Rummy 500 - rearranging melds
askovronek
My kids have just become old enough to start playing cards and we have
started to play Rummy 500. When I was just a young chap (15yrs), I
played hours of Rummy 500 with my boss (he actually paid me!). I
refeshed myself with the rules and then started playing but now have a
question because I am remembering things differently than the rules lay
out:
I remember being able to rearrange melds on the table to create new
melds. For example: my opponent has 4 kings out and I have a J of C
and a Q of C in my hand. I recall being able to strip off my
opponent's K of C and use it for my meld of JQK. The only restriction
was that the remaining meld had to be a legal meld - 3 or more cards.
Can anyone confirm or deny this as a variation on the rules?
Thanks!
...Alex
askov...@yahoo.com
Don Woods
> I remember being able to rearrange melds on the table to create new
> melds. For example: my opponent has 4 kings out and I have a J of C
> and a Q of C in my hand. I recall being able to strip off my
> opponent's K of C and use it for my meld of JQK. The only restriction
> was that the remaining meld had to be a legal meld - 3 or more cards.
>
> Can anyone confirm or deny this as a variation on the rules?
I don't remember taking cards from the opponent at all.
You can extend an opponent's meld, but the cards you add
are placed in front of you as part of your score; you never
take cards away from an opponent.
I don't recall whether the rules let you rearrange your own
melds, but I would expect not. Otherwise, what happens if
you meld, say, 10-J-Q-K, and an opponent melds the 9 to
extend your run, and then you want to pull out the 10 to
meld with two other 10s?
-- Don.
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askovronek
Thanks for your feedback. Let me clarify what I was remembering. As
you state, no, I never took cards from my opponent, rather I built on
his cards to make another meld.
In your example, I would not be able to use the 10 because the 9 had
already been played. I would, however, be able to use my opponents 9
with 2 of my own 9s because this would still leave the 10-J-Q-K meld
with at least 3 cards. By the same token, I could also take the K and
play it with 2 other Ks. As always, cards I play are in front of me,
and cards my opponent has played are in front of him. It makes for a
very thoughtful game, whether the rules allow for it or not. Figuring
out how you might restack a couple of straights 5-6-7 of a few
different suites to make 3x5s, 3x6s, and perhaps use a 7 in your hand
to make 4x7s, takes a lot of thinking through.
As it stands, we have temporarily suspended this type of re-arranging
until I get a positive confirmation - which, may never happen. We
still love the game!
...Alex
Bruce A. Johnson
You can find the rules for Rummy 500, and other rummy games at:
http://www.pagat.com/rummy/index.html
- Bruce A. Johnson in Hardisty, Alberta, Canada
- Windr...@SpamCop.net