Indians enjoy playing card games. Indian Rummy is surely among the favourite pass-times in India. These games are played in family circles as well as among friends. Some people do not win these card games even after playing the same for ages. However, there are others who seem to master the games quite quickly. It is important to analyse what makes some people win the rummy games while others fail to. Here we have shared tricks and tactics that work best in rummy gaming. Apply these while you play rummy online or offline and see how you fare. If you win in the games after applying these strategies, we surely deserve some credit. So, go ahead and check out these strategies:

Arranging Cards to Make Remembering Easy

Good players know the significance of remembering the cards distributed to them. This is the reason why they try to make sure they know what cards they hold from the time the dealer distributes the cards. They arrange the cards in a proper fashion to ease memory. They arrange all cards that need to be disposed to one side of their hand. They arrange jokers and pulled-out jokers that can be used in sequences as well as melds to the other side of their hand. The central portion of the hand is the portion that holds maximum visual focus. This is the area where the cards that require arranging and rearranging are kept. This arrangement helps the player know where to focus on the hand and how to plan the future moves.

Focusing on Life

In rummy card games, life is the minimum arrangement of cards upto which the hand of a rummy player is regarded as a full hand. Since all series rummy card games rely on points to decide the winner, life could be crucial in most variations of Indian Rummy Card Games. Understanding this dynamic, the good rummy players make sure they first complete their life. They go ahead and complete melds or remaining sets only after the life is complete.

The definition of life may vary based on the variation of rummy card game you are playing. In 10 cards rummy game, one pure sequence is regarded as life. In the 13 cards standard rummy game, life comprises of one pure sequence and one real sequence. If the opponent calls it rummy before you have completed your life, you will be charged full points. This is the reason why most players first try to complete their pure sequence. For those who are not yet aware of this terminology, pure sequence or natural sequence is the arrangement of cards of the same sign in ascending or descending order of their values. A pure sequence is termed so because you are not allowed to use jokers or pulled-out jokers to complete pure sequences. Every other sequence can be completed by using jokers.

Understanding the Need to Dispose High Point Cards

Rummy is among those rare games where having more points in the hand could be counter-productive. People actually need to reduce points in their hand if they wish to win a game of Indian Rummy. This is the reason why high point cards in your hand could prove to be such a burden. A good player knows this fact. That is why an expert in rummy will try hard to reduce the points in his hands. Once he has completed his life, his focus would be on reducing the points in the hand. 

High point cards are cards that have greater points. All the picture cards are regarded as high point cards. Apart from these, cards of any sign and having values 6,7,8,9 or 10 are regarded as high point cards. If these high point cards are not part of any sequence or meld, they need to be disposed of. Good players dispose these and replace them with cards of lower values.

Rare Necessity to Dispose Joker Cards

As we have already explained, forming the life is extremely crucial in rummy card games. Sometimes, a person may have so many jokers in his hand that forming a pure sequence becomes impossible. While jokers seem like bonus cards and most players have a temptation to hold onto these cards, it is not always your best option. Sometimes, you may have to dispose the jokers inorder to complete your life. Good players may stun you by disposing the joker cards but this could be their reasoning. In such rare situations, disposing the jokers could be an act of brilliance.

Assessing Opponent Moves to Play Your Own Moves

A good player does not just assess his own cards but also has an eye on the opponent moves. Keenly observing the moves of the opponents helps a player understand the game plan. If the opponent disposes some card, it could mean he does not need cards adjacent to this card of the same sign. If an opponent disposes low point cards, it might mean he may complete his hand any minute. Understanding the opponent moves helps you decide your future moves.

Choosing First Drop and Second Drop If Necessary

In Khelplay Rummy, quitting a card game before playing the first move is regarded as first drop. When players quit the game after a couple of moves, it is regarded as second drop. When a player chooses first drop, nominal points are charged. When a player chooses second drop, double the points for first drop are charged.

While most people regard quitting the card game as an act of cowardice, this is not the case. You need to assess as a player when to play and when not to play the game. A good player checks his chances of winning. If he thinks there are barely any chances of him winning, he may choose second drop and save some points. This can help him save points and also the game in series games. The ability to make such decisions are important to win rummy tournaments.

Try your hand at these tactics and tell us how it improved your rummy gaming skills!