On this page, you’ll learn how Rummy scoring works, including how many points cards are worth, how to calculate scores at the end of a round, how scoring is different in the popular Casino Scores variant, and how to win a table of Rummy.
At the Rummy Palace, scoring takes place automatically, so you can focus on your game. That said, it’s still important to understand how scoring works in Rummy. Not least so you can keep track of how many minus points your hand would be worth should your opponent win the round and adjust your playing strategy accordingly.
So read on to find out all you need to know about keeping score in Rummy.
How Does Scoring Work in Rummy?
As soon as a player has melded all but one of their cards, and they discard their final hand card, that player has won the round, and the round immediately ends. At this point, each player’s score is calculated.
All other players lose points equal to the total value of their remaining hand cards. The winning player gains points equal to the sum of all the losing players’ scores.
Example:
- Henry discards his final card and wins the round.
- Emma had a Two of Hearts, Three of Hearts, an Eight of Clubs, a King of Diamonds, therefore loses 23 points.
- Lisa had a Two of Diamonds and an Ace of Diamonds, therefore loses 13 points.
- Additionally, Henry receives 36 points (23 from Emma and 13 from Lisa).
If the stock pile runs out before any player has been able to empty their hand, then the round ends without a winner. Now all players lose points equivalent to the total value of the cards that remain in their hand.
Points in Rummy
As we explain above, scoring points in Rummy is based on the value of losing players’ hand cards at the end of the round. To calculate this, you need to know how many points each card is worth in Rummy.
The value of numbered cards matches the corresponding rank. For example, a Four is worth 4 points. Each Face Card costs 10 points, each Ace 11 points, and the Jokers are even worth 20 points each!
| Rank | Value in Points |
|---|---|
| Two to Nine | According to rank (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). |
| Ten, Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| Ace | 11 |
| Joker | 20 |
Scoring When Going Rummy
Sometimes, if the odds are in your favour, you might receive perfectly matching cards straight from the off. If you are able to play all your cards in one turn before your opponents have any melds, this is called Going Rummy.
If you win a round in this manner, your opponents are deducted double the points value of their hand cards. Since you get as many points as your opponents lose, your reward grows to twice the amount you would have won without going Rummy.
Read our lesson about Going Rummy to learn more about this topic.
How to Calculate the Overall Winner of a Rummy Table
Now you know how to score an individual round of Rummy. But how about the whole table?
You play a predefined number of rounds. After each round, the points won or lost are added to each player’s total score. At the end of the last round, the player with the highest total score wins the table!
At the Rummy Palace you are able to set between 1 and 24 rounds. If you’re playing more than one round, the overall number of rounds must be a multiple of the number of players.
Casino Scores
When playing Rummy with Casino Scores, there are a number of differences to playing with conventional Rummy scoring. These differences relate to the overall scoring process, but also to the values of specific cards. We’ve summarized the differences between standard Rummy scoring and Casino Scoring in the table below:
| Basic Game | Casino Scores | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring process |
1) Each player receives the values of their remaining hand cards as minus points. 2) The winner receives the sum of all their fellow players’ hand card values as positive points. | 1) Each player receives the values of their remaining hand cards as minus points. 2) The winner receives the sum of all their fellow players’ hand card values as positive points. 3) Additionally, the winner receives points for all the cards they placed on the playing field. 4) That score is evenly split among the other players as further minus points. |
| Points for Queen of Spades | Does not score specifically, so 10. | 40 |
| Points for Ace | 11 | 15 |
| Points for Ten, Jack, Queen, King | 10 | 10 |
| Points for Two to Nine | According to rank (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). | 5 |
| Points for Joker | 20 | 0 |
In case of going Rummy, all positive and negative scores are doubled with Casino Scores as well!
Head over to our lesson on the different Rummy variations and custom rules to read about this in more detail.
So there we have it – that’s how scoring works in Rummy. And even though scoring is handled automatically at the Rummy Palace, it’s still useful to understand what’s going on. Why not put your new found knowledge about Rummy scoring to the test with a game of Rummy online at the Palace?
