Rummy

01Discover the game

At the Rami, you gather cards that go together, then you put them down to empty your hand. This chapter chooses the basic rami described by Bicycle, with only one game and without joker. There is also the French rami at 51 points, but its distribution and opening are different: do not mix these two variants.

02Equipment

It takes 52 ordinary cards, without joker, and a sheet with a pencil to note the points. Two to six people can play. The cards go from Ace to King; for the suites, the Ace is always small, before the 2.

03The goal

Be the first to no longer have any cards in hand. You can put up combinations and complete those that are already on the table. The cards still in hand of your opponents bring you points when you finish.

04Prepare the handle

Choose a person to distribute. She mixes and gives the cards one by one, starting on her left: ten cards each with two; seven to three or four; six to five or six. Each keeps his hand hidden.

The rest forms a hidden Stock. Return your first card to start a visible Waste. The person to the left of the donor starts; the spins move in the clockwise direction. For a discovery part, agree three rounds and add points: this duration is a book convention, not a traditional obligation.

05Play and form combinations

Start your turn by taking exactly one map: the hidden top of the Stock or the visible top of the Waste. You can then put up one or more valid combinations, complete already exposed combinations, or do nothing. Finish normally by discarding a visible card.

A group of three or four cards of the same value: three 8 cards, for example. A suite brings together at least three consecutive cards of the same sign: 4, 5, 6 of heart. A 4 of heart, 5 of tile and 6 of heart do not constitute a suite. A card can only belong to one combination at a time.

The As can form As-2-3, but not Dame-Roi-As. The King-As-2 suite is prohibited. The combinations placed remain visible on the table. There is no threshold of 51 points to begin to pose in this variant.

To complete a group of three 8 already set up, add the fourth 8. To complete the 4-5-6 of heart suite, add the 3 of heart, the 7 of heart or several cards that actually extend the suite. You can complete your own combinations or those of others. You can neither take back cards in your hand nor reorganize the combinations into pieces.

If you have taken the top of the waste, you have no right to throw that same card at the end of this round. You can put it in a combination or keep it, but you will have to discard another card.

If you put down all your cards, the handle stops immediately. Your last card can be placed in a combination: a final waste is not required to come out. When the stock is empty and no one has left, the next player can take the top of the waste or turn the whole waste without mixing it to make a new stock, then pick it up.

06An example to understand

You have 4, 5 and 7 of heart, as well as three Ladies and a 9 of prick. You pick the 6 of heart. Put the 4-5-6-7 suite of hearts and the three Ladies, then discard the 9 of prick: your hand is empty, you win this round.

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If you had never placed or completed a combination before during this round, you just made " rami": the points of the opposing cards are doubled. If you had already placed a group on a previous round, the exit remains winning, without this doubling.

07Count points and win

After the exit, each opponent counts all the cards in his hand, even those that formed an unset combination. The Ace is worth 1 point; the numbers are worth their number; Valets, Ladies and Kings are worth 10 each. Add these values: this total is entered to the winner. The others enter zero for this round.

A " rami" output, without having placed or completed anything before, doubles the total received. For example, the opponents have 18 and 25 points in hand: you get 43 points normally, or 86 by rowing. After the three rounds agreed here, the highest total wins; a tie can be shared.

08Frequent errors

Do not mix the signs in a suite. Do not keep a joker: this package does not contain one. Do not ask for an opening at 51, rule of another variant. Do not take back a card of a set combination, and remember that cards still in hand count even if they could have been placed.

09Start well

Look at the cards the neighbors take on the waste: they give clues about their combinations. Avoid keeping the figures isolated for too long. Putting a good combination reduces your risk, while keeping everything to make rami promises more points but can cost if someone finishes before you.