Rummy Game Terminology: All you need to know about online rummy glossary

The Rummy Glossary

To be the jack of all trades, one has got to ace at everything in order to bag the real deal eventually. And what adds value to the efforts in that specific area, is the right vocabulary or lingo as it is called. The same applies to online gaming as well. In the world of card games, having the rummy terminology at the tip of your tongue is as vital as having the tricks at the tip of your fingers. Beginners and amateurs may feel like a bunch of jargons are being thrown at them but knowledge of these rummy terms plays an important role in understanding the language and soul of the game. 

Therefore, brush up your rummy glossary with this handy A-to-Z guide that can indeed be a friend when you need it the most. 

A

Ace -  The card that usually occupies the highest rank in a suit but can also occupy the lowest rank depending on how the player uses it. 

Aces High - When an ace is assigned a higher value. Eg: J,K,Q,A 

Aces Low - When an ace is assigned a lower value. Eg: A,2,3,4

Angling - Also known as fishing or side baiting, angling is the process of discarding cards so that the opponent can meld.

B

Base Count - Keeping an average score of one of the players. 

Best Of Three - One of the forms called Deals Rummy where the players play a game of three rounds and the best one wins.

Blitz - A shutout in one of the forms called gin rummy

Block - Process of keeping the cards with high value and not discarding them for players who have cards with lower value.

Buy In - The minimum amount of purchase that players need to invest in the game to participate.

Bury A Card - When a card is placed or displaced in the middle of the pack.

C

Capture - To take a card as a part of the game or a trick. 

Chips - The tokens used as a substitute for money in the game.

Closed Deck - The remaining cards of the deck that are left behind after being distributed to the players.

Clubs - One of the suits in the deck of cards.

Combination - When cards are melded to attract a bonus. 

Count - Value of the points offered to one of the hands in the game.

Cut - To divide the deck of cards into two parts after shuffling and before distributing.

D

Deadwood - A group of unmatched cards in the deck.

Deadwood Count - Value of those unmatched cards.

Deal - Distributing the cards to the players before the game begins.

Dealer - The person who distributes the cards to the players. 

Deck - A standard deck has 52 cards in a pack. 

Declare - When the first player of the group discards a final card to finish the game.

Deuce - The numeric 2 card of all the suits. 

Diamonds - One of the four main suits in a standard deck of cards.

Discard - To get rid of a card 

Downcard - A card that has its face down.

Draw - To pick a card from the deck.

Drop - To quit or leave or withdraw from the current game or deal.

E

End of Hand - When players can play even if they have two cards remaining in their hands till they knock, especially in gin rummy. 

Entrump - To form a specific suit trump. 

Establish - When one player makes other players discard their higher value cards by force to make his/her cards best. 

Exit - To give up the lead in order to make others play the trick. 

Exposed Cards - The cards that are visible to other players in the game.

F

Face Card - All the cards with the faces of jack, king, queen, and aces are face cards.

Face Up - A card that has its face up to see its value and suit.

First Life - Forming one mandatory pure sequence out of the two to make sure the player can make a valid declaration.

Floating - The moment when players are not allowed to discard any cards in respective forms of rummy. 

Foot - The bottom of the stock pile of cards that remains after distribution.

Forcing - When the player having next turn is made to pick up the card discarded by the preceding player.

Full Count - Maximum number of points that a player can score in a particular round or game despite the value of his/her cards.

G

Game - One particular deal, or all the deals in a single game.

Game Points - Points that are accumulated at the end of the game to decide who’s the winner based on the results of the hand declared by the players. 

Gin - A variation or a form of rummy game. 

Go down - To knock or to meld. 

Go out - To get rid of the cards in hand or finishing a game. 

Go over - To make a higher bid than other players or to play a higher card than others. 

Group - A standard or complete set of cards. 

Guard - Cards that protect other cards with a higher value. 

H

Hand - Either a single round of the game or the cards being held in a player’s hand.

Head - The upper part of the stock pile of cards that remains after distribution. 

Hearts - One of the four main suits in a standard deck of cards.

Hold Up - Refraining from playing a higher rank card. 

I

Impure Sequence - Three or more consecutive cards from the same suit combined with a joker. 

Index - The printed numbers or letters on the top corners of the cards. 

