Rummy Winning Strategy

Assuming that you know how to play Rummy, I am here to discuss with you about the ideal rummy strategies and other tips and tricks that can help you increase your chances of winning.

This “cheat sheet” gives you a complete idea of mathematical strategies used in rummy and guides you how to get better while playing. So, it is never about your luck here. It is more of probabilities and the skills you use to increase your odds of winning.

First Things First – Arrange Your Cards

This might sound simple to your ears but arranging your cards is more of an art. It is not only a good practice but also a good rummy strategy. When your cards are rightly arranged, you will have a clear overview of what you are dealing with. This also keeps track of what cards you will need next.

When arranging your cards, make sure to:

• Organise them by their colour, and not by the numbers.
• Group your cards with alternative colours to differentiate easily what will suit. Also, doing this will refrain you from throwing a useful card from your hand.
• Rearrange your cards often, as this gives you a good idea of when you can finish the game.

The Association of Permutation & Combination in Rummy

Rummy is all about forming or arranging a sequence based on the cards you deal with. So, the probability of a favourable event not happening is too high here. With 52 cards in a deck, the possibilities of getting 4 cards from the same suite (what you call it as “pure sequence”) remains very low.

This is the mathematical reality but a skilled Rummy player (if you learn to master the game) can still carve out an incredible win by manipulating his or her cards based on permutations.

Talking of “permutations,” I would like to take you back to your school days when you would have learnt about the probability algorithm.

Before I explain you about the various rummy tips and tricks, there are three terms you should know about. Since it is math, let me explain them to you in a very simple way.

1. Probability is how likely or possibly something can happen.

2. Permutation is the number of probabilities or chances for selecting an ordered set of r objects (or a permutation) from n objects totally. This is none other than the formula NPr = N!/(N – R)! I am talking about.

Assume that there are 3 people, namely X, Y, and Z in a park and there are only 2 seats available there. So, what are the possibilities that these 3 people can get a set for themselves? This is where the concept of permutation comes in, which can be easily calculated like this:

????????????(????,????)=????!/(????−????)! = 3????2=3! ÷ (3−2)! = (3X2) ÷ 1= 6 ways

Here, n = 3 (as there are 3 persons), r = 2 (as there are only 2 seats available), and P is the permutation.

So, this means that there are 6 ways these 3 people can sit on 2 seats:

{XY, YX, XZ, ZX, YZ, ZY}

3. Combination is the number of unordered or unique combinations of r objects from a total set of n objects.

So this means that the combinations XY and YX are the same because the order doesn’t matter.

Considering the same example again, there are 3 combinations for these people to sit on 2 seats:

????????????(????,????)=????!/????!(????−????)!= 3????2= 3! ÷ 2!(3−2)! = (3X2) ÷ 2= 3 ways.

Here, C is the Combination.

{XY, XZ, YZ}

The Association of Rummy and Probability

Consider a deck of 52 cards here. You will have 4 suits totally (♠, ♥, ♦, ♣) with 13 equal number of cards each. Further, every suite has 4 face cards (King, Jack, Queen, Ace).

So, the equal possibility of picking 1 card from 52 cards is given below:

• The Probability of having a favourable card is (1/52).
• The Probability of not having a favourable card is (1-1/52).

With the results from the above formula, it is obvious that the possibility of getting a favourable event is low. But the result also says that:

“Rummy is an incredible skill-based card game where the possibilities of changing the outcome depends on the player’s skill level.”

So how can things take a turn if the possibility of having a pure sequence is very low? Well, there are multiple compelling factors that can bring a new twist to the game.

Let’s say, if there are more decks in the game. Then, the chances of forming a pure sequence can improve.

Also, a player’s selection of discarded and picked cards can quickly change the game’s outcome. Remember that you just need a pure sequence to finish the game fruitfully. Rest of your cards can be melded to impure sets or sequences.

Get to Know the Rummy Strategies

If you are someone who is just learning and starting to play Rummy online, you might find that placing your cards in combinations is pretty challenging. An ideal tactic is to target for melds to have great chances for completion.

More than your luck, the cards on the table and the ones you are dealing with will give you a good knowledge of your probabilities for completing a few combinations.

Say, for instance, if you keep only 2 cards from 8 of spades, 8 of clubs, and 7 of spades, then, you would have already used 8 of diamonds in a run. Therefore, you may keep your spades because you will have two more chances to win, which could be either 9 of spades or 6 of spades. If you keep the 2 eights, then it gives you just 1 possible draw, which is 8 of hearts.

Yet other typical issue here is to know when exactly to break up your pair to increase your odds elsewhere.

Say, for instance, assume that you have to discard from the collection shown here:

So, the solution is to throw “10 of hearts” away. Keep 2 pairs because this gives you a possibility to make 3 of a kind whereas the 10 of hearts will give you only one possibility of making a combination — that’s by drawing 9 of hearts.

Generally, you won’t like to split your pairs. However, just as life is not so simple, even Rummy isn’t. Imagine that you have cards that are shown here in this picture.

