, drop often, recover your stack for the next hand.
| Drop moment | Points penalty | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| First drop | 20 points | Your hand is bad before your second turn. |
| Middle drop | 40 points | Your hand has improved but not converged. |
| Full count | Sum of point values of cards still in hand | You declared and missed. Rare but expensive. |