Practice Rummy 500: play the computer, with a coach

New to Rummy 500? Start with How Rummy 500 works in the Coach. Read the full rules · All practice games

The Rummy 500 table

The practice game needs JavaScript. The rules page explains how to play Rummy 500 with a real deck of cards.

Coach

Goal: put groups of cards on the table to score points. Cards left in your hand when the deal ends lose you points. The first player to reach 500 points wins.

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About this practice game

Play Rummy 500 against the computer, one on one. In each deal, you try to put groups of cards on the table. A group can be three 9s, or the 4, 5 and 6 of one suit. Cards on the table score points. Cards still in your hand when the deal ends lose points. The first player to reach 500 points wins. Never seen it played? Press Watch a narrated deal to see the computer play both sides with every hand face up, and why it makes each move.

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How Rummy 500 works

The goal. A game is played over several deals. A deal starts when the cards are dealt. In each deal, collect cards that go together into groups, like 9♥ 9♠ 9♦ or 4♥ 5♥ 6♥. Then put the groups on the table. Cards you put on the table score points for you. Cards still in your hand when the deal ends take points away. Each deal's score is added to your total. The first player whose total reaches 500 points wins the game.

What happens, step by step.

The deal. You and your opponent (the computer) each get 13 cards. One card is turned face up to start the discard pile. The rest stay face down in the draw pile. The discard pile is spread out so you can see every card. Read it like lines of text: the oldest card is first and the newest card is last.
Take one card. Your turn starts by taking one card. Either draw the top card of the draw pile, or take a card from the discard pile.
Taking from the discard pile. You can take any card in it, not just the newest one. There are two rules:
- You must also take every card after it, up to the newest card. These extra cards go into your hand. They count against you unless you put them on the table.
- You must use the card you chose, and you must use it first. Put it in a group with other cards from your hand (step 4), or add it to a group on the table (step 5). Until you have, you cannot put down any other group, add any other card or discard. If the game sees that you could not use the card, it will not let you take it.
Put down groups. A group is 3 or more cards that go together in one of two ways:
- A set is 3 or 4 cards of the same rank, like 9♥ 9♠ 9♦.
- A run is 3 or more cards of the same suit, one right after another with no gaps, like 4♥ 5♥ 6♥. 4♥ 5♥ 7♥ is not a run, because the 6 is missing. An ace can go before the 2 (A-2-3) or after the king (Q-K-A). A run cannot wrap around: K-A-2 is not allowed.
To put a group on the table, click its cards in your hand, then press Put down a group. Put down one group at a time. You can put down as many groups as you like, or none.
Add to groups. You can also add single cards to groups that are already on the table, yours or your opponent's. A card fits a set if it has the same rank and the set has only 3 cards, like a 9♣ for 9♥ 9♠ 9♦. A card fits a run if it is the same suit and comes right before the first card or right after the last card, like a 3♥ or a 7♥ for 4♥ 5♥ 6♥. A run cannot wrap around, so nothing goes after Q-K-A and nothing goes before A-2-3. A card you add scores for you. If a card fits more than one group, the game adds it to the group where it scores the most. If it scores the same in each, the game uses the group that was put down first.
Discard. End your turn by putting one card from your hand face up on the discard pile. Then your opponent takes a turn, and you trade turns until the deal ends. If putting down or adding cards uses up your last card, the deal ends at once. You do not need to discard.
For example, say your hand includes 4♥ 5♥ and K♣, and the newest card on the discard pile is the 6♥. You take the 6♥, put down 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ for 15 points (4 + 5 + 6), and discard the K♣.
The deal ends when one player has no cards left in their hand, or when the draw pile runs out. When someone draws the last card from the draw pile, that player finishes their turn (put down, add and discard as usual). Then the deal ends.
Count the points. When the deal ends, both players count their points. Every card you put on the table adds its value to your score. Every card still in your hand takes its value away.
- A 2 to a 9 is worth its number.
- A 10, jack, queen or king is worth 10.
- An ace is worth 15. The one exception: an ace is worth only 1 when it is the lowest card of a run (A-2-3).
For example, say you put down cards worth 40 points and are left holding cards worth 25 points. You score 40 minus 25 = +15 for the deal. If you hold more points than you put down, your score for the deal is below zero. Your score for each deal is added to your total.
The number Your score for this deal if it ended now, above the table, is the same sum worked out right now: the points of your own cards on the table (the ones with a gold outline) minus the points of the cards in your hand. It starts far below zero, because all 13 cards in your hand count against you. When you draw or take a card, it joins your hand, so the number goes down by the card's value. When a card moves from your hand to the table, it stops counting against you and starts counting for you, so the number goes up by twice the card's value. The one exception is an ace used as the lowest card of a run (A-2-3). It stops counting 15 against you and starts counting only 1 for you, so the number goes up by 16. When you discard a card, the number goes up by that card's value, because you no longer hold it.
The game ends when a player's total reaches 500 or more at the end of a deal. The player with the higher total wins. If your totals are exactly equal, you win. Until then, press New deal to deal again. When the game is over, that button changes to New game. Press it to play again with both totals back at 0.