If you want to throw away one card, try throwing out 4 because the 7 of spades is useful for building your cards. It fits aptly with 8 of spades.

According to mathematics, the nest of 7s & 8s will give you 4 possible cards to help you make a nice combination (6 of spades, 9 of spades, 8 of hearts, and 8 of clubs).

So, you will have the same number of possibilities even if you discard 7 of spades and keep the 2 pairs. However, the real value of discarding one of the 4s is the freedom you accomplish while doing another future discard. When you throw a 4 away, you are allowing yourself to take another possibly helpful building card (like 7 of diamonds) in the next turn. Then, you can discard the other 4.

Contrastingly, if you discard 7 of spades, you can fix your hand but doesn’t give you any flexibility.

Know How to Discard

So, the game’s main objective is to discard all the cards in your hand. You can get rid of them in 3 ways:

1. Melding

This involves taking a group of cards from your hand, and placing them on the table face up. You can meld two types of combinations:

• Groups (or books or sets)
• Sequences (or runs)

A run or sequence has 3 or more than 3 cards ordered consecutively in the same suit like 4 of clubs, 5 of clubs, 6 of clubs or 8 of hearts, 9 of hearts, 10 of hearts, Jack of hearts.

A book or set or group involves 3 or 4 cards of the same rank like 7 of diamonds, 7 of hearts, and 7 of spades.

2. Laying off

This is adding either one or a few cards to a meld that is already on the table. So, the cards added to a meld further should make another useful meld. Say, for instance, to a 4 of clubs, 5 of clubs, 6 of clubs, you may add 3 of clubs or 7 of clubs.

But you aren’t allowed to reorganise the melds during the process. Say, for instance, 2 of clubs, 2 of hearts, 2 of diamonds, 2 of spades, 3 of spades, 4 of spades, and 5 of spades are melded, you aren’t allowed to move 2 of spades from the set to the sequence to lay off “A of spades.”

3. Discarding

Here, you play a card on top of the discarded pile from your hand to throw away 1 card at the end of every turn.

Count the Colour

Now, this is absolutely simple! Out of 52 cards and 1 joker in a deck of cards, you will have 26 black cards (Clubs & Spades) and 26 red cards (Hearts & Diamonds).

So, do a quick math: Check how many red or black cards you have. If you have over 9 black cards, then the probability of red cards your opponent has is too high. In this case, do not discard a red card immediately. Let the other player use it to make sequences.

Just wait for 3 – 4 moves until the cards (consider colour here) are balanced. Eliminate them so that they become useless to your opponent. This is an easy mathematical calculation to help you win more in rummy!

Aim for a Pure Sequence

While making a sequence (or run), always aim to have a Pure Sequence because this is a combination of consecutive cards from the same suit but without Jokers.

While dealing with your hand, figure out the likely combinations available. Then, check if there’s a pure sequence. Now, if there isn’t any, your top-most priority is to start building a pure sequence because this will lessen the load of points.

And let’s say that you don’t have a pure sequence and one of your opponents completes the game, then you will get the maximum points. However, if you already have one, you can make other sequences and sets.

Throw Those Big Bombs Soon

If you begin with four (or more) 10-point cards (unmatched) in your hand, it is best to discard them right away, irrespective of the combination possibilities. It is worthy to keep 1 high-card triangle earlier, but if it is unfilled even after 6 or 7 draws, throw it safely. Know that you will lose more points faster by ignoring this rule than by any other failing.

Calculate the Probabilities

Well, this might be a little difficult but fret not, as I will explain you in layman terms. The strategy that I am going to tell you now is known as “calculating odds.” It is a crucial part of any skill-based card game. So, rummy is no exception.

If you are playing against only a single player, then, you will be dealing with a deck of 52 cards. Right? Therefore, if you have more than 3 jokers, it is obvious that there are only 2 jokers left in the closed deck.

So, the probability that the other player has a joker is nearly zero. If the Jokers aren’t of any use to you, then, eliminate them and tease your opponent. He or she will not pick up and might possibly drop out of the game.

Start learning the tricks to read your cards and calculate which ones are possibly to be with an opponent or in a closed deck. Well, this isn’t as hard as it sounds and not unless you know what “probability” is.

If you just have a vague hint of what cards other players are holding, things won’t be that complex to win a rummy game.

