Contract rummy is a rummy variant that is played by three to eight players. Two decks with a joker are required when this exciting Online rummy variant is played by 3 to 4 players. On the other hand, when more than 5 players are playing, three decks are used with 2 jokers.

There are 7 rounds in contract rummy. The dealer of the first round is chosen randomly and then the player who deals rotates clockwise. The cards are dealt clockwise, giving each player one card at a time. Players are dealt 10 cards each in the first 3 rounds and 12 cards each after the 4^th round. The remaining cards are placed face down as a draw pile and the top card is kept face up alongside as a discard pile in this variant of rummy games online.

Objective of contract rummy

The objective of contract rummy is to score the least points in each round as you play rummy. In every round, each player aims to form melds based on the deal of that round. A meld is a group of 3 cards formed in a set or sequence. Each round has a particular combination of melds for the players to achieve.

How to play contract rummy?

The player sitting to the left of the dealer makes the first turn. Each turn consists of the following:

Draw

The player has two options – he should either pick the top card of the discard pile or the top card of the draw pile. The one who picks a card from the draw pile should give any player who wishes to discard a card.  

Meld

The player can keep the sets or sequences from their hand on the table face up. This is done once by every player in each round. When you are melding, you should lay down exactly the sets and sequences needed by the contract of that round.

For instance, you cannot lay down 1 set in case you need 2 or you need a sequence. You can only meld the required cards. For instance, if you have a sequence of ranks more than 4 then you should wait for your next turn to lay down the extra cards in Indian rummy.

Lay off

Laying off is putting cards to the already melded sets and sequences – by you or your opponents. You can lay off extra cards only when you have melded during that round. You cannot lay off before melding or in the same turn that you meld. You can lay off as many cards as you want in your turn. Remember that laying off is optional and you can do this only if you wish to.

Discard

In every turn, you need to discard a card from your hand and place it face up in the discard pile. There is no need to discard a card in the 7^th turn. The round continues clockwise until one player has all his cards laid off. If the draw pile runs out of cards (this happens rarely) and a player wants to pick a card, then all the cards of the discard pile (except the top one) are shuffled and kept face down.

Scoring

This is how the cards are scored in contract rummy:

Card value	Points
Ace	15 points
Face cards (King, Queen & Jack)	10 points each
Joker	15 points
Number cards – 2 ♠️ 3 ♠️ 4 ♠️	2, 3 and 4 points respectively