Rummy 500 Rules: How to Play, Step by Step (2 to 6 Players)
Rummy 500 (also called 500 Rum) is rummy where the discard pile is spread out for everyone to see, and you can dig deep into it for the card you need. You put sets and runs on the table as you go, every card you put down scores for you, and cards still in your hand count against you. The first player to 500 points wins.
Rummy 500 at a glance
| Players | 2 to 6 (best with 2 to 4). See how the game changes with more players. |
|---|---|
| Cards | One standard 52-card deck, no jokers. Many tables add a second deck for 5 or more players. |
| Deal | 13 cards each for 2 players, 7 each for 3 or more |
| A turn | Draw from the deck or the discard pile → put down melds if you like → discard one card |
| Scoring | Cards you put down count for you; cards left in your hand count against you |
| Winning | The first player to reach 500 points |
The deal: how many cards
- Shuffle and deal one card at a time. With 2 players, deal 13 cards each. With 3 or more players, deal 7 cards each.
- Turn the next card face up to start the discard pile. The rest of the deck goes face down next to it: this is the stock (the deck you draw from).
- The player to the dealer’s left goes first, and play moves to the left. The deal passes to the left after each hand.
- Spread the discard pile as it grows, overlapping the cards so every card in it can be seen. This is what makes Rummy 500 different from other rummy games.
Taking a turn
- Draw one card. Take the top card of the stock, or take a card from the discard pile (see the next section: you can take any card in it, not just the top one).
- Meld, if you want to. Put down any sets and runs you have, face up in front of you, and lay off single cards on melds already on the table. You don’t have to put anything down.
- Discard one card face up on the discard pile. This ends your turn. You may not throw away the top card you just picked up from the pile on the same turn.
Digging into the discard pile
Instead of drawing from the stock, you may take any card in the discard pile, as long as you also take every card on top of it. Two conditions come with it:
- The card you dig for (the deepest card you take) must be used on that same turn, either in a new meld or laid off on a meld on the table. You can’t take it just to keep it.
- The other cards you picked up go into your hand, and you can use them now or later.
Taking only the top card has no condition: you can keep it in your hand like a card drawn from the stock (but you can’t discard it again on the same turn).
Example. The discard pile, from the bottom up, is 4♠ J♣ 9♥︎ 2♦︎ 6♠. You hold the 10♥︎ and J♥︎. You dig for the 9♥︎, which means you also take the 2♦︎ and 6♠, and you must put down 9♥︎ 10♥︎ J♥︎ right away. The 2♦︎ and 6♠ stay in your hand.
Digging is the heart of the game. A deep card can be worth a lot, but every extra card you pick up is a card that will cost you points if you are still holding it when the hand ends.
Sets, runs and laying off
- Set: three or four cards of the same rank, such as 8♠ 8♥︎ 8♦︎.
- Run: three or more cards in a row in the same suit, such as 5♣ 6♣ 7♣ 8♣.
- Aces can be low (A-2-3) or high (Q-K-A), but a run can’t go around the corner: K-A-2 is not a run.
- Laying off: on your turn you may add cards to any meld on the table, yours or another player’s: a fourth 8 to a set of 8s, or the 9♣ to a 5-6-7-8♣ run. A card you lay off scores for you, not for the player who made the meld. To keep the count straight, many players keep laid-off cards in front of themselves and say where they go.
- A card can only be in one meld. Once melds are on the table, they stay there.
Discarding and going out
Every turn ends with a discard, except when you go out. You go out when you have no cards left in your hand, and that ends the hand at once.
Do you have to discard to go out? Tables differ, so agree before you start:
- Common rule: you may go out either way, by putting down your last cards in melds or by discarding your last card.
- Stricter house rule: you must finish with a discard. You can’t meld or lay off your very last card; you have to keep one card to throw away. This makes going out a little harder and hands a little longer.
When the deck runs out
When the stock is empty, play goes on as long as players keep taking from the discard pile. But now every card you take from the pile, even the top card, must be used on that turn. The hand ends as soon as a player can’t or won’t take from the pile and would have to draw from the empty stock. Everyone then scores what they have on the table, minus what is in their hand.
