How to play Rummy

Collect your cards into sets and runs, lay them on the table, and get rid of all your cards before anyone else. The winner of each hand scores the cards the others are still holding.

Use one 52-card deck without jokers. Deal one card at a time, starting with the player to the dealer's left.

Turn the next card face up to start the discard pile. The rest go face down as the stock. The player left of the dealer starts, and play moves clockwise.

German Rummy: In Germany, Rummy is usually played as Rommé, with two decks and jokers. You'll find its rules in German Rummy (Rommé).

• Set: three or four cards of the same rank, such as three 7s.
• Run: three or more cards in a row in the same suit, such as the 4, 5 and 6 of hearts.

The ace is low: A-2-3 is a run, but Q-K-A is not.

Many groups let the ace count high as well (Q-K-A); an ace left in a hand then counts 15 points instead of 1. Runs that go round the corner (K-A-2) are rarely allowed. Agree before you start.

1. Draw one card: the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
2. Meld (if you want): lay one set or run from your hand face up on the table. Many groups allow more than one meld per turn.
3. Lay off (if you want): add cards from your hand to any meld on the table, yours or someone else's.
4. Discard (if you still have cards): place one card face up on the discard pile. You can't discard the card you just took from the discard pile straight back.

Example: Another player has melded the 4, 5 and 6 of hearts. On your turn, you can lay off the 3 or the 7 of hearts on that run.

If the stock runs out and the next player doesn't want the top card of the discard pile, turn the discard pile over without shuffling to make a new stock.

Some groups shuffle the discard pile before turning it into a new stock.

The hand ends as soon as a player has no cards left, whether by melding, laying off or discarding the last card.

Some groups require you to finish by discarding your last card. Many groups also play that if you go out in a single turn without having melded or laid off any cards before ("going rummy"), your score for that hand is doubled.

Everyone else adds up the cards left in their hand, and the winner scores the total.

Example: You go out. One opponent still holds a king and a 7 (17 points), another an ace and a 4 (5 points). You score 22 points for the hand.

Agree before you start on a target score or a number of hands. The highest total wins.