Rummy 500 rules
The rummy game where your melds score points, for two to eight players.
The goal
In Rummy 500 (also called 500 Rum) every card you put on the table scores for you and every card left in your hand counts against you. Hands are played until someone's total passes 500; then the highest total wins.
Players and the deal
- Use one 52-card pack plus two jokers. For five or more players, use two packs with four jokers.
- Deal 13 cards each for two players, or 7 each for three or more.
- Turn up one card to start the discard pile. Spread the pile out as it grows so every card can be seen.
Card values
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | face value |
| Jack, queen, king | 10 |
| Ace | 15 |
| Ace used low, at the bottom of a run (A-2-3) | 1 |
| Joker (always, whatever it stands for) | 15 |
So A-2-3 of hearts on the table earns 1 + 2 + 3 = 6, while Q-K-A earns 10 + 10 + 15 = 35. An ace left in your hand always costs 15.
Melds and jokers
- A set is three or four cards of one rank, all of different suits.
- A run is three or more in sequence in one suit. The ace can be high (Q-K-A) or low (A-2-3), but not both: K-A-2 does not count.
- A joker can stand for any card, but you must say which one when you meld it, and it stays that card. In 6-7-joker of spades the joker is the 8, so the 9 or the 5 can be added later.
A turn, and the discard pile
- Draw the top card of the stock or the top discard, or a card deeper in the discard pile, as long as you meld that card straight away and take every card above it too.
- Meld and lay off as much as you like: any number of new melds and any number of cards added to melds already down.
- Discard one card. If you took just the top discard, throw a different card.
Laying off
You may add cards to any meld on the table, yours or another player's. Keep them in front of you, because they score for you, and say which meld they belong to. If a card could go on two melds, you choose, and that choice sticks.
Going out and scoring
The hand ends as soon as a player has no cards left, by melding or discarding the last one, or when the stock runs out and the next player doesn't want the discard. Then each player:
- Adds up every card they put on the table (melds and lay-offs), counting a low ace as 1.
- Adds up the cards left in their hand (aces and jokers 15).
- Subtracts the second total from the first. The result can be negative.
When a hand finishes with anyone past 500, the game is over and the highest total wins. If the top two are tied, play another hand. The Rummy 500 scorekeeper takes table and hand points for each player and does the subtraction.
House rules
- Your last card must be a discard to go out (very common).
- Even the top discard must be melded at once if you take it.
- A deeper discard must start a new meld (a lay-off isn't enough).
- "Rummy!": calling out a discard that could have been melded, and taking it.
- 5/10/15 values: 2 to 9 count 5; 10, J, Q, K count 10; aces 15 (5 when low); jokers 15.
- Played without jokers, or only the player who goes out can win the game.
Rummy tools
Rummy scorekeeper
Gin, Rummy 500, Three Thirteen and Contract Rummy, on your phone.
Gin rummy calculator
Pick ten cards: best melds, deadwood, knock or not, and the score.
Printable score sheets
Gin box scoring, Rummy 500, Three Thirteen and contract rummy.
Gin rummy rules
Knocking, gin, lay-offs, undercuts and box scoring.
Rummy 500 rules
Melds score for you, cards in hand count against you.
Three Thirteen rules
Eleven rounds, a new wild card every round.
Contract rummy rules
Seven contracts, buying out of turn, and penalties.