• Introduction
• Important Terms & 21 Card Game Rules Rummy
• How to play 21 Card Game
• Declaring your Cards
• Point Calculation in 21 Card Rummy Game

Introduction Top

21 Card Rummy is another popular variant of Indian rummy which is played only with the Points Rummy variant. This game is played between 2 to 6 players with three decks of cards and uses an extra group of Up & Down Jokers apart from the standard set of Printed and Wildcard jokers.

Before you start playing, you need to familiarize yourself with some new terminologies and rules of 21 Cards Rummy. This variant is a challenging and exciting game that requires strategic thinking and skill to win. Check out the following aspects to understand the 21 cards rummy rules:

Important Terms & 21 Card Game Rules Top

Upper and Lower Joker

Upper Joker: The card which is one rank above the wild card Joker and is of the same suit is called the Upper Joker. For example, 8♣ will be the Upper Joker if 7♣ is the wild card Joker.

Lower Joker: This card is one rank below the wild card Joker and is of the same suit is called the Lower Joker. For example, 3♣ will be the Lower Joker if 4♣ is the wild card Joker.

Note: The Upper and Lower jokers can also be used in place of any other card to complete a sequence or a set. Wild card jokers can also be part of a pure sequence for e.g. 2♣ 3♣ 4♣ is a Pure sequence, where three of club (3♣) is a joker, yet it is a pure sequence.

Example 1: In case an Ace of club (A♣) is picked as the Wild Card Joker then (K♣) will become the lower joker and 2♣ will be the upper joker. However, it should be noted that the sequence of K-A-2 is not a valid sequence even if Ace is the Joker card.

Example 2: In case, a Printed Joker is picked as the Wild Card Joker then all Aces (A♠ A♥ A♣ A♦) will be considered as Wild Card Jokers. In this case, K♠ will become the lower joker and 2♠ will become the upper joker (because the suit of ♠ is considered to be the highest suit).

Tunnela or London

A group of three identical cards of the same value and the same suit is called a Tunnela (or London) in 21 Cards Rummy, e.g. - 5♥ 5♥ 5♥. You can also form a valid Tunnela out of three Printed Jokers grouped together.

Two identical cards with a joker are not a valid Tunnela or London E.g. - 6♦ 6♦ K♦ (where K♦ is a joker), a Joker cannot be used to make a Tunnela.

Dublee

Two identical cards of the same value paired together are called a Dublee E.g. - 5♥ 5♥.

Note:

• A valid Dublee can also be formed with two printed jokers grouped together.
• One card plus a joker, such as 6♦ K♦ (where K♦ is a joker), is not a valid Dublee.
• A Joker card cannot be used to make a Dublee, unless used as a regular card and not a Joker, e.g. K♦ K♦ (here K♦ is a joker yet a valid Dublee).

Value Cards

The cards of the same suit that are upper and lower to the wild card joker are called value cards. A card higher to this selected card and a card lower will also be considered as Value Cards and will have the same attributes as the Joker and thus be referred to as Upper Joker and Lower Joker respectively.

Besides this, all three Value Cards (8♣ 9♣ 10♣ - here 9♣ was the randomly picked wild card joker). For example: If 9♣ is the wild card joker then 10♣ will be the upper joker and 8♣ will be the lower joker. These 3 cards (8♣ 9♣ 10♣,) are called value cards.

How to play 21 Card Game Top

• The 21 cards Rummy game is played with 3 decks of 53 cards each, including 3 printed jokers.
• In 21 cards Rummy, we have an upper and a lower joker. For example: If 9♣ is the wild card joker then 10♣ will be the upper joker and 8♣ will be the lower joker. These 3 cards (8♣ 9♣ 10♣,) are called value cards.
• 21 Card Rummy is played as the traditional Rummy keeping in mind the standard gameplay of picking and discarding cards, but it additionally includes concepts like Dublee, Tunnela, upper and lower jokers along with the printed jokers. Hence, besides making sequences and sets to meld all your cards, you can also make dublees and tunnelas.

Declaring your Cards Top

To make a valid show in 21 cards rummy for winning the game, you will need to form a minimum of the following group of cards. Out of the 4 instances shown below, you have to complete any one and declare your cards:

1. Minimum Three (3) Pure Sequences

   You have to form at least (3) pure sequences (minimum of 3 cards or above) and the rest of the cards can be arranged in sets or sequences. Tunnela is also treated as a pure sequence.

2. Minimum Three (3) Tunnelas

   You must make at least 3 tunnelas, and the rest of the cards need not be arranged in any order. The remaining cards need not be grouped, you can club them into a single group.

3. Minimum Eight (8) Dublee

   You must form at least 8 dublees - the rest of the cards need not be arranged in any order. Each pair of dublees should be arranged in individual groups during the declaration. Again, you can group all the remaining cards into one single group.

4. Minimum Eight (8) Jokers

   You have to make 8 joker cards in a single group - the rest of the cards need not be arranged in any order. All the jokers should be arranged in one group during the declaration. This includes the wild card joker, printed joker, upper joker, and lower joker cards.

Point Calculation in 21 Card Rummy Game: Top

Thus the score for a player can be simplified by the formula below:

Drop Points Calculation:

Drop points are those points that a player loses during the game. The chart below describes the number of points that a player loses when he/she does a drop followed by an example.

Cases where the player loses 2 points:

• If all the cards are arranged in valid sets and sequences including 3 mandatory pure sequences.
• If he/she has grouped 6 or more Dublees and if each of the Dublee is grouped separately.
• If he has 7 or more jokers and if all the jokers are grouped together separately from other cards.