21 Cards Rummy

Toss (Each Player Picking a Card from Deck): A Toss is used to decide which player gets to make the first move. Each player is dealt a card randomly and a player with the highest face value card is selected as the winner of the toss.

Seat Arrangement: Based on the Toss, Seating position is decided for the players and it is rearranged in the order of highest face value toss card to the lowest face value toss card. The highest face value toss card player will play first and the lowest toss card player will play last.

If a player leaves / joins a table, a toss card is dealt to each player in the next game and the seating order is shuffled based on the toss.

Dealer: A Dealer is a player who gets the Turn to play last. He is also the player who has to distribute cards. The player with the lowest face value card in the toss will be deemed as the dealer for that game.

Joker: A Joker (randomly selected at the start of each game) can be used in place of any other card.

Upper Joker and Lower Joker: The upper joker and the lower joker are cards one rank above and below the cut joker of the same suit as the cut joker. The upper and lower jokers can be used in place of any other card.

For E.g.: If 8 ♠ is the cut joker then 7 ♠ is the lower joker and 6 ♠ is the upper joker.

E.g.: 4 ♥ 5 ♠ 6 ♥ is a sequence where 5 ♠ is the joker and is used in place of 5 ♥.

• If the Ace of a suit is selected as joker for a game, then the K and the 2 of the same suit as the cut jokers are the upper and the lower jokers respectively. The combination K-A-2 is not considered as a valid sequence (even if Ace is a joker).
• Printed Joker: In case a printed joker is selected as joker for a game, then players can also use Ace card of any suit as a joker in their sets and / or sequences.
• The lower joker is the K ♠ and the upper joker is 2 ♠ in this case
• The A ♠ is a value card in this case.

Printed Joker: In case a printed joker is selected as joker for a game, then players can substitute Ace card of any suit as a joker in their sets/sequences.

Sequence: A Sequence is 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 - 5 ♥ 6 ♥ 7 ♥ is a pure sequence even if 6 is the Joker.

Set: A Set is 3 or more cards of the same face value. E.g.: 3 ♥ 3 ♠ 3 ♣ or 7 ♥ 7 ♠ 7 ♣ 7 ♦.

Since the game is played with 3 packs, it is important to note that a set cannot contain cards of the same suit. E.g.: 7 ♠ 7 ♠ 7 ♥ is not a valid set.

Tunnela or London:

• A Tunnela (or London) consists of three identical cards - for example 6 ♥ 6 ♥ 6 ♥.
• Two identical cards plus a joker, such as 5 ♦ 5 ♦ J ♦ (Where J ♦ is a joker) , is not a valid combination: a Joker cannot be used to make a Tunnela (unless use as a regular card and not a Joker), and it's not a triplet because it has two cards in the same suit.
• Three Printed Jokers grouped together form a valid tunnela.
• A Tunnela is considered as a pure sequence in 21 card rummy.

Dublee:

• A Dublee consists of two identical cards - for example 6 ♥ 6 ♥.
• One card plus a joker, such as 5 ♦ J ♦ (Where J ♦ is a joker) , is not a valid Dublee: a Joker cannot be used to make a Dublee (unless used as a regular card and not a Joker)
• Two Printed Jokers grouped together form a valid dublee.
• If a player has eight dublees in hand in 21 card rummy, then he/she can declare.
• If a player has six dublees in hand in 21 card rummy, then the player will lose only 2 points when another player declares.

Game Start

• Three packs of 53 (including 1 printed joker per pack) cards each is used.
• A toss at the beginning of the game decides which player makes the first move.
• Each player is dealt 21 cards randomly.
• A Joker is selected randomly out of the deck and placed on the table. If the joker selected is a printed joker then players can also use the Ace card of any suit as joker. This means that in such a game there will be 20 jokers (including Cut Jokers, Upper Jokers, Lower Jokers and Printed Jokers).
• The next card from the pack of cards is placed in the open deck slot indicating start of the game.

Game Play

• When it is a player's turn to play, the player may pick a card from either the open or closed deck.
• Player must make a move in the allotted time.
• If a player does not pick and discard a card within the allotted time, their turn will be considered as a missed move.
• If a player misses 3 turns consecutively, the player will be dropped from the game and the player loses 70 points - which is the middle drop score. The game play will continue with other players. If there are only two players and one player drops the game, the other player is automatically selected as winner for the game.
• To complete a move, a player must pick a card and then discard a card.
• Cards discarded by players can be viewed under 'Open Cards' tab available next to the chat tab. Open cards tab will display all the cards that are currently present in the open deck slot.
• If the first open card in the open deck slot is a joker, then only the players making the first move are allowed to pick the card.
• If a player discards a joker (including upper joker or lower joker), the opponents are not allowed to pick the joker.
• In case all cards from the closed deck have been used, cards from open deck are reshuffled and placed in the closed deck, except the face up card that is already in the open deck slot.

Each player is allotted some extra time per game.