Illegal Hand - The player who has more cards in hand after discarding most of them in the game.

Initial Meld - First meld in the game.

J

Jack - One of the three court cards that is ranked between 10 and Queen.

Joker - The highest trump card which is also used as a wild card mostly.

K

King - The highest court card that ranks between the Queen and the Ace.

Knave - Also known as the Jack and valet in other forms of rummy. 

Knock - Stating the end of the game.

L

Layoff - The process of placing the cards in the deck post they are melded..

Lead - To play the first trick or the first card. 

Line score - Box score.

Low Card - Any card that holds a low rank. 

M

Master - The best card or the one with the highest rank played in the game. 

Meld - Three or more cards of the same rank combined together in a sequence.

Melding - Forming the cards in a particular sequence. 

Mixed Deal - Making a mistake while dealing the cards.

N

Natural Card - Any card except the wild card. 

Natural Suit - A particular suit formed naturally without any trump cards.

Numeral - A card with a number as its rank. 

O

Off Card - A card that is not a part of the match set or a combination. 

Open - To make the first move in the game. 

Opening Lead - The first lead of the round.

Outbid - To bid higher than the previous bid.

Overtake - To play a higher rank card than the card played by other players to win. 

P

Pass - Either making no bid or to bet first. 

Penalty - Point deducted for violating the rules and regulations.

Pip - The symbol of a suit or a numeral on the card. 

Plain Suit - Any suit that is natural and not trump. 

Play Over - To play a card with a higher rank. 

Points Rummy - One of the fastest rummy variants. 

Pool Rummy - One of the longest variants of rummy in which the players pay a fixed entry fee.

Prial - A set of three cards that have the same value or rank. 

Printed Joker - A trump card with highest value used to form an impure sequence or a set. 

Pure Sequence - A sequence in which a joker cannot be used and is formed by three or more consecutive cards of the same suit. 

Q

Quart - Four cards belonging to the same suit put together to form a sequence. 

Queen - One of the court cards that ranks between the Jack and the King. 

Quint - Five cards belonging to the same suit put together to form a sequence.

R

Raise - To increase the player’s stakes. 

Rank - The hierarchy of the cards.

Reduce - When a player picks a low rank card to make the opponent discard a high rank card.

Renounce - Failing to follow a suit.

Rotation - The direction in which the cards are being dealt. 

Round - When the dealing begins and a player declares a hand to end that deal. 

Ruff - To introduce a trump card in a non-trump deal. 

Run - Also called sequence, it is when three or more cards are formed in order of consecutive rank or value. 

S

Score - Overall points collected by players in one game.

Second Life - Forming the second mandatory sequence for making a valid declaration.

Sets - When three or more cards of same value but different suits are formed together. 

Sequence - When three or more cards are formed in order of consecutive rank or value. 

Shuffle - To mix the cards randomly.

Sit-out - When a player misses his/her turn.

Skunk - To be defeated through a shutout. 

Sluff - Playing of cards that has no or little value. 

Spades - One of the four main suits in a standard deck of cards.

Stand Off - When a game is tied between players and there’s no winner or a loser.

Stakes - The money invested by a player in the game or chips.

Stock - The remaining cards in the pile.

Suits - The colored cards of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades. 

Sweep - Clearing the table by capturing all the cards that leads to earning a bonus.

T

Tenace - When cards with higher value are formed but not in a sequence. 

Trey - All the 3s of a suit. 

Trump - A card with the highest value that has a tricking value more than any plain card.

U

Unload - Getting rid of the most powerful card that any of the players may have.

Unmatched Cards - The cards that a player fails to arrange in a set or a sequence before the game ends.

Upcard - Same as the face-up card.

V

Valet - The Jack is also known as valet in other forms of rummy games.

Variants - Different forms of rummy game are called variants.

Variation - A version of the game where the mechanism remains the same but there’s a difference in the rules.

Void - When a player has no card of a particular suit.

W

Whitewashed - This is basically a duck-out of rummy. Scoring zero points.

Wild Card - A card selected randomly in the beginning of the game as a substitute for any card in a set.

Keep this guide handy when you’re trying your hand at the game online. Download Rummy Bo by Paytm to learn from the experts and enjoy the best of gaming experience online.