21 Cards Rummy

21-card-rummy
21 Cards Rummy Rules - How to Play 21 Cards Rummy Online

21 card Rummy played in the Points Rummy format is an intricate and elaborate variant of the game. In this game, players play the game for points that have a rupee or point value decided upon in advance. The online version of 21 cards rummy is simpler to understand and play as compared to the offline version.

Complete Rules That You Will Need to Know to Play 21 Card Rummy

A Valid Winning Hand or Winning Declaration Can Consist of the Following Combinations:

  • Melding of three pure sequences along with the remaining cards melded into valid sequences and/or sets

  • 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

How to Calculate Value Card Score and Calculation of Maximum Loss in Points?

  • Apart from the points that are won or lost in a 21 card points rummy game, each player who has not dropped from the game also gets positive points for having value cards and negative points for value cards that are held by other players who have not dropped from the game.

  • In this game, the value cards are the Joker card (that is picked at the start of the game), the upper joker, and the lower joker.

  • The table below will tell you the points calculated for each player for the value cards held:

Type of cardSingle CardTwo CardsThree Cards
Same suit joker 10 30 50
Up joker 10 30 50
Down joker 10 30 50
  • When you get one joker (of same suit) along with an upper joker and a lower joker, together, then this is called a Jackpot or Marriage. The player who has a Marriage in hand will get 100 points from each of the players (who have not dropped) in the game. In case a player has two or three Marriages, then he or she gets 300 and 500 points respectively from each player who has not dropped from the game.

  • The maximum points a player can lose is 120. This means that no matter what cards the player holds, the points are limited to 120.

What Are the Maximum Points Losses That a Player Can Incur in A Game?

  • Any points below 120 will considered as points lost.

  • The total loss that a player can get including points lost and value cards score is capped at 200 points.

Please Note:

  • A player having a Marriage can use these cards as joker to complete sequences or sets. He or she need not have these three cards in sequence to be eligible to get the points for them.

  • Cards that are part of a Marriage will not get points individually for the player.

  • In case a player makes a declaration that is not valid, the player will exchange points with other players for the value cards that he or she holds.

Some Instances of Calculations for Value Cards:

Value cards in handTotal points from other players (not including dropped players)
Two Up Jokers 30 points
One Up Joker and One Down Joker 20 points
Two Up Jokers and One Down Joker 40 points
Two Jokers (same suit) and Two Down Jokers 60 points
One same suit Joker, One Down Joker and One Up Joker 100 points

The Formula for Total Score That a Player Gets Is as Follows:

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)

Some Terms Used in The Game

To begin with the rudiments of the game, it is crucial that you comprehend the essential lingo used in the game:

Tunnela or London: A Tunnela (or London) is composed of three matching cards. For example, 5♥ 5 ♥ 5 ♥ is a Tunnela. A joker beside two identical cards, such as 6 ♦ 6 ♦ Q ♦ (Where Q ♦ is a joker) cannot be regarded as a valid combination. Three printed jokers put collectively to form a Tunnela is considered to be valid. A Tunnela is a pure sequence in 21 card rummy.

Dublee: A Dublee is when two similar cards are set together - for example 7 ♥ 7 ♥. Any card along with a joker, such as 8 ♦ K ♦ (Where K ♦ is a joker) does not make an acceptable Dublee. Two printed jokers can be clustered together to form a valid Dublee. A player having eight Dublees in hand in 21 card rummy is qualified to declare. A player having six Dublees in hand in 21 card rummy, when another player declares, will lose only 2 points.

Toss: To decide which player will make the first move, Toss is used. Each player is given a card at random and the player with the maximum face value card is chosen as the winner of the toss.

Seat Shuffling: The seats of the players are rearranged depending on the Toss. The player with the maximum face value card makes the first move and the one with the lowest is the last one to play. The seats are also set with this in mind. If a player leaves/joins a table, a toss card is given out to each player in the next game and the seating order is rearranged depending on the toss.

Dealer: Based on the Toss, the person getting the lowest value card becomes the dealer.

Joker: A Joker is utilized instead of other cards to meld sequences and sets. It is chosen at random at the beginning of the game.

E.g.: 6 ♥ 5 ♠ 8 ♥ is a sequence where 5 ♠ is the joker and is used in place of 7 ♥.

Upper Joker and Lower Joker: The cards, which are one rank over and under the cut joker of the same suit, are recognized as the upper and lower joker in that order. These jokers can be made use of, to fill in for any other card.

For E.g.: If 4 ♠ is the cut joker then 3 ♠ is the lower joker and 5 ♠ is the upper joker.

Note: The combination of upper joker, lower joker and the cut joker cannot make a valid sequence, in any case.

Printed Joker: When the printed joker is chosen as the joker for the game, then the players are permitted to employ the aces from any suit as jokers in their sequences.

Sequence: A sequence consists of 3 or more running cards of the same suit. E.g.: 5♥ 6 ♥ 7♥.

Pure Sequence: A pure sequence is a sequence without a Joker. Exception - 8♥ 9♥10 ♥ is a pure sequence even if 8 is the joker.

Set: 3 or more cards of the same face value make up a set. E.g.: 8 ♥ 8 ♠ 8 ♣ or 6 ♥ 6 ♠ 6 ♣ 6 ♦.

Note: It is vital to be clear that a set cannot have two cards of an identical suit since the game is played with three packs of cards. E.g.: 9 ♠ 9 ♠ 9♥ is not an acceptable set.

How to Calculate the Winning Amount?

Winning amount= (Total score of the winner including the points settled for value card score) X (Rupee value of point) - (Rake amount)

The Rules for 21 Card Points Rummy at Classic Rummy

Goal of the game: The primary objective of the game is to arrange all the 21 cards dealt to you in valid sequences and/or sets.

