Rummy 500

Play Rummy 500 online free — the classic two-player rummy to 500 points

Rummy 500 (also called 500 Rum or Pinochle Rummy) is the rummy where the melds go face up on the table as you make them and the discard pile is spread out so you can take from anywhere in it. Each player gets 13 cards; on your turn you draw from the stock or take a card from the discard pile together with every card above it, meld sets of three or four of a rank and runs of three or more in one suit, lay cards off on any meld on the table — yours or the computer's — and discard one card. The catch is the rule that makes the game: the card you dig for must be melded at once. Play Rummy 500 online free on CardCouch, in your browser, against the computer, with no download and no account.

Scoring is what sets Rummy 500 apart from Gin Rummy. Every card you meld or lay off counts for you — Aces 15 (or 1 when used low in a run), court cards 10, number cards face value — and every card still in your hand when the hand ends counts against you, so a hand can score below zero. A hand ends when a player goes out or the stock runs dry, and the game ends after the hand in which someone reaches 500. The computer opponent plays three levels, from a loose Easy that melds only when it must to a Hard that remembers what you have taken from the pile and refuses to feed it.

On CardCouch

• Standard two-player Rummy 500 rules: 13 cards each, a spread discard pile you can take from at any depth (the deepest card must be melded that turn), lay-offs on either player's melds scoring for whoever lays them, Ace high or low in runs, going out with or without a final discard, and the stock-out rule.
• Scoring done for you: melded cards count for you, cards left in hand count against you, negative hands included, with a hand-by-hand score sheet and a hand-end panel that shows what each side melded and held.
• Three difficulty levels: Easy melds only when it must and discards at random, Medium melds everything it can and digs into the pile when the take is worth it, Hard also remembers the ranks and suits you have picked up, keeps its near-melds while the stock is deep and races to go out when your hand is short.
• A phone-first table with big tap targets, a hand that sorts by suit or rank and wraps into rows as it grows, hover and focus previews of exactly which pile cards a take would give you, keyboard play, and screen-reader announcements of every draw, meld and discard.

Frequently asked questions

Can you take from the middle of the discard pile in Rummy 500?

Yes — that is the defining rule of Rummy 500. The discard pile is kept spread out, and you may take any card in it, but you must also take every card lying above it, and the card you reached for must be melded immediately, either in a new meld or laid off on a meld already on the table. On CardCouch only the pile cards you can legally take light up, and the cards a take would give you are highlighted as you hover.

Is Rummy 500 the same as Gin Rummy?

No. In Gin Rummy you keep your melