Setup and the deal
Two players each receive thirteen cards from a 52-card deck (no jokers). The next card is flipped face up to start the discard pile and the rest becomes the face-down stock. The non-dealer goes first, and the deal alternates. Crucially, the discard pile is kept spread out so every card in it stays visible for the whole hand — the pile is a public menu, not a mystery.
The turn
- Draw — take the top card of the stock, take the top card of the discard pile, or dig: take a buried discard plus every card above it (rules below).
- Meld and lay off (optional) — lay new sets or runs, and add single cards to ANY meld on the table, yours or your opponent's. Every card played credits its value to your running score for the hand.
- Discard — one card face up onto the spread pile ends your turn. Melding away your entire hand goes out with no discard required.
Melds are the usual rummy shapes: sets of three or four cards of one rank (no repeated suits) and runs of three or more consecutive cards in one suit. The ace works at either end — A-2-3 and Q-K-A are both legal — but never wraps: K-A-2 is not a run.
Digging the discard pile
The signature rule of Rummy 500. On your draw you may reach into the spread pile and take any card in it — plus every card lying above it. Two different regimes apply:
- Taking just the top card — always legal, with no obligation to meld it. The one restriction: you may not discard that same card straight back this turn (unless it is the last card in your hand, in which case discarding it goes out and wins the hand).
- Taking a buried card — legal only if that card can be used at once: melded in a new combination with cards you will hold, or laid off on an existing meld. The obligation is enforced: until the buried card hits the table, every meld or lay-off you make must involve it, and discarding is blocked entirely.
Digging is a double-edged sword: the deeper card you want comes bundled with every card above it, all of which will count against you if your opponent goes out first. Everything you take from the pile is also public knowledge — a good opponent will remember what you are collecting.
Card values: the two-faced ace
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| 2 – 10 | Pip value |
| Jack, Queen, King | 10 each |
| Ace in a set, or high in a run (Q-K-A) | 15 |
| Ace melded low in a run (A-2-3) | 1 |
| Ace left in your hand at the end | 15 |
The ace is the swingiest card in the game: melded high or in a set it banks 15, melded low it banks a single point, and stuck in your hand it costs the full 15. When a run could be read either way (a complete A-to-K suit run), the ace is scored high — always the better reading for the melder.
Lay-offs that score for you
Unlike straight Rummy, a lay-off in Rummy 500 is a scoring play: the card's points go to the player who lays it off, not to whoever started the meld. Every melded card on the table keeps its owner. You may extend runs at either end, add the fourth suit to a set, and build freely on your opponent's melds — poaching the cheap extension of an opponent's run is one of the game's core skills.
Ending the hand and scoring
A hand ends two ways: a player goes out by shedding their last card (meld, lay-off or discard — no final discard needed when melding out), or the stock is empty and the player whose turn it is declines to draw from the pile. The stock is never recycled.
Each player then scores their melded total minus the value of cards still in hand. Both the hand score and your cumulative total can be negative — digging deep and failing to unload is punished in full. After any hand in which a player has 500 or more, the game ends and the higher total wins — this cleanly covers both players crossing 500 in the same hand. An exact tie at 500+ plays another hand until someone leads.
Strategy: banking points vs holding liability
A worked hand-end: you melded 87 points during the hand but are caught holding an ace, a king and a 7 when your opponent goes out — 87 − (15 + 10 + 7) = +65. Your opponent melded only 42 but went out clean: +42. Fast, modest melding beat your bigger table because your leftovers paid the bill.
- Meld early and often. Points bank the moment they hit the table and can never be taken back; hoarding a hand of "almost" melds is how negative hands happen.
- Dig with a purpose. Take a deep pile only when the buried card unlocks immediate points that outweigh the junk riding on top — every extra card is 5–15 points of liability if the hand ends suddenly.
- Aces are for melding high. An ace is a 15-point asset on the table and a 15-point debt in your hand; the A-2-3 run banking a single point is the worst home for it.
- Watch the stock count. With a thin stock, shed liability aggressively — the hand can end on any turn once the stock dies, catching everything you still hold.
- Track what your opponent took. Pile pickups are public; if they collected 8s, stop discarding near 8s and expect their set to appear the moment they can afford it.
Edge cases and fine print
- A buried take must be usable immediately — the game verifies a meld or lay-off exists before letting you dig; wishful digging is rejected.
- While the buried-card obligation is open, discarding is blocked and every meld must include the obligated card. Satisfy it first; the rest of your turn is then free.
- The just-took-the-top-card discard restriction has one exception: if that card is your last, discarding it is allowed and goes out — the alternative would deadlock the turn.
- Sets cap at four cards with four distinct suits; a duplicate suit never joins a set.
- Runs never wrap: the ace sits at 1 or at 14, and no meld crosses between them.
- When the stock is dry, you may still take from the pile — the hand only ends when the player to act declines to.
- Calling "Rummy!" on an opponent's missed points is not part of this version (it is a live-table race mechanic).
- Going out does not require a discard; melding your full hand ends the hand at once.
Variants and house rules
We play the standard base rules of 500 Rum for two players. Notable variants seen elsewhere, none used here:
- Jokers — many tables add two jokers as 15-point wilds. We play the original jokerless game.
- Must-meld on any pile take — some books require melding even the top discard when taken. Here only buried takes carry the obligation.
- Discard required to go out — a variation we do not use; melding out is legal.
- Simplified 5/10/15 values — rounding all cards to multiples of five. We score exact pip values.
- Three or more players — deal drops to seven cards. This is the thirteen-card two-player duel.
Frequently asked questions
Can you lay off on your opponent's melds in Rummy 500?
Yes — and the points go to YOU. Every laid-off card credits its value to the player who plays it, regardless of who started the meld. Extending an opponent's run is often the cheapest scoring play on the table.
What is the must-use rule when taking a buried discard?
A buried card may only be taken if it can be melded or laid off immediately, and the obligation is enforced first: until that card hits the table you cannot discard, and every meld you make must include it.
Do the cards above the buried card have to be melded too?
No. They join your hand as ordinary cards — meld them, keep them, or discard one of them this turn. Only the deepest card you reached for carries the obligation.
When does an ace score 1 instead of 15?
Only when melded low in a run (A-2-3 of a suit). In a set of aces or high in a run (Q-K-A) it scores 15, and an ace left in your hand always costs 15.
Can you discard the card you just took from the top of the pile?
Not on the same turn — with one exception: if it is the last card in your hand, discarding it is allowed and goes out. If you dug deeper and took several cards, you may discard anything, even the old top card.
Is calling "Rummy!" allowed in this version?
No. Calling Rummy on missed points is a live-table race mechanic that most rulebooks omit; our version does not implement it, so nothing is ever forfeited to a call.
What ends a hand when the stock runs out?
The stock is never reshuffled. Once it is empty, each player in turn may still take from the discard pile; the hand ends when the player to act declines to draw.
Who wins if both players pass 500 in the same hand?
The higher cumulative total. The game checks totals only after a hand ends, so both players can cross together — and an exact tie at 500 or more plays further hands until someone leads.
Related rulebooks
- Rummy rules — meld to the table and go out first
- Gin Rummy rules — meld, knock and go gin — first to 100
- Canasta rules — partner up, build canastas, race to 5000
- Cribbage rules — peg the play, count the show, race to 121
Last reviewed 2026-08-05 · play Rummy 500 online free