Understanding the Joker: How to Play It Right?

Playing the Joker right can be a bit tricky for new players. However, knowing how to play it right is crucial to becoming an expert rummy player.

Knowing the following tricks about using Jokers will help you become a smarter rummy player.

A pure sequence should be your priority.

The fundamental rule for winning any 13-card rummy game is to have a pure sequence, without which all other sequences and sets are useless. Therefore, forming a pure sequence in the beginning of the game should be your priority.

That’s why you should never use a Joker right away to create an impure sequence. Instead try to form a pure sequence first and keep the Joker for later use.

Joker Management

Jokers play an important role, so learn to use them wisely when you play rummy. Sometimes, you might be lucky and get two Jokers, or even more if you are having a field day.

Moments like these call for better Joker management. Therefore, make sure that you keep them as a separate group. It’s like savings in the bank which you should use when you need it.

Discarding the Right Cards

Experienced rummy players never waste the Joker -- it’s too precious a card to waste. What they do instead is discard cards that are very close to the Joker, thereby making it difficult for other players to pick them.

For example, card 10 is the Joker. Then an experienced player would be most likely to discard cards like 9, 8 and 7.

It’s a smart strategy to confuse your opponents.

Knowing When to Discard a Joker

Discard a Joker? Why would anyone want to do that? Yes, there are certain scenarios where it’s not only wise but also essential to do that. Life can be generous sometimes and if one day you end up with multiple Jokers, say four, you might end up feeling on top of the food chain.

However, you need to realize that having so many Jokers isn’t a good thing in a game of 13-card rummy. It can cost you the game because it usually makes forming pure sequences difficult.

So, if you end up with too many Jokers, discard a few so that you can create a pure sequence too.

Next time you play rummy, keep these simple tips in mind and you will slowly get your game up to speed!