Indian rummy strategy

Make the pure sequence first

Everything else is worthless until you have it. From the deal, look for two cards that could become a run in one suit — 5♥ 6♥, or 5♥ 7♥ — and build on them before anything else.

Do not use a joker to finish it. A sequence with a joker is impure, and a pure one is the only thing that protects your hand if someone else declares first.

Throw the high cards early

Aces, kings, queens and jacks are 10 each if you are caught with them. A loose king early in the deal is ten points you do not need to risk; throw it while the others are still too far from declaring to use it.

Low cards are cheaper to hold and easier to fit into sequences, which is why good hands near the end are full of fours and fives.

Use the jokers where they count

A joker is worth nothing in your hand and can fill any gap, so it belongs in your second sequence or a set, not your first. A meld may hold at most two jokers, and never more jokers than real cards.

Keep an eye on the turned card: every card of its rank is wild this deal, so a 7 that looked useless may be the most valuable card you hold.

Watch what the others take

Everyone sees you take the open card, and you see them. A player who picks up a 9♠ is collecting spades around nine or nines; do not throw them the 10♠.

When a player has stopped taking from the pile and is drawing blind, they are often one or two cards from declaring.

Declare only when it is certain

Count before you press: two sequences, one of them pure, and every one of the thirteen cards in a combination. The table shows how many sequences and pure sequences your sorted hand has.

If you cannot get there, play to limit the damage instead: a pure sequence and a second sequence keep most of your hand safe, and 80 is the most any hand can cost.