Playing TIps
When playing Rummy 500, Rummy or any card game players need to realise that they are not playing against "the table" like in solitaire, pool or darts but trying to outwit other people. Hence a player needs to think with the mentality that others are trying to do to him what he is trying to do to others.
- For this reason the most dangerous problem with playing Rummy 500 and the mistake than beginners do the most is not being aware that any moment a player could put down all his cards and you will be left with a huge loss of points in that round. Players holding big sets like Kings, Queens and 10s should be trying to match them up as early as possible and putting them down as early as possible. Of course the danger is that if you put three Kings down then a opponent will have the forth king and take advantage of your set. So the best strategy is to simple wait for the right moment and keep a close eye how close opponents are too being capable of getting rid of all their cards.
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- Keeping an eye on what cards your opponent picks up and discards is essential. Concentration and a good memory is a huge advantage and beginners should not be put off by the skills this involves as the more practice the more aware you become during the games. For this reason players should not pick up (for example) a King (to give him two kings) if a opponent had discarded a King a few hands back. Essentially players need to try to find the highest odds to make sets and runs so being aware of what is left in the deck is essential.
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- Giving players what they do not need helps as well. If you see a player does not need a Queen as he discarded it then giving him a Queen to pick up will hurt his play. At the same time this works the other way and you can give him the victory by giving him that one crucial card he needed to win.
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- Finally, the important issue is when you are picking up a crucial card from the discard pile and have to take one, two or more cards which you do not need, and hence left with one or more cards you do not want, what do you do? The answer to this depends on how high the benefit of the card you need is versus the negative effects of the cards you do not need. So, what you need to be looking for is whether or not the other cards which you do not need can still serve some use and if this is the case it is worth going them all up.
