Rummy 500 Strategy

In basic Rummy the goal is simple: get rid of your cards before anyone else. Rummy 500 asks a sharper question every turn: how many points can I get onto the table, and how many am I risking in my hand? The players who win most often are the ones who keep that balance in mind. Here is how to think about it.

The Deep Pickup: Do the Arithmetic

The big decision in Rummy 500 is whether to dig into the discard pile. A good pickup can be worth 40 or 50 points in one turn; a bad one leaves you holding a fistful of cards when someone goes out. Before you dig, add up two numbers:

• What you can meld this turn. The deepest card must go down now, and often it brings a whole meld with it. Count those points, plus any other cards from the stack that meld or lay off straight away.
• What you will be stuck holding. Every card above your target comes too. Count the ones that fit nothing: a lone King is 10 against you, a stray Ace 15.

If the first number is clearly bigger, dig. If it's close, think about time: early in the hand, with a thick stock and opponents holding lots of cards, you have turns to work the extra cards into melds. Late in the hand, every stuck card is a likely loss. Our game's pickup preview shows you the meld you could make and the points you'd be taking on, so you can do this sum at a glance.

Extra Cards Are Not All Bad

A deep pickup also gives you more cards to work with, and more cards means more chances to build melds later. Low cards from the stack (the 2s through 9s, at 5 points each) are cheap to carry. High cards and Aces are expensive. A stack of small cards that sit near each other in suit is a much better buy than one full of scattered court cards.

Get Your Melds on the Table

In Gin Rummy and in basic Rummy there are reasons to keep melds hidden. In Rummy 500 those reasons mostly vanish: a meld in your hand scores nothing and counts against you if the hand ends. Lay melds down as soon as you have them, unless you have a specific reason to wait. The main one: putting down a run can give an opponent a place to lay off a card you know they hold, and that card would score for them.

Lay Off Everywhere

Laying off is free points. A 10♥ that fits the end of the computer's J-Q-K of hearts scores 10 for you, not for the computer. Before every discard, look at every meld on the table, not just your own. Our game outlines every meld a card fits when you tap it, so this is quick to check.

The flip side: when you lay down a run, think about who can extend it. Opening a run of 5-6-7 of spades invites anyone holding the 4♠ or 8♠ to score off your work.

Watch What Others Take

Every card taken from the discard pile is taken in plain sight. If the computer digs out the 6♦, it is building something with diamonds or with 6s. Avoid discarding the 5♦, 7♦ or another 6 if you can: you'd be handing it points. On Hard, the computer remembers your pickups the same way, so be aware that it is watching you too.

The pile also tells you what is dead. If two 9s are buried in the discard pile and a third is in a meld, holding the last 9 for a set is hopeless; throw it.

Timing the End of a Hand

A hand ends when someone goes out or the stock runs out, so keep an eye on both:

• Count opponents' cards. When anyone is down to two or three, start unloading your high cards, even ones that are close to a meld.
• Count the stock. With only a few cards left, assume the hand is nearly over. Don't take on cards you can't meld right away.
• Going out yourself. Going out is good when you are ahead on the table: it locks in your points and catches everyone else holding cards. If you are far behind on the table, there's no rush; another turn or two of melding may be worth more.

Aces: Big Prizes, Big Risks

An Ace is the most valuable card in Rummy 500 at 15 points, but only when it is in a set or at the top of Q-K-A. At the bottom of A-2-3 it is worth just 1. So a set of Aces or a Q-K-A run is a prize; an A-2-3 run mostly helps you get rid of cards. In your hand, an Ace always costs 15, so a lonely Ace late in a hand is the first card to throw.

What to Discard

1. Dead cards: ones whose partners are already buried or melded.
2. High cards that fit nothing, especially late in the hand.
3. Cards that don't help the player who picks up next. A card that fits a meld on the table is a gift to anyone who takes it.

Remember that whatever you throw becomes part of the spread pile, and anyone can dig it out later along with everything you throw after it. A discard isn't gone; it is just waiting.

Playing to 500

A game to 500 usually takes several hands, and scores can dip below zero. Don't chase every pickup when you are well ahead; a steady 40 or 50 a hand gets you there. When you are behind, you need bigger swings, and a bold dig into the pile is your best tool for catching up.

Want to sharpen the basics first? Try basic Rummy, or for a slower, more careful cousin, Gin Rummy. The full rules are on the Rummy 500 rules page.