Knock Rummy

Rank of Cards

K (high), Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A. (In many forms of Rummy, the ace may rank either high or low.)

The Deal

Dealer gives one card at a time face down, beginning with the player on the left. When two people play, each person gets 10 cards. When three or four people play, each receives seven cards; when five or six play, each receives six cards. The remaining cards are placed face down on the table, forming the stock.

The top card of the stock is turned face up and becomes the upcard. It is placed next to the stock to start the discard pile.

When two people play, the winner of each hand deals the next. When more than two play, the deal passes to next the player on the left.

Object of the Game

Each player tries to form matched sets consisting of groups of three or four of a kind, or sequences of three or more cards of the same suit.

The Play

The players either draw or take the upcard, and then discard as in Rummy, but they do not meld cards on the table or lay off on each other's melds. Any player, before discarding, may knock, ending the hand. The player then discards, separates their melds (any matched set) from unmatched cards, and announces the count of the unmatched cards. Each opponent then separates their melds from unmatched cards and announces the count as well.

Going Out

When a player gets rid of all of their cards, they win the game.

If all of their remaining cards are matched, the player may lay them down without discarding on their last turn. This ends the game and there is no further play.

If the last card of the stock has been drawn and no player has gone out, the next player in turn may either take the top of the discard pile, or may turn the discard pile over to form a new stock (without shuffling it) and draw the top card. Play then proceeds as before.

How to Keep Score

The player with the lowest count wins the difference in counts from each opponent plus 25 points if they go rummy. If any other player ties the knocker for low count, that player wins instead of the knocker. If the knocker does not have the lowest count, they pay a penalty of 10 points plus the difference in counts to the player with the lowest count, who wins the hand.