Thirty-Five Cent rummy
Thirty-Five Cent rummy is a card game, based on Shanghai rummy, Liverpool rummy, and Ten Pennies that 3 to 6 players can play.
Play
Betting
Traditionally, each player places 35 cents into the pot, or collective holding, at the beginning of each game. The winner of each round collects 10 cents, with the remainder of the pot going to the overall winner of the game. While it’s not a necessary element to the game, it does add to the enjoyment.
Basics
Thirty-Five cent rummy is played with multiple decks of 54 standard playing cards, including the Joker (playing card) Wilds. Aces can be high (above a King) or low (valued as a 1), and Jokers are wild. The number of decks varies from 2 to 3, and is based on the number of players (see chart). Each game is based on 7 hands, and the rules for each hand are unique. One person begins as dealer for the first hand, and then the person to the dealer's left becomes dealer for the next hand, and so on. Each player is dealt cards based on the current round of play (see chart). The rest of the deck is then placed face down in the middle of the players; this is referred to as the stock. One card is taken from the top of the stock and placed face up next to it. This card is called the upcard and becomes the beginning of the discard pile.
The first player to play is the player to the dealer's left. Play always progresses in this clockwise direction. Each player has a choice at the beginning of their turn. They can either pick up one new card from the top of the stock, or they can take the upcard. Also, the other players in the game have the ability to buy the upcard (see "Buying"). After the player draws his card, either from the stock or the upcard, he must then choose any card in his hand to discard, and he then places this card face up on the discard pile. That card then becomes the new upcard, which the next player in turn can take or other players can buy.
Buying
To buy a card, a player says "Buy it," and they take the upcard plus one new card from the top of the stock, which serves as the cost for buying the card. Thus, each time a player buys a card, they end up with two additional cards in their hand. If multiple players want to buy the same card, the person seated in closest order to the left of the current player gets priority. The current player cannot buy a card. However, the current player has precedence over the other players, so he can take the upcard even if other players want to buy it. If a card is bought, the discard pile becomes "dead" and the current player cannot take the next card in the discard pile until a new card is discarded. Similarly, other players cannot continue buying the other cards in the discard pile.
Melding
The object of each hand is to come up with the correct combination of cards to be able to melds, or "lay out." The combination for each hand is different (see chart), and they become more difficult with each subsequent hand. The combinations for each hand are either sets or runs or a combination of both. A set is a combination of a specific number of cards of the same rank, and the suit is not important. An example of a "set of 3" is three cards that are all 8's, and the 8's can all be of different suits. A run is a combination of a specific number of cards of the same suit that have consecutive ranks. An example of a "run of 4" is the 2 of clubs, 3 of clubs, 4 of clubs, and the 5 of clubs. An example of a combination for a hand is for hand #2, "1 set of 3 and 1 run of 4." This means that a player must have both a set of 3 cards and a run of 4 cards in his hand before he can meld. Additionally, the player may not play more then the requirement of the round. They may add as many cards to the sets or runs as they like, but they can not add additional sets or runs. The cards in the set and the run must be unique, meaning that you can't use the same card in both the set and the run. Joker's are wild and can be used in place of any card.
A player can meld only when it is his turn. As always, they must start their hand by drawing a card, then when they have the correct sequence of cards, they can meld, or "go down." They do so by laying their meld cards face up on the table in their correct sequence. After melding, a player must then discard. If the player has no more cards in their hand after melding or discarding, they’re declared the winner. Usually, however, the player still has cards in his hand, and play continues.
Play for the player who has gone down
When a player is "down" (meaning he has already melded), they still take their turn in turn with the other players, and they still must draw a card and discard. However, a player who is down cannot buy a card, nor can they stop a player from buying the upcard when it is his turn. A player who is down can play their cards on the melds that have been completed either by themselves or by other players. For example, if a player has lain down a set of 3 8's, and on a subsequent turn they then draws another 8, they can play this 8 on their set of 8's. They do this by placing the 8 with the set of 8's. If they have a card that they would like to play on a run, they must be sure to keep the order of the run. For example, if there is a run of 5 consisting of 4-5-6-7-8 of clubs, the player can play a 3 of clubs or a 9 of clubs.
Winning the game
Play progresses until one of the players "goes out," meaning they’re able to discard the last card in his hand. That player is then the winner of that hand, and the hand is then over. The winner for the hand gets zero points, and the other players count their cards to determine their score for the hand.
After all seven hands are played, the winner is the player with the lowest score.
Sequence of Hands
Number of decks required
2 decks: up to 4 people
3 decks: 5-6 people
Can increase the number of decks beyond 4 to allow more than 6 players, but it is not recommended.
Points