• If a player does not make a move in the alloted move time, Extra Time will start counting down.
• When a player starts using Extra Time, the total extra time in which he/she has to make the move is displayed.
• Extra Time allotted per game can be used across moves and declaration depending on total time left.

Game Drop

• Each player gets an option to drop the game in their turn anytime during the game duration.
• By dropping the game in the first move, the player loses 30 points. If the player drops after the first move, he/she loses 70 points.

Game Finish

• To finish the game, a player must discard a card into the finish slot.
• When a player moves a card to the finish slot, the player must show the cards in hand by grouping them in sets/sequences and clicking on 'Declare' button.
• Each player has to declare and show sets/sequences in the allotted time. If a player fails to declare by grouping the cards in hand in the allotted time, the player will be dropped from the current game and he/she loses 120 points. The game play will continue with remaining players until there is a winner.
• A player finishing the game must arrange all 21 cards in one of the following ways:
• The player declares at least three pure sequences and the rest of the cards arranged in sets or sequences
• The player declares at least three tunnelas - the rest of the cards need not be arranged in any order
• The player declares at least eight dublees - the rest of the cards need not be arranged in any order. Each pair of dublees should be arranged in individual groups during declaration
• The player declares eight jokers in a single group - the rest of the cards need not be arranged in any order. All the jokers should be arranged in a separate group during declaration.

Game Validation and Scoring

• The game finishes when any player declares and presents a valid declaration. The score of each player is calculated as detailed in the section below.

When a player makes a valid declaration, the scoring for each player is done as follows:

• If one or more players drop the game in their first move, they lose 30 points each and the game continues till a playermakes a valid declaration.
• If one or more players drop the game after their first move, they lose 70 points each and the game continues till a playermakes a valid declaration.
• Points Lost by non-declaring players when another player has declared is calculated as follows:
• Each card carries a certain number of points. The losing player gets negative points equal to his/her cards in hand which is computed as follows:
• J, Q, K, A of any suit carry 10 points each.
• All other numbered cards carry the same points as their face value e.g. 7 carries 7 points and 3 carries 3 points.
• Joker cards carry zero points.
• At the end of the game, a losing player's point lost is computed by adding points for cards that are not grouped as sets/sequences with the following exceptions.
• If the losing player has no pure sequence, all cards are counted.
• If the losing player does not have 3 sequences(s), but has one or two pure sequence, only the pure sequence(s)are not counted.
• If the losing player has three pure sequences, then the impure sequences/sets are considered valid and not counted towards the players points lost.
• A player can lose a maximum of 120 points in one hand. For instance, if a player's sum of points lost is 150 he/she will still lose only 120 points. But if a player's points lost is 100, he/she will lose 100 points.
• Deal Show: If the losing player has not had his first turn before the opponent has made a valid declaration, then :
• The losing player loses points equal to half of his/her cards in hand. For example, if the cards in hand for a losing player total to 30 points, then the player loses 15 points.
• The minimum points a player can lose in this case is 2 (if the cards in hand total 2, 3, 4, & 5)
• The maximum points a player can lose in this case is 60 (if the cards in hand total 120 or more).
• The points won section in the game results for a losing player is always negative
• If a losing player declares the following groups/cards in hand then he/she loses only 2 points. (i.e his points won = -2):
• All of the players cards are arranged in valid sets and sequences including 3 pure sequences.
• The player has declared 6 or more pairs of dublees (each dublee should be grouped into a separate group)
• The player has declared 7 or more jokers (all of the jokers are grouped into an independent group from the rest of the cards)
• The player declaring the game wins points equal to the sum of all the points lost by all the losing players. The points won section in the game results for a player finishing the game with a valid declaration is always positive.
• Special case: If a player misses 3 consecutive turns, he/she is dropped automatically from the game. This means that this player gets a middle drop and he/she loses 70 points.
• If a player declares without meeting the game objective, he/she loses 120 points for the hand and the game continues till a player makes a valid declaration.

Value Card Score Calculation:

• In 21 Card Rummy Points Format, In addition to the points won/lost, each non-dropped player receives positive scores for value cards in hand and gets negative scores for value cards held by other non-dropped player.
• Value cards in a game are the upper joker, lower joker and the same suit cut joker.
• The points to be received from each player for value cards are as mentioned in the table below.

	Single Card	Two Cards	Three Cards
Same Suit joker	10	30	50
Up Joker	10	30	50
Down Joker	10	30	50

• A combination of one upper joker, one lower joker and one same suit cut joker is called a marriage or a jackpot. If a player has one marriage in hand, he/she receives 100 points from each non dropped player. For two marriages or three marriages held by a player he/she receives 300 points and 500 points respectively, from each non-dropped player.
• Note:
• A marriage need not be declared as a sequence in order to receive points for it. The cards in a marriage can be used as jokers to form other sets/sequences.
• Cards that have been counted as a part of a marriage, will not fetch individual value card points for the player.
• A player who made the invalid declaration will exchange points with other players for his/her value cards