Introduction

Rummy Games are group of card games whose gameplay involves series of drawing and discarding actions on the basis of matching similar cards. They are popular all over the world played by masses of various ages. Across the world Rummy games are played in different formats in different countries, each having their own rules and playing style. Many claim that the origin of Rummy took place couple of centuries back, but there are many speculations on true history of Rummy. Various theories have been proposed on origination of Rummy, the two most popular theories that most people believe are the Conquian theory and the Chinese theory.

The Conquian theory is a Spanish theory which is believed to be the very first version (conquian) of Rummy took place hundreds of years ago which was later brought back to Mexico. Many others speculate that the game actually took its birth in Mexico in the mid-1800s. The name conquian comes from a Spanish word “con quien” which means “with whom”. Though conquian was from Spanish, the America made its way where it was known as “Cooncan”. Later conquian crept into England, where it was named as “Rum” which means anything strange and this Rum then after labeled as RUMMY.

Deck:
A standard deck is a set of 52 cards with 2 jokers. The deck or pack consists of 4 different suits viz., spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds with respective symbol on them (as shown beside). Each suit is a combination of 13 cards; one ace, 3 faces and 9 numbered cards (2 to 10). Each card has 2 sides, One side of all cards is indistinguishable and the other side is unique. In some cases 2 or more Decks are shuffled together, which form a shoe.

Set:
 A set is a combination of 3 or more same cards. To make a valid set the prerequisites are:

• All the cards in a set should be of same rank.
• All the cards in a set should be from distinct suit.

Sequence:
A sequence is a combination of 3 or more cards arranged in a sequential order. To make a valid sequence prerequisites are:

• The cards should be in increasing order of their ranks. Rank of a card may differ in various Rummy games. For example, The rank of Ace is 14 as well as 1 but in Gin Rummy its value is 1
• All the cards in a sequence should be from same suit.

Rank:
In Rummy games each card will have a Rank value, Sequences and Sets are made based on these Ranks. ACE has the highest Rank 14, as well as 1. The Ranks of Jack, Queen and King are 11,12 and 13 respectively. Cards from 2 to 10 have a respective rank of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,  9 and 10.

Card Score:
Card score or card value is the points that a card holds. In Rummy games Scoring is based on the card values, which are counted against the player when they are held in hand at the end of the round. The scoring of cards may differ based on a Rummy game variant.

Aces: 
Aces hold highest rank (14) as well as lowest rank 1 in most of the Rummy games. The card value (score) of Ace may vary based on the meld in which it is used. It can be melded with 2, 3, 4 and also J, Q, K. In former meld the rank value of Ace is 1(1 point) but in later its rank value is 14(10 points). The Ace with spade symbol is embellished and decorated more as it is used as insignia for printing house by a England King.

Faces: 
In a Deck; Jack (J), Queen (Q) and King (K) are considered as Faces. When these cards are melded in a sequence with Numbered cards, they are considered higher than 10 but more often lower than Aces in accordance with rank. Faces have card value of 10 points and they hold 11, 12, 13 ranks respectively. Faces have impressions on front side that depicts a person. Card value of faces differs based on Rummy game variant.

Wild Card:
In a deck, Joker is considered as a wild card. Jokers are used as substitution for melding the relevant cards either in a Sequence or in a Set. In some Rummy games 2's are also considered as Wild Cards. For example, In Canasta, 2's can be used in similar fashion to the jokers.

Stock Pile:
After dealing is done, the remaining cards placed in face-down position as a stack on the table is termed as Stock Pile. A player may choose to pick a card from either stock pile or discard pile, in order to improve his hand.

Discard Pile:
A Stack of cards with face-up position placed on the table is called Discard Pile. Discard pile is formed by laying off unwanted cards (discards) on the table by player to improve the hand. A player on his turn either selects a card from discard pile or stock pile. Once the player picks up a card, in order to end the turn he/she should lay off a card on the discard pile.

Deal:
The Deal is an act of Distribution, where cards are distributed equally among all players in the game. The dealer arranges the deck and shuffles them, where cards will be in facedown position. If the play is in clockwise direction then the dealer offers the player to his right to cut the deck. The dealer evenly distributes cards (in face-down position) to each player in clockwise direction.

Draw:
The player to the left of dealer is the first person who can draw a card. Drawing is picking a card from discard pile or stock pile by player on his turn.

Melding:
A meld is a combination of 3 or more cards either to form a sequence or a set. Making a valid meld is called Melding. The validity of a Meld differs based on a Rummy game. A player in order to make a valid meld picks a card either from stock pile or discard pile.

Discard:
After drawing a card, a player either tries to meld the card or improves the hand. It is good practice to discard a card that a player needs least if he cannot meld with the existing cards.

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