A short guide to 21 card rummy

21 card Rummy is typical for India. It is very similar to 13 card rummy and only differs in the number of cards dealt, sequences needed and you need three decks of cards instead of two. When counting the points, you also have value cards that play an important role in your strategy.

Rummy is very popular in India and is played by people of all ages and all over the country, whether it is at social gatherings, weddings or any other occasion. The popularity can be due to the fact that there is nothing much needed to play this game, except a few decks of cards and you are all sorted. It is pretty common to observe people while travelling in trains, buses and even during breaks playing a game of rummy. You can have anything between two to six people playing the game.

With online gaming getting more popular lots of people prefer to play online indian rummy games, all one needs to do is simply browse his/her favourite online rummy website and start playing. One has an option to play for real cash or just for fun. One needs to understand the rules of the game well, prior to playing the game. Online rummy rules are easy to understand and one can simply go through them and make sure that one is aware of it and if you are a beginner then it is important to pay attention and see how the game is played.

  • 21 card rummy games are played where players play the game for points that have a rupee or point value, which is decided in advance. However, the online version of 21 cards rummy is easy to understand and play as compared to the offline version.
  • Players need to decide on melding of three sequences which has melding a minimum of three tunnelas (In this case, players do not need to arrange the remaining cards). Melding a minimum of eight Dublees (In this case, players do not need to arrange the remaining cards). Melding eight jokers in a single group (In this case, players do not need to arrange the remaining cards).
  • In this 21 card, rummy game value cards are the joker cards and it is picked at the start of the game and the upper joker and the lower joker.
  • A player can lose a maximum of 120 points and this means that no matter what cards a player holds the points are limited to 120.
  • Any points below 120 will be considered as point’s loss and the total loss that a player can get including points lost and value cards score is limited to 200 points.
  • Total score is calculated as per the formula Total score = Points won (Positive for winning player and negative for non-winning players) + Points received for value cards (from players except the dropped ones) – Points given for value cards (to players except the dropped ones)
  • Tunenela or London is composed of three matching cards for ex 5♥ 5 ♥ 5 ♥ is a Tunnela. Doublee is when two similar cards are set together for example 7 ♥ 7 ♥.

Standard rules:

Number of players in the game – minimum 2 to maximum 6

Number of packs used – 3 packs containing 53 cards each (inclusive of one joker)

The format of the game – Based on points rummy decided in advance.

The minimum amount required – Players must bring in a minimum number of chips based on the predetermined value of points when joining the table.

Order of play and seating – This will be decided by draw of cards by all players. The value of the card drawn determines the order of play.

The start of the game:

The first step is the dealing 21 cards to each player at the table.

One card is placed face up to indicate the open card.

A joker is drawn randomly from the cards and put in the joker slot to indicate the game joker.

The card above and below the joker card of the same suit will also be considered jokers.

Now that you know the basics, you are set to play and see if you enjoy the game as much as the millions who play daily.