Shanghai Rummy is an interesting card game not only for youngsters but also for adults who want to spend their leisure time in pursuit. Now the question arises – how to play shanghai rummy? Because of the challenging nature of the game, this rummy variation requires many hours of dedicated practice in order to understand the mathematical concepts involved both at the beginner as well as professional levels.
This practice can be offered without any need to keep scores and, since only three to five players are needed to play rummy, the wise player may provide for individual differences by careful assignment of the appropriate game.
Rules of the game –
• The dealer deals five cards to each player and turns the remaining cards face down as a “drawing stack.” The card on the top of the stack is turned face up to begin a discard pile.
• The player may draw the card either from the top of the draw stack or the card from the pile discarded. Subsequent players may take one card from the draw stack of 4 cards from the pile discarded.
• If anyone wants the third card in the pile discarded, he must take only the first and second card. After each play, the player must discard one card to the discarded pile.
• The objective of the game is to get rid of all the cards in hand by (a) making four-card books, (b) making three-card spreads, (c) playing a fourth card on another person’s three-card spread, or (d) discarding. The game continues until one person is able to get rid of all cards in hand. If the drawing stack runs out somehow, the discard pile is shuffled and placed face down which serve as the new drawing stack. This is one of the precise methods of how to play shanghai rummy.
• Each rummy deck requires fifty-two, three-by-five cards to make thirteen books with four cards in each book. A book is a collection of related facts or pictures. Shanghai Rummy cards can be made on many different topics. Besides the fun involved, low-cost factor, elimination of overhead of keeping score records for all players, help for individualized differences, and plenty of practice available, shanghai rummy offers the extra bonus of having a chance factor.