How to play Rummy 500
Rummy 500 is ordinary rummy with one rule that changes everything: you may take any card from the discard pile, not just the top one — provided you take everything above it, and use the card you came for straight away.
What you need
Two to eight players and a standard 52-card deck. With five or more players, use two decks shuffled together. Play is clockwise.
Card values
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| Ace, melded in a set or as the high card of Q-K-A | 15 |
| Ace, melded as the low card of A-2-3 | 1 |
| King, Queen, Jack, 10 | 10 |
| 9 down to 2 | Face value |
The ace is the awkward one, and it is worth agreeing before you start — some groups score it at 15 always, some at 1 always. The values above are the most common standard.
The deal
- Deal seven cards each — or thirteen when only two people are playing, which is the more common two-handed version.
- Place the rest face down as the stock, and turn one card face up beside it to start the discard pile.
- The discard pile is spread out, not squared up, so every card in it stays visible. This is essential — the whole game turns on what is in there.
A turn
- Draw. Either take the top card of the stock, or take a card from anywhere in the discard pile.
- If you took from the pile, you must also take every card lying above it, and you must meld the specific card you came for on this same turn. If you cannot, you may not take it.
- Meld as much as you like: sets of three or four of a rank, or runs of three or more in one suit.
- Lay off single cards onto any meld on the table, including other players' melds.
- Discard one card face up onto the spread pile.
The raid is the whole game. Taking a card from six deep means picking up six cards you did not want to get one you did. Sometimes that is a disaster, and sometimes those six cards meld immediately and you take a commanding lead. Learning to judge which is what separates good players.
Scoring
Unlike most rummy games, you score what you have melded on the table, not what you went out with.
- Add the value of every card you have melded, including cards you laid off onto other people's melds.
- Subtract the value of every card left in your hand.
A round score can be negative, and that is the sharp edge of the raid: cards you picked up and never melded count against you.
Going out earns no bonus in the standard game — the reward is simply that everyone else is caught holding cards. First to 500 wins.
Three things beginners get wrong
Raiding the pile without counting the cost
Taking eight cards to complete one meld means seven cards that must find a home before the round ends, or they are subtracted. Count the damage before you reach.
Sitting on melds
Cards in your hand are worth nothing and cost you their value if someone goes out. Melding early gives information away, but hoarding is how you end a round negative.
Discarding what the next player is collecting
The pile is face up and spread. Everyone can see what you have been taking, and you can see what they have. Watch the discards before you make your own.
Common variations
- Hand size — seven is standard, thirteen for two players.
- Ace value — always 15, always 1, or 15 high and 1 low as above.
- Jokers as wild — usually worth 15, and some groups let you reclaim a joker from a meld by supplying the card it stands for.
- Going out — whether a final discard is required.
- Stock exhaustion — reshuffle the pile, or end the round there.
If you like the melding but not the raiding, try Gin Rummy — which has a practice drill on its page.