Basic Rummy Terminologies - Glossary

To best learn the rules on how to play and excel in Rummy, your first course of action should be to learn the basic terminologies used in the game. The following are the terms and expressions that you will encounter in your quest to improve your Rummy skills.

Angling is the strategy where you discard a card that will provoke your opponent to throw a card one rank away from the one you threw. This can also be called “side baiting” or “sideways fishing.”

Baiting is also called “advertising” or “fishing.” This is a popular strategy widely used by more experienced players and should also be the first strategy that beginners should master. It is done by discarding a card of the same rank or suit as the card that you are looking for. This will then provoke your opponent to throw a card of that rank or suit.

Base is the term used in the Rummy variant, Canasta, to refer to four natural cards that have the same rank. Base is important in making a Canasta.

The basic count refers to the total of the bonus scores of a player. This is different from the point value of melded cards. This is also used in the game of Canasta.

A blind discard is the move where you throw a card without any idea of whether your opponent can use it or not. The first discard in a deal is usually a blind discard.

A block is when you intentionally withhold a card to keep your opponent from extending his meld.

Borrowing means taking a card from a previous meld so you can form a brand new meld. This term is usually used in the game Panguingue.

A box refers to every entry on the score sheet in a game of Gin Rummy. Every score given to a player who wins a deal is called a box score.

Calling or calling a card is when you need a particular card to complete a combination that you are working on.

Canasta is the name of a variant of Rummy. In the game, it is used to refer to a meld that consists of seven cards, all of the same rank. You can also form a “mixed canasta,” which is a canasta that contains one, two, or three wild cards. If the canasta does not have wild cards, it is called natural canasta or pure canasta.

A combination refers to two cards that are already matched and just requires another card to make it a complete set.

A concealed hand is a hand that goes out in a single turn without making any melds beforehand. This is often used in Oklahoma Gin and in Canasta.

A condition refers to a certain meld for which a player can immediately collect payment. This is a term used in Panguingue.

A contract is used in Contract Rummy. It refers to a predetermined combination of melds that players must form at the start of a deal.

A crack is when you discard a card that your opponent needs or when you meld because keeping the card is potentially advantageous.

Dead cards are cards that are no longer available or usable in the game because they have either been melded or discarded and left in the discard pile.

Deadwood refers to the unmatched cards that remain in your hand.

To discard a card is to take one card from your hand and place it on the discard pile. Discarding is the last move a player has to make in his turn.

The discard pile is the pile of cards that have been discarded during the game. This is called the pack in some games.

To draw is to take a card from the stock pile or the discard pile and to add that card to your hand. This term can also be used to refer to the card that was taken from the piles.

An exposed card is any card that is dropped or held in a way that makes it possible for the partner to see it illegally. This is used in partnership games.

To fill is to draw a card that completes a meld.

Forcing means discarding a card that the player next to you must take as dictated by the rules.

A gin hand is a hand with all the cards matched. This is used in Gin Rummy. To go gin means laying down that hand. In Rummy, this can be called go rummy.

Going out means eliminating the last card in your hand.

The initial meld is the first meld that a player makes in a deal. The value or format of the initial meld is predetermined.

To knock is to end one play in a game of Rummy by placing your unmatched cards face up on the table.

To lay off cards is to add cards to sets that have already been melded.

To meld is to place all the matched sets in your hand on the table.

Non-comoquers refer to aces and kings that can be part of groups regardless of what suit they are of. This is used in Panguingue.

The off card is a card that is not matched or not a part of any combination.

A safe discard is a discarded card that you are sure will not be taken up.

A shutout means winning the game where your opponent was not able to score even a single point.

The stock is the remainder of the deck after the player cards are dealt. This is placed face down on the table to form the stock pile.

The stop card is any wild card or any black three card that has been discarded.

To trade the Joker means taking the Joker from a particular group or set and putting it in your hand, and replacing it in the meld with the card it originally substituted for.

An undercut is a move where you reduce your deadwood count to the same value or lower than that of the knocker’s. This is commonly used in Gin Rummy.

To unload is to discard the high cards or to meld them so you can reduce your deadwood count and the penalty you will get in case a player wins the game.

The valle cards are the threes, fives, and the sevens in a game of Panguingue. They are called such because these cards are equivalent to special bonuses in the game.

A wild card is usually a Joker or in some games, the two or three cards, that can be used to substitute for cards that are still missing in any group or set.

A wild discard is one that the discarder knows can be taken up.