Detailed 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)

  • Format of the game – Based on points rummy where points have a rupee or point value, that is decided in advance.

  • 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.

Start of The Game:

  • The first step is the dealing of 21 cards each to all the players on 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.

Example: If in a game, 8♥ is drawn as joker, then 9 ♥ is the upper joker and 7 ♥ is the lower joker.

Exception:

When Ace of a particular suit is picked as joker for a game, then the upper joker will be 2 of the same suit and King of the same suit will be the lower joker.

When a printed joker is chosen as joker for a game, then Ace of all suits will serve as joker. The value card in this case will be Ace♠ and the upper joker will be 2♠ and lower joker will be King♠.

the game begins with the player picking a card from the open or closed pile. His/her turn is completed once he/she has discarded a card to the open pile.

Players may use one or more than one joker to complete a sequence or set, but jokers cannot be used to complete a Dublee or a Tunnela.

To declare a win, you will have to move a card to the finish slot for declaring. After doing this, you will need to group your cards in sequences and sets and click to send them for evaluation.

Please Note:

Since there are three decks, care has to be taken to ensure that the same card is not used two times in a set. For example: 8 ♠ 8 ♠ 8 ♥ is not an acceptable set.

However, with three decks, the use of the same cards thrice in a set combination called Tunnela is possible. For example: 7 ♠7 ♠ 7 ♠ is a Tunnela/London and is accepted as a pure and valid sequence.

21 Card Points Rummy is a very easy and straightforward adaptation of Rummy. We have assembled the rules for 21 Card Points Rummy in a very specific manner to make sure you are well prepared to win the game. At Classic Rummy, we ensure that you have an enjoyable experience playing your beloved version of the game. Just a rapid look below will provide you with all the information to get going!

Scoring in 21 Cards Points Rummy

How Is the Winner of the Game Decided?

The game ends when a player makes a declaration that is validated and accepted. Once this happens, then the scores for all players are calculated on the rules given below:

  • If a player drops from the game in the first round, they lose 30 points.

  • If a player goes in for a middle drop, then they lose 70 points

  • A player who makes a valid declaration will get points that are equal to the total of all the points of the losing players.

  • The player who wins will always have positive points in the 'points won' section of the game results.

Example: If in a game, 8♥ is drawn as joker, then 9 ♥ is the upper joker and 7 ♥ is the lower joker.

  • J, Q, K, A of any suit carry 10 points each.

  • The numbered cards carry points equal to the face value. Example: 9 carries 9 points and 3 carries 3 points.

  • All joker cards have zero points.

  • When the game ends, the points of all the players losing the game will be calculated by adding up points for all those cards that are not melded into sequences or sets. However, this is subject to the following exceptions:

  • In case the losing player/s have no pure sequences at all, then all the cards will be counted.

  • In case the losing player/s have not melded three pure sequences, but have one or two pure sequences, then these will be excepted when the points are counted.

  • In case the losing player/s have three pure sequences, then sequences and sets that are melded with jokers will also be considered valid and the points for these will not be calculated in calculating the points lost.

  • The maximum count of 120 points lost can be given to a player. That means if the sum of points of a player’s cards comes to 150, he/she will lose only 120 points But in case the points lost come to 100 points, then he or she will lose 100 points.

Please Note:

When the game results are shown, the 'points won' section will show negative points in the case of losing player/s as he or she gives those points to the winning player. In case a losing player has lost 3 points, then the points won will be shown as -3. However, this can happen when he or she has declared by grouping the cards with any of the following combinations:

  • The cards in hand are arranged into valid sequences and sets which include three pure sequences

  • There are 6 or more pairs of Dublees (Dublees need to be grouped properly and separately)

  • There are 7 or more jokers in the cards declared by the player (The jokers need to be grouped separate from the other cards)

special Case: In case of a player missing three turns successively, the player is given a middle drop score of 70 points. In case a player makes a wrong show, then the player will lose 120 points for that round and the game will keep moving until another player makes a correct declaration.

Deal Show: In case the losing player/s does not get even the first turn before one of the opponents makes a valid show, then in that case:

  • The losing player/s will get points that will be 50% of the cards in hand. Example: In case the cards in hand for the losing player/s come to a total of 50 points, then the losing player gets 50% of that which comes to a loss of 25 points.

  • The minimum loss in terms of points to a player in such cases comes to 2.

  • The maximum loss in terms of points to a player comes to 60 (if the cards in hand totals to 120 or more).

How to Calculate Winning Amount in 21 Card Points Rummy?

The player having a positive score at the finish of the game will get the winning amount; the winning amount will be calculated as follows:

Winning amount = Positive score of the winner x the point value – Rake amount applicable

Example: In case 5 players are playing a game with ₹ 3 per point 21 cards rummy game and the player number 1 makes a valid show, then the other players get -5, -15, -25 and -35 points.

In this case, the winning player will get a prize that will be calculated as follows: 3 x (5+15+25+35) = ₹ 225. This amount, after deducting the rake as per Classic Rummy’s rules, will be credited to the account of the winner.

How Does Drop Work?

The option to drop is offered to every player, all the way through the game. To use the Drop option, the player should not have picked a card from open/closed deck in that turn. The types of drops available are:

  • First Drop - To drop from the game during the first turn will result in the player dropping the game in the very first turn makes the player lose 30 points

  • Middle Drop - Dropping the player after the first move makes the player lose 70 points.

Special Case: Missing three turns successively will result in automatic dropping of the player, which endows him with the middle drop score.