How to use this page

Want to see a deal before you play one? Press Watch a narrated deal, above the board. The computer plays both sides with every hand face up, and each move is explained in words. Press Next and Back to step through it, Play to let it run by itself, or pick a part of the deal from Jump to. Back to playing returns to your own game, which watching does not change.
The line at the top of the board always tells you what to do next.
To take a card, press Draw from the draw pile, or click a card in the discard pile. The draw pile is the rest of the deck, face down. It is not shown on the board. The number Cards left in the draw pile, above the table, says how many cards are in it. The face-down cards you can see on the board are your opponent's hand.
Click cards in your hand to select them. A selected card lifts up and gets a gold outline. Click it again to unselect it. Then press Put down a group (select the 3 or more cards of one group) or Add to a group (select 1 card).
If you took cards from the discard pile, the card you chose gets a red outline in your hand, and it is already selected. Use it first, and do not click it again, or it will be unselected. You cannot discard until you have used it.
Select one card and press Discard to end your turn.
Not sure what to do? Press Hint. New deal throws away the deal you are playing and deals new cards. Your total scores stay the same.

Rule details

Cards: one 52-card deck, no jokers. Each player gets 13 cards.
Set: 3 or 4 cards of the same rank, like 10♣ 10♥ 10♠.
Run: 3 or more cards of the same suit, one right after another with no gaps, like J♠ Q♠ K♠. An ace can be low (A-2-3) or high (Q-K-A), but a run cannot wrap around (K-A-2).
Card values: 2 to 9 are worth their number. 10, jack, queen and king are worth 10. An ace is worth 15, except an ace used as the lowest card of a run (A-2-3) is worth 1. An ace left in your hand always counts 15.
Adding to groups: you can add a card to any group on the table, yours or your opponent's. A card fits a set if it has the same rank and the set has only 3 cards. A card fits a run if it is the same suit and comes right before the first card or right after the last card, with no wrapping around. The card scores for the player who adds it. If a card fits more than one group, the game adds it to the group where it scores the most (an ace goes onto a set of aces for 15 rather than onto the front of a run such as 2-3-4 for 1). If it scores the same in each, the game uses the group that was put down first.
Taking from the discard pile: you get the card you chose and every card after it. You must use the card you chose first: put it in a group with other cards from your hand, or add it to a group on the table. Until you have, you cannot put down any other group, add any other card or discard. If you could not use it, the game will not let you take it.
Score for a deal: the points you put on the table minus the points left in your hand. It can be below zero. Each deal's score is added to your total.
End of a deal: a player has no cards left, or the draw pile runs out. When someone draws the last card from the draw pile, that player finishes their turn and then the deal ends.
The full rules are a little longer. In the full rules, play goes on after the draw pile runs out. Each player in turn may keep taking cards from the discard pile, until a player cannot use any card in it or does not want to take one. Here, the deal ends as soon as the player who drew the last card has finished their turn.
End of the game: the first player to reach 500 points wins. If both players reach it in the same deal, the higher total wins. If their totals are exactly equal, you win.

Common beginner mistakes

Taking lots of cards without counting. Every extra card you take counts against you if it is still in your hand when the deal ends. Before you click an older card in the discard pile, count the cards after it and add up their points. All of them come with it. The cards you can put on the table should be worth more than the cards you would be stuck holding.
Keeping groups in your hand. Cards in your hand score nothing, and they take points away when the deal ends. Put your groups on the table.
Throwing away a card that fits a group on the table. The discard pile is face up, so your opponent can take any card you throw away that they can use right away. A card that fits a group on the table is easy for them to use: they take it and add it, and its points score for them. Before you discard, check whether your card fits a group on the table. If it does, add it yourself instead.
Holding on to aces. An ace still in your hand when the deal ends costs you 15 points, more than any other card.

Simple strategy

Put down every group you can, and add cards to groups on the table. That is the only way to score points.
Taking the newest card from the discard pile means taking only that one card. Each older card you pick means one more card you must take.
Taking several cards is worth it when the points you can put on the table because of them are more than the points of the cards you would be stuck holding. The Hint button adds this up for you. It suggests a take when the points you can put on the table are at least 5 more than the points you would be stuck holding. It also tells you how many of the extra cards could go on the table and what the rest would cost.
When you cannot put anything down, discard a card that does not go with your other cards and is worth a lot of points. An ace costs you 15 if you are stuck holding it. A king, queen, jack or 10 costs you 10.
Keep cards that are close to making a group. A pair of 8s needs one more 8. A 5♥ and a 6♥ need a 4♥ or a 7♥ to make a run.
Watch how many cards are left in the draw pile, above the table. When the last one is drawn, the deal ends after that turn, and every card still in your hand takes its points away.

The full rules page →

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