So, here’s what you need to do:

• Pay attention to your cards: Basically, the game deals with 2 decks of cards, each with 52 with 2 printed Jokers + 104 cards in total. So, there are 4 suits comprising 26 cards in each (2 decks x 13 cards in each suit). A wild Joker card is randomly selected, making 8 Jokers (2 decks x 1 from every suit). In total, there are 10 Jokers in the game (8 wild Jokers + 2 printed Jokers).
• Evaluate the Jokers: Estimate the Jokers that your opponents have by closely observing the discard pile and the cards in your hand. If you have 4 Jokers, then, it is apparent that there are 6 more Jokers left, which will be either with your opponents or in the closed deck. You can know the chances of getting a joker from the closed deck once the game starts. However, analysing a fruitful probability can get tricky if the game involves more players.
• Melding Probability: With the help of probability, start calculating the odds of melding the cards. If you hold cards like 10 of hearts or 9 of hearts, probabilities are that you can obtain Jack of hearts or 8 of hearts. In this situation, you should comprehend what’s worth. Here, holding the cards will make more sense. Contrarily, if you hold 10 of Spades and 3 of spades, it is highly improbable to make a good sequence. In this case, it is wide to realise the probability and throw those cards that have minimal possibilities of melding.
• Odd & Even Cards: If you are dealing with cards that are odd numbered, the possibilities are that your opponent has lots of even numbers. This also helps you to comprehend what value of cards the other player can hold.

Watch Out for the Discard Pile

Well, you cannot play rummy thinking of the cards in your hand alone. You also have to observe what is being thrown into the “discard pile.” Keeping an eye on the discard pile will help you to track if the cards you are trying to pick up have been already thrown away.

Say, for instance, given the option to keep 2 cards from 8 of spades, 8 of clubs, and 7 of spades, check if 9 of spades, 8 of hearts, or 6 of spades has been discarded already. If both the spades are discarded already, you won’t have any possibility of taking them up —not unless you play your way through the whole stock, where a point comes that might give a second chance when the deck is reshuffled.

During a “stuck position” like this, always settle for a convincing chance by picking the last 8 by throwing away the 7 of spades.

Discard High-value Cards

As a thumb rule, it is always good to discard high-value cards first in rummy. Having said that, you should do this strategically and never discard them to an opponent for whom these cards might turn out to be beneficial. Say, for instance, if the other player has picked a king of spades, then do not throw the ones that can go well with any of his or her high-value card like a queen of spades or an ace.

Value the Joker Card

A joker has an important role in rummy, especially in melds. It helps a player to meld cards into sequences or sets. Why? Because a joker can substitute your missing cards that can help you form a good meld. So, it is vital that you value your joker card and utilise it judiciously.

Discard Cards that are Close to Joker

Aha, so here is a great Rummy tip or trick no one would have told you about. Know that the “joker” is a game-changing card (no wonder, I asked you to value it earlier).

But there are players who don’t like using their Joker(s) to form a pure sequence because they often want to use it as their “trump card” to make an improper sequence and to complete the game. And if this sounds more like you, then the simplest trick is to throw away the cards that are close to your Jokers and force your opponents not to pick them up.

Say, for instance, if 4 of hearts ♥ is the wild Joker, then eliminate cards that are close to it like:

• 2 of hearts ♥
• 3 of hearts ♥
• 5 of hearts ♥
• 6 of hearts ♥

And your opponent will never want to let go off their Joker because that’s the perfect way to make a pure sequence. So, the probability that he or she will not take up your thrown away cards is too high. But keep an eye of what cards your opponents are picking. Only a right move at the right time can yield great results while playing rummy online.

Bait your Opponent

As the name implies, “Bait” is one of the most prevalent concepts used in a classic rummy. When you play rummy online, you might need only 1 card to finish a run/sequence. Let me explain this with a quick example.

Let’s say you have these cards in hand:

• Jack of Clubs ♣
• Ace of Clubs ♣
• Queen of Clubs ♣

And you only need King of Clubs ♣ to finish your sequence.

In this case, you can throw in Ace of Clubs ♣ or Jack of Clubs ♣ as a bait to your opponents. When the discarded card is checked, your opponent might think that you aren’t making any sequence with clubs (high cards) and might just throw the King of Clubs away, which will actually help you to finish a pure sequence with three perfect cards. Well, this strategy is something many many players are using these days.

If Nothing Works Out, Try Reversing the Usual Trick

There are times when you have to think out of the box to win a rummy game. A right move can bring a good twist. You need to change and extemporise the usual rummy tricks to come up with something new.

One of the best rummy strategies is to reverse the usual tricks. Say, for instance, you usually throw away your high value cards in the beginning of the game to minimise the burden of points.

You can try reversing this tactic by not eliminating your high value cards in your initial moves. Rather, you can keep them until your 3rd or 4th move.

Wondering why?

Well, because the chances that your opponents will discard his or her high value cards are too high during their initial moves. So, when your opponents discard their high value cards, there are chances that you will need them. So, use them to form a sequence or set. This way, you are also reversing the typical Indian Rummy tricks to fool your opponents to discard their card and use it for your benefit in return.

Summary

Rummy tips & tricks to increase your chances to win:

• Focus on constructing a pure sequence right from the beginning of the game because unless you do this, your chances to win is 0.
• Eliminate high-value cards such as King, Ace, Jack, and Queen because they will lessen your points and will increase the possibilities of losing the game.
• Check if your hand can be played right in the beginning. However, if your starting hands are not playable, try early drop because this may lessen your point load.
• Besides your pure sequence, use wild joker and joker to create your melds.
• Whenever you are ready to declare, check again if your melds are accurate because a wrong declaration can end you losing the game by 80 points.