Rummy is an assortment of match-card games famous for the same rule and similar gameplay based upon matching cards of the similar rank or series. The main objective in any type of rummy is to construct runs or alliances that will eventually lead to victory. There are many variant of rummy games with the most popular being blackjack, whist, and poker.
Rummy can be played with two to four players, using a standard deck of 52 cards. A rummy game can either pit one player against another in a bid for completion within a specific time frame, or it can pit a single player against all other players. In addition, rummies are played with a single deck of cards, without any additional cards that can change the outcome of a match. The use of jokers, however, can negate the effect of using a single deck of cards, thus making it the only legal alternative to using two decks.
There are two main types of rummy, the wild and the fixed. The wild rummy is a game where players alternate laying down their hands to see what cards are left in the pot when the last card has been discarded. The fixed rummy, on the other hand, is the same concept but with the addition of a wild joker replacing the usual fifteen cards. With a wild joker, players are allowed to replace one card from the deck without using any of the actual cards in the deck, thus ending the game with a single card to win by whichever team has more available cards at the end.
Rummy can be thought of as a sort of spin-off of the much more popular, and traditional card games such as blackjack, with the rummy being placed in its own niche as a card game that differs slightly from the others. In fact, it shares many similarities to its ancestor, Gin Rummy, which itself borrows heavily from both Spades and Go Fish, though it does differ in that it does not incorporate the poker bluffing tactics that are staples of many of the older varieties of the game. Unlike its predecessor, however, the rules of rummy have been slightly adapted to where winning requires a little more strategy than simply having the highest cards, as well as being able to manipulate the elements of luck and chance to an extent not seen before in card games. Though there are still some parts of it that rely on pure luck, the game is much less dependent on pure skill than the other variants.
One of the most common strategies for winning with rummy is the canasta. Canasta is an almost infinite variation of rummy that has been used for years, but none of which have been completely explained. Basically, canasta is played by laying down numerous wild cards (called canasta in Spanish), face down. You then quickly go through the deck and try to make as many canasta as possible before laying them all out again, then do so once more, and so on until you have gone through all of the available canasta. The objective is to be the first player to “stand up” from the canasta and claim victory. This is not only a contest of skill, but it is also a test of patience; canasta can last anywhere up to a minute before they are finally discarded, meaning that waiting to claim victory for yourself can sometimes be very difficult.
A second tactic that many people use when playing rummy with the joker is called the bluffing move. This is similar to the canasta strategy, except it requires an additional move in which you attempt to fool the other players into believing you are lacking in wisdom. You do this by laying out a hand consisting of just the joker and some other cards. If your opponent suspects that you may have a hand containing the joker but lack the ability to actually put it on the table in front of them, they will take the joker from you and then call the bluff. By this time, however, most players will be taking a second look at your hand because they may have missed the first opportunity to call you bluff.
