Rummoli Game Rules

Ready for a fun game? Rummoli was first created in 1940 and has become a popular board and card game in Canada.  The game can be played with two to eight people, and the bigger the number of players, the faster the game. The game Rummoli is a mix of Poker and Rummy – for those of you that are Rummy or Poker fans, you will love this game!!

What do you need to play?

Rummoli is played with a standard deck of playing cards (excluding the Joker) and counters or chips. Of course, a Rummoli board is required to play this exciting game. The layout of the board has 8 separate areas. The areas are:

• The Poker Pot
• Ten of Spades
• Jack of Diamonds
• Queen of Clubs
• King of Hearts
• Ace of Spades
• Ace-King of Diamonds
• Sequence 7-8-9
• Rummoli Pot

How to Start Rummoli

Ready to play? To decide who deals first, the players cut the cards and the player with the highest card (Ace is high) is the dealer. Next, divide the playing chips or counters among all players.  All players put 1 playing chip on each of the sections of the board. The dealer deals out the cards, one at a time and must deal an extra hand which is called the “Widow”. Depending on the number of players, some hands will have more cards than others,

The dealer checks out his own hand and if he likes he can exchange his hand for the extra “Widow” hand (however, he can not look in the extra hand until he decides to take it). If the dealer decides he would like to keep his hand he can auction the “Widow” to the highest bidder and keeps the chips.

The player who bought the “Widow” hand can not take back his own previous hand if he does not like it.  The now extra hand should be placed face down so no other players know what is in the hand.

There are 2 phases to the game, the first one is the “Poker Play” and the other is the “Rummy Play”. We will go over each part.

Poker Play

Players now select the 5 cards in which he feels will create the strongest poker hand and lays it aside and his other cards remain face down. This part of Rummoli may be played in a couple of unique ways and all players need to decide before playing the game which method will be used.

Method No. 1.

In this method, players will have a “showdown” of poker hands. Each player will need to place his hand on the table with cards facing up and the player with the best poker hand will take all the chips in the “Poker Pot” section.

Method No. 2.

Just like a regular poker game, the players may bet and raise the bet and the bets (chips) are placed in the “Poker Pot” section. The player who either forces the other players out or who has the strongest poker hand when hands are shown and takes the chips in the “Poker Pot”.

Even if a player who was forced in the betting process to be out cannot participate after the fact when hands are shown and discovers he had the best hand.

Rummy Play

All players now pick up all their cards and sort them in suits. The player who won Poker will start by placing the lowest card in his hand and calling it verbally. The play goes to the player on the left and the player having the next consecutive card(s) in the same suit plays it or they face up in front of him. The play will continue until the play is broken by a card being in the dead (Widow) hand. So, when a suit is done by playing the ace or is blocked by a card in the dead hand, the player who had played the last card will now play the lowest card in his hand in a suit of the opposite color than the last suit played, and the play will continue in this manner until all the suites have been run out. When a deadlock occurs, which is when no player is able to change the color of the suit then the hand is finished, and all players must place a chip for his card left in his hand into the “Rummoli Pot” section of the board.

Pay Cards

The Rummoli board has 7 spaces that are marked with specific cards or a combination of cards. As each player lays down one of these cards/combinations he will collect the chips from the space as the same card he has played (ie. 10 of Spades).

Some spaces will not be collected if a player has not had the chance to play the card or the card is in the dead hand.

The end of the hand is complete when the first player to get rid of all his cards, he will then take all the chips from the Rummoli Pot. The other players must pay the winner a chip for each card they have remaining in their hands.

When it comes to dealing, the deal passes to the left at the start of each new hand and each player needs to place a chip on each of the nine spaces on the board.

End of Game

When the players are ready to end the game, they must decide on how to get rid of the leftover chips on the spaces on the board. An option may be to cut the deck and the high man will take all the chips or deal each player five cards and the best poker hand wins all the chips on the board.

Download the Rummoli Rules

There are quite a few rules in Rummoli. That is why we have compiled all these Rummoli Rules into a PDF for easy access to the information whenever you need it.  Click here to download.

The Rummoli board game remains a classic among poker Type board games. Families for decades have found this card game perfect for the nights spent gathered around the tabletop in the game parlor. The Rummoli board game is sure to keep your mind occupied for hours. Plan your strategy for a great party and include the Rummoli board game board around the table. Play this crowd pleaser deluxe rummoli game. and the excitement of a board game, never goes old.

Rummoli is a fun, exciting, and entertaining game for the whole family! Order your Rummoli board today!