You might think that knocking is a term only associated with Gin Rummy. But at the Rummy Palace you can employ a custom rule to allow knocking in your gameplay. Knocking in Rummy works somewhat differently to knocking in Gin Rummy though. In this lesson, we cover how the knocking custom rule in Rummy actually works, and what the difference is between knocking in Rummy and knocking in Gin Rummy.
What Does Knocking Mean in Rummy?
The knocking custom rule in Rummy gives you a way to acquire extra cards to use in your melds, even when it’s not your turn. With the knocking rule enabled, any player gets the chance to pick up the card that was discarded last by being the first one to knock.
This custom rule has its roots in the Rummy games you’d find among circles of friends and family or casual rummy groups in Germany, where players will actually knock on the table to signal their intent to pick up the additional card. But online at the Palace, this knock is replaced with the click of a button!
If you successfully knock and thus get to pick up the most recent discard, you also draw what some call a penalty card from the face down stock pile.
That could be a drawback as you might draw a penalty card completely useless in your current hand. But on the flip side, knocking a few times and receiving penalty cards can be a great way to get hold of more and different cards when your hand doesn’t want to match at all.
But watch out to not overuse knocking. The more hand cards you hold, the more negative points come in if one if your opponents finishes the round before you play your extra cards.
How Does Knocking Work?
Once a card is discarded, the regular next player in turn order can draw either this card or a card from the face down stock pile as usual without knocking. At the same time, all other players at the table, except the one who discarded, can knock to claim the discarded card.
If the regular next player in turn order draws from the discard pile before anybody knocks, they get to draw the card as usual. The other players have missed their chance, and the regular player‘s turn can no longer be interrupted by knocking. In case nobody knocks, nothing out of the ordinary happens.
Should the regular next player in turn order draw from the face down stock pile, all other players except the one who discarded are still allowed to knock to pick up the discard of the previous turn.
Say you are the quickest to knock before the regular next player draws, then you get the discarded card along with the aforementioned face down penalty card from the stock pile. After you receive your two cards, the regular next player in turn order continues the game by picking up a card from either the stock or discard pile, as usual.
Remember that you cannot knock for a card you just discarded yourself – only for a card discarded by an opponent. Therefore, this rule is only applicable when playing with three or more players.
Difference between Knocking in Gin Rummy and Rummy
Whereas knocking in Rummy allows you to acquire extra cards, knocking in Gin Rummy signals your intention to end the current round – something very different indeed!
In Gin Rummy, you can knock to end the round only once the cards in your hand that you cannot meld, total a maximum of ten points. Additionally you can only knock during your turn, once you have picked up and before you have discarded a card.
Once you knock to end the round in Gin Rummy, the cards are revealed and scores are calculated. If you want to learn more, read more about scoring in Gin Rummy, or find out more about the differences between Rummy and Gin Rummy.
So that’s how the knocking custom rule works in Rummy! As you can see, it’s a very different proposition to knocking in Gin Rummy. It adds a whole new dimension to the game, as it allows you to get your hands on cards you would have missed out on without the custom rule, but only if you’re quick!
Read our lesson about Rummy variations to learn about other custom rules you can apply at the Rummy Palace. Or better yet, play Rummy online at the Palace to try knocking and other variations for yourself.
