21 card Rummy rules played in the Points Rummy format, is an intricate and elaborate game variant. In this game, players play for points with a rupee or point value decided upon in advance. The online version of 21 card Rummy is more straightforward to understand and play than the offline version.
Complete Rules That You Will Need to Know to Play 21 Card Rummy Rules
A Valid Winning Hand or Winning Declaration Can Consist of the Following Combinations:
- The melding of three pure sequences and the remaining cards melded into valid sequences and sets.
- Melding a minimum of three Tunnelas. Players are spared from organizing the remaining cards in this scenario.
- Melding a minimum of eight Dublees. Players do not have to arrange the remaining cards in this scenario.
- Melding eight jokers in a single group. Players do not have to arrange the remaining cards in this scenario.
How do you calculate the value of the card score and Calculate the maximum loss in points?
- Apart from the points 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 held by other players who have not dropped from the game.
- In this game, the value cards are the Joker card (picked at the start), the upper, and the lower joker.
- The table below will tell you the points calculated for each player for the value cards held:
| Type of card | Single Card | Two Cards | Three Cards |
| Same suit joker | 10 | 30 | 50 |
| Up joker | 10 | 30 | 50 |
| Down joker | 10 | 30 | 50 |
- When you get one joker (of the same suit) along with an upper joker and a lower joker together, then this is called a Jackpot or Marriage. The player with a Marriage in hand will get 100 points from each player (who has not dropped) in the game. If a player has two or three Marriages, they get 300 and 500 points from each player who has not dropped from the game.
- The maximum number of points a player can lose is 120. This means that no matter the player’s cards, the points are limited to 120.
What are the maximum points Lost By a player in a game?
- Any points below 120 will be considered as points lost.
- The total loss that a player can experience, including points lost and value card scores, is capped at 200 points.
Please Note:
- A player having a Marriage can use these cards as a joker to complete sequences or sets. They need not have these three cards in sequence to be eligible to get the points for them.
- Cards part of a Marriage will not get points individually for the player.
- If a player makes a non-valid declaration, they will exchange points with other players for the value cards they hold.
| Value cards in hand | Total 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 hostile 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, you must comprehend the essential terminology used in the game:
Tunnela or London: A Tunnela (or London) comprises three matching cards. For Example, 5♥ 5 ♥ 5 ♥ is a Tunnel. 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 together to form a Tunnel are considered to be valid. A Tunnela is a pure sequence in a 21 card Rummy rules.
Dublee: A Dublee is when two similar cards are set together – for Example, 7 ♥ 7 ♥. Any card 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 with 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: Toss is used to decide which player will make the first move. Each player is given a card randomly, and the maximum face-value card is chosen as the toss winner.
Seat Shuffling: The players’ seats 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 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, 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 used to fill in for any other card.
For Example, if 4 ♠ is the cut joker, then 3 ♠ is the lower joker, and 5 ♠ is the upper joker.
Note: In any case, the combination of an upper, lower, and cut joker cannot make a valid sequence.
Printed Joker: When the joker is chosen as the joker for the game, 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.
See Also : Understanding the Famous Red and Black Color in Playing Cards
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
The goal of the game: The primary objective is to arrange all the 21 cards dealt to you in valid sequences and 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)
- The format of the game is based on points rummy, where points have a rupee or point value that is decided in advance.
- Minimum amount required—When joining the table, Players must bring in a minimum number of chips based on the predetermined value of points.
- Order of play and seating—All players will draw cards to decide the order of play. The value of the card drawn determines the order of play.
Start of The Game:
- The first step is dealing with 21 cards for each player.
- 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 a joker, then 9 ♥ is the upper joker, and 7 ♥ is the lower joker.
Exception:
When the Ace of a particular suit is picked as the joker for a game, then the upper joker will be two of the same suit, and the lower joker will be the King of the same suit.
When a printed joker is chosen for a game, Ace of all suits will serve as a joker. In this case, the value card will be Ace♠, the upper joker will be 2♠, and the 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 discards 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 must move a card to the finish slot for declaring. After this, you must group your cards in sequences and sets and click to send them for evaluation.
Please Note:
Since there are three decks, care must be taken to ensure that the same card is not used twice in a set. For Example, 8 ♠ 8 ♠ 8 ♥ is not an acceptable set.
However, with three decks, using 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 straightforward adaptation of Rummy. We have assembled the rules for 21 Card Points Rummy in a particular 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. A rapid look below will provide all the information to get going!
Scoring in 21 Card Points Rummy
How Is the Winner of the Game Decided?
The game ends when a player makes a validated and accepted declaration. Once this happens, then the scores for all players are calculated on the rules given below:
- Players who drop from the game in the first round lose 30 points.
- If a player goes in for a middle drop, they lose 70 points.
- A player who makes a valid declaration will receive points equal to the total of the losing players’ points.
- 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 a joker, then 9 ♥ is the upper joker, and 7 ♥ is the lower joker.
- Any suit’s J, Q, K, and A carry 10 points each.
- The numbered cards carry points equal to their face value. For 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:
- If the losing player/s has no pure sequences, then all the cards will be counted.
- If the losing player/s has not melded three pure sequences but has one or two pure sequences, these will be accepted when the points are counted.
- If the losing player has 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 included in calculating the points lost.
- A player can lose a maximum of 120 points. That means if the sum of the points on a player’s cards comes to 150, he/she will lose only 120 points. But if the points lost come to 100, then he/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 they give those points to the winning player. If a losing player has lost 3 points, the points won will be shown as -3. However, this can happen when they have 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 six or more pairs of Dublees (Dublees need to be grouped separately and adequately)
- There are seven or more jokers in the cards declared by the player (The jokers need to be grouped separately from the other cards)
Special Case: If a player misses three turns successively, the player is given a middle drop score of 70 points. If a player makes a wrong show, 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 will get points equal to 50% of the cards. For Example, if the cards in the losing player’s hand total 50 points, the losing player gets 50% of that, resulting in a loss of 25 points.
- In such cases, the minimum loss of points to a player comes to 2.
- The maximum loss in terms of points to a player comes to 60 (if the cards in hand total 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: If five players are playing a game of 21 card Rummy with ₹ 3 points per point and 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 receive a prize calculated as follows: 3 x (5+15+25+35) = ₹ 225. This amount will be credited to the winner’s account after the rake is deducted as per Classic Rummy’s rules.
How Does Drop Work?
The option to drop is offered to every player through the game. To use the Drop option, the player should not have picked a card from an 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, making the player lose 30 points.
- Middle Drop – Dropping the player after the first move makes the player lose 70 points.
Particular Case: Missing three turns successively will result in the player automatically dropping, which endows him with the middle drop score.
