Rummy rules: how to play Polish rummy (remik)

The aim of the game

The game is played in rounds. In each round you try to get rid of all your cards as fast as you can. The first player to do so ends the round and scores no penalty points. Everyone else adds up the cards left in their hand. The game goes on until someone passes an agreed limit of penalty points. The player with the fewest points wins.

The cards and their values

You need two ordinary 52-card decks, shuffled together. Add the jokers from both decks, usually two or three in each. This means every card except the jokers appears twice.

You use these values for your first meld. Cards left in your hand at the end of a round count a little differently. See Scoring.

The deal

1. Choose the first dealer. Everyone draws a card, and whoever draws the highest deals. A joker is highest, then an ace. If two players tie, they draw again.
2. The dealer shuffles both decks together with the jokers.
3. The dealer deals 13 cards to each player, one at a time, clockwise, and takes 14.
4. The rest of the cards go face down in the middle of the table. This is the stock.
5. No card is turned up. The discard pile starts with the first card someone throws away.
6. The dealer goes first. On this first turn they do not draw, because they already hold 14 cards. They may lay down melds, then discard one card.

After each round, the deal passes to the left.

Your turn

Play passes clockwise. Each turn has three parts.

1. Draw one card from the stock. In some cases you may take the top card of the discard pile instead. See The discard pile.
2. If you can and want to, lay down melds or add cards to melds already on the table.
3. End your turn by discarding one card face up onto the discard pile.

Cards on the table stay there until the round ends. You may not move them from one meld to another or take them back into your hand. The only exception is swapping a joker. See The joker.

Melds: runs and sets

• A run is three or more cards of the same suit in sequence. For example, the seven, eight and nine of hearts. It can be longer.
• A set is three or four cards of the same rank, each in a different suit. For example, the queens of spades, hearts and clubs.

A set may not hold two cards of the same suit. The two nines of hearts can never go in the same set, even though the two decks give you both.

An ace can start or end a run. Before a two, as in ace-2-3, it is worth 1 point. After a king, as in queen-king-ace, it is worth 11. It cannot be at both ends of the same run. A run cannot go round the corner, so king-ace-two is not a valid run. In a set, an ace is worth 11.

The first meld (51 points)

Until you make your first meld, you can only draw and discard. This first meld, called the opening, must meet two conditions.

• The cards you lay down are worth 51 points or more in total.
• At least one of your melds is a clean run, which means a run with no joker.

You must lay all these melds down in a single turn. Points from different turns do not add up. A joker counts as the card it stands for. An ace counts 1 or 11, depending on where it sits in the run.

For example, you lay down the nine, ten and jack of spades, worth 29 points. You add a set of three eights, worth 24. That makes 53 points with a clean run, so you can open.

Once your 51 points are on the table, you may add cards to other melds in the same turn. Those added cards do not count toward the 51. From your next turn on, you can lay down melds of any value.

The joker

A joker stands for any card. When you play one, say which card it replaces, unless the meld makes that obvious.

• A set of three may hold one joker. A set of four may hold up to two. In a set, a joker stands in for a missing suit.
• Two jokers may never sit side by side in a run.
• The clean run of your opening may not contain a joker. Your other melds may.

Once you have opened, you may take a joker from any meld on the table. Put the real card it stood for in its place. You must then use the joker in a new meld on the same turn. You may not keep it in your hand. You can also swap a joker on your opening turn, once your 51 points are down. The new meld with that joker does not count toward the 51.

A joker left in your hand at the end of a round costs 30 penalty points. Some tables agree on 25 or 50 instead.

The discard pile

Every turn ends with a card placed on the discard pile. You may take its top card instead of drawing from the stock, but only in these cases.

• If you have already opened, you may take it. You must then use it in a new meld on the same turn.
• If you have not opened yet, you may take it only to go out on that turn. You then lay down all your cards, including 51 points with a clean run, and discard the last one.
• You only ever take the single top card.

When the stock runs out, leave the top card of the discard pile where it is. Shuffle the rest of the pile and place it face down as the new stock.

Laying off

Once you have opened, you may add cards to any meld on the table, whoever laid it down. This is called laying off. You can extend a run at either end, or add a fourth card to a set of three.

After you add a card, the meld must still be valid. A run cannot go round the corner past the ace. A set cannot hold two cards of one suit or more than four cards. Before you open, you cannot lay off at all.

The end of a round

The round ends when a player gets rid of their last card. That last card must be discarded. All the others must already be on the table, in melds or laid off.

Sometimes a player goes out in a single turn without having laid anything down before. They put down all their cards at once, including 51 points with a clean run. Everyone else then scores double penalty points for that round.

Scoring

After each round, the other players count the cards left in their hands. Every card counts, even one that would fit into a meld. The winner of the round scores 0.

For example, you are left holding a joker, an ace and a seven. That is 30 + 11 + 7 = 48 penalty points.

Write down each player's penalty points and keep a running total. Agree on a limit before you start, usually 300 or 500. When someone goes past it, the game ends. The player with the lowest total wins. If more than one player has the lowest total, they share the win or play one more round, as you agree.