Rummy Variants: Rummy 500, Kalooki, Gin and More

Rummy variants all share the same core: draw a card, make sets and runs, discard, and race to empty your hand. What changes is the number of cards, the use of jokers, the opening requirement, and how the scoring works. Basic Rummy, Rummy 500, Kalooki and gin rummy are the ones you’ll meet most often in British and American homes, with contract rummy, Indian rummy, Canasta and Rummikub not far behind.

Below is a quick comparison, then a closer look at each. Remember that every one of these games has house rules on top. If someone says “we play Kalooki”, it’s always worth asking which version.

Rummy variants at a glance

Variant	Players	Decks	Cards dealt	Key feature
Basic Rummy	2 to 6	1 (2 for big groups)	10, 7 or 6	The simplest version
Rummy 500	2 to 8	1 or 2	13 at two, 7 otherwise	Melds score, play to 500
Kalooki (UK)	2 to 5	2 with jokers	13	40-point opening, penalty scoring
Gin rummy	2	1	10	Knock to end the hand
Contract rummy	3 to 8	2 or more	Varies by round	A set contract each round
Indian rummy	2 to 6	2 with jokers	13	Needs a pure sequence
Canasta	4 (in pairs)	2 with jokers	11	Melds of seven
Rummikub	2 to 4	Tiles	14 tiles	Rearrange the whole table

These player counts and deals are the typical ones described in standard rule books. Many households do it differently.

Basic Rummy

Also called straight rummy. One deck, no jokers unless you add them, and usually 10 cards each for two players, 7 for three or four. Aces are typically low only. You can lay off on any meld, and the winner collects the value of everyone else’s remaining cards. If someone lays their whole hand at once without having melded before, they’ve “gone rummy”, and many tables double the score.

It’s the version most people learn first, and it’s a good one to teach children. The full rules are in how to play rummy.

Rummy 500

Rummy 500, sometimes called 500 Rum, adds two twists. First, your melds count in your favour: every card you lay down or lay off scores, and whatever’s left in your hand is taken off. Second, you can take a card from deeper in the discard pile if you use it straight away, but you have to pick up every card above it too.

The game ends when someone passes 500. Aces count 15 (1 in A♠ 2♠ 3♠), picture cards 10, and the rest face value. Plenty of American families just call this “rummy”. The scoring differences are covered in rummy scoring.

Kalooki

Kalooki (also spelled Kaluki or Kalookie) is a two-deck game with jokers, very popular in parts of the UK. In the British version, you get 13 cards, and you need at least 40 points to go down, though some tables use 51. You usually can’t take from the discard pile until you’re ready to open.

Scoring is by penalty: losers write down what’s left in their hands, with jokers usually at 15 and aces at 11. Pass the agreed limit, often 150, and you’re out. Variants of Kalooki are also played in Jamaica, North America and South Africa, each with its own rules.

Gin rummy

The famous two-player version. Ten cards each, one deck, no laying down melds as you go. Instead you keep everything in hand until you’re ready to knock, which you can do when your unmatched cards (your “deadwood”) total 10 or less. Go out with no deadwood at all and that’s gin, which earns a bonus.

It plays very differently from the other rummies, so it has its own page: gin rummy vs rummy.

Contract rummy and Shanghai

A series of hands, each with a contract you must meet before you can go down: two sets in the first round, a set and a run in the second, and so on, getting harder. Shanghai is one well-known form, and many families have their own list of contracts. It’s a good game for a big group with a long evening ahead.

Indian rummy

Played with two decks and jokers, 13 cards each. To go out, your hand must include at least two runs (called sequences), and at least one of them must be “pure”, meaning no jokers. It also uses a randomly chosen wild card on top of the printed jokers. Indian rummy has a big presence on card-game apps in India, which is why you’ll see it a lot online.

Canasta

Canasta is a partnership game from South America, usually traced to Uruguay. It’s played in pairs, with two decks and jokers, and the big goal is a “canasta”: a meld of seven cards. Twos are wild too. It’s a much longer game than basic rummy, and closer in spirit to a team sport.

Rummikub

Rummikub uses numbered tiles in four colours instead of cards, but the melds are rummy melds: runs of one colour and groups of one number. The twist is that once you’ve opened, with 30 points in the standard rules, you can rearrange anything on the table to fit your tiles in. It’s a great family game and a good way into card rummy for younger players.

Where Café Rummy fits

Café Rummy uses two decks with six jokers, deals 13 cards to two to four players, and plays sets and runs with the ace at either end but never wrapping round. That puts it close to the Kalooki family. The big difference is the opening: one valid meld is enough, with no points minimum. After your first meld, you can add to anyone’s melds and swap jokers back off the table, replaying them the same turn. You must finish with a discard.

It’s one rule set, the same in every mode. The details are on the rules page. If you’re curious where all these games came from, read the history of rummy.