Some families instead turn the discard pile over to make a new stock when the deck runs out. That changes the game a lot, since the spread pile is what makes Rummy 500 special, so it’s less common.
How to score Rummy 500
When the hand ends, each player adds up the cards they put on the table (their own melds plus the cards they laid off) and subtracts the cards still in their hand.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 15 |
| Ace in a low run (A-2-3…) | 1 |
| King, Queen, Jack, 10 | 10 |
| 2 to 9 | face value |
- Hand score = points on the table − points in your hand. It can be negative, and so can your total.
- An Ace caught in your hand counts 15 against you.
- The player who goes out gets no bonus; their reward is that they have nothing left in hand and the others are caught holding cards.
- The first player to reach 500 wins. If two players pass 500 in the same hand, the higher score wins.
A hand, scored step by step
Anna and Ben are playing. Ben goes out by putting down his last cards.
- Anna’s table: a set 7♠ 7♥︎ 7♦︎ = 21; the run 9♥︎ 10♥︎ J♥︎ she dug for = 29; she later laid off the Q♥︎ on it = 10. Table total 60.
- Anna’s hand when Ben goes out: K♣ and A♠ = 10 + 15 = 25 against her.
- Anna scores 60 − 25 = 35.
- Ben’s table: a low run A♣ 2♣ 3♣ 4♣ = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 (the Ace counts 1 here); a set K♠ K♥︎ K♦︎ = 30; and two cards laid off on Anna’s melds, the 8♥︎ on her heart run = 8 and the 7♣ on her 7s = 7. Table total 55.
- Ben’s hand: empty. Ben scores 55.
After one hand: Anna 35, Ben 55. Notice that the 8♥︎ and 7♣ scored for Ben even though they sit on Anna’s melds, and that Anna’s A♠ cost her 15: if she had melded it, it would have been worth 15 to her instead, a swing of 30.
Rummy 500 for 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 players
The rules are the same for any number of players. What changes is how many cards you deal and whether one deck is enough.
| Players | Cards each | Decks |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 13 | 1 |
| 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 5 | 7 | 1, or 2 for a longer hand |
| 6 | 7 | 2 recommended |
2 players
Thirteen cards each makes for long hands with lots of digging. This is the version you can play here against the computer.
3 players
Seven cards each. Hands are quicker, and with two opponents you have to watch two sets of pickups.
4 players
Seven cards each, every player for themselves. Some groups play four-handed as two teams of two, partners sitting across from each other and adding their scores together; agree on it before you start.
5 players
Seven cards each from one deck leaves only 16 cards in the stock, so hands are short. Many groups shuffle two decks together for five players.
6 players
Six hands of seven from one deck leave just 9 cards to draw, so use two decks shuffled together (104 cards). With two decks there can be two identical cards, such as two 9♠. Decide whether a set may include identical cards, and remember that a run can’t use the same card twice.
House rules: calling rummy, the queen of spades and more
Rummy 500 is a family game, and families have their own rules. These are the ones you’ll meet most often. Settle them before the first deal.
- Calling “Rummy!” If a player discards a card that could have been played (it fits a meld on the table, “rummy on the board”), or a playable card is sitting in the discard pile and nobody takes it (“rummy in the pile”), the first player to notice can call “Rummy!”, take it and play it, often out of turn. Some tables make the caller take the cards above it too, some don’t.
- The queen of spades counts 40 or 50 points instead of 10, for whoever melds it and against whoever is caught holding it.
- You must discard to go out, as described above.
- Meld before you lay off: some tables don’t let you lay off until you have put down at least one meld of your own.
- Aces: some families count an Ace 15 everywhere, even in A-2-3; others count it 1 whenever it is played low.
- Deck runs out: end the hand (the usual way) or turn the discard pile into a new stock.
The rules our game uses. Our Rummy 500 is for two players, you against the computer: 13 cards each, the discard pile spread out, dig for any card if you use it that turn, lay off on any meld (it counts for you), Ace 15 or 1 in a low run, go out with or without a final discard, and once the deck is empty any card taken from the pile must be used right away; the hand ends when the player to move would have to draw from the empty deck. There is no calling rummy and no special queen of spades. First to 500 wins.
Tips and strategy
- Count before you dig. A deep card is worth it when it completes a meld and the cards above it are low or useful. Picking up a handful of high cards late in a hand can cost you more than the meld earns.
- Put melds down before someone goes out. Holding a meld in your hand to hide it is tempting, but if another player goes out first, every card in it counts against you.
- Watch what the others pick up. The discard pile is public, so you know exactly which cards each player took. Don’t discard cards that go with them.
- Lay off on other players’ melds. Those cards score for you, and every card you lay off is one less in your hand.
- Aces are double-edged. They are worth 15 on the table but cost 15 in your hand. Late in a hand, an Ace you can’t use is the first thing to throw.
- Discard low when someone is close. If a player is down to a card or two, shed your high cards onto melds or the pile and keep the cheap ones.
- Low runs are cheap. An Ace in A-2-3 scores only 1, so a high run (Q-K-A) is worth far more.
Printable Rummy 500 rules and score sheet
Deal: 2 players 13 cards each; 3 to 6 players 7 each (two decks for 6, optional for 5). Turn one card up to start the discard pile; spread the pile so all cards show.
Turn: draw the top stock card, or take any discard-pile card plus every card above it (the deepest card must be melded or laid off this turn) → meld sets and runs, lay off on any meld → discard one card.
Melds: sets of 3–4 of a rank; runs of 3+ in a suit. Ace low (A-2-3) or high (Q-K-A), not K-A-2.
End of a hand: a player goes out, or a player must draw from an empty stock.
Score: cards on the table (your melds + your lay-offs) − cards in hand. A = 15 (1 in a low run), K Q J 10 = 10, 2–9 face value. First to 500 wins.
House rules we play: ☐ must discard to go out ☐ calling rummy ☐ Q♠ = ____ ☐ two decks
| Hand | Name: | Name: | Name: | Name: |
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Write each hand’s score and the running total, like “+46 / 81”. First to 500 wins.
Common questions
How many cards do you deal in Rummy 500?
13 cards each with two players, and 7 cards each with three or more players.
Can you play Rummy 500 with 4 players?
Yes. Deal 7 cards each from one deck and play every player for themselves, or as two teams of two with partners adding their scores together.
Can you play Rummy 500 with 5 or 6 players?
Yes. Deal 7 cards each. With five, one deck works but hands are short; with six, shuffle two decks together so there are enough cards left to draw.
How do you play Rummy 500 with 2 players?
Deal 13 cards each and play exactly the same rules. You can play two-player Rummy 500 here against the computer, free.
Do you have to discard in Rummy 500?
Yes, every turn ends with a discard. The only question is going out: under the common rule you can go out by melding your last cards with no discard, while some tables require a final discard to go out. Agree before you start.
What does “rummy on the board” or “rummy in the pile” mean?
They are names for the house rule of calling rummy: when a card that could be played is discarded or left in the discard pile, the first player to call “Rummy!” may take it and play it. It isn’t part of the basic rules, so only play it if everyone agrees.
How much is the queen of spades worth in Rummy 500?
In the standard rules it’s a 10, like any Queen. Some families play that the queen of spades is worth 40 or 50 points, for you if you meld it and against you if you are caught holding it.
What happens when the deck runs out in Rummy 500?
Play continues from the discard pile, but any card you take from it must be used that turn. When a player would have to draw from the empty deck, the hand ends and everyone scores.
What happens when you run out of cards?
You have gone out, and the hand ends straight away. Everyone counts the cards they put on the table and subtracts what is left in their hand.
Can you play your last card on someone else’s meld?
Yes, under the common rule you can go out by laying off your last card on any meld. If your table plays that you must discard to go out, you have to keep one card to throw away instead.
Is there a printable version of the rules?
Yes: the rules and score sheet above prints on one page with the “Print just the rules and score sheet” button.
How is Rummy 500 different from gin rummy?
In Rummy 500 you put melds on the table as you go, score the cards themselves, and can take cards from deep in the discard pile. In gin rummy you keep your melds in your hand and knock when your unmatched cards are low. See the gin rummy rules to compare, or more card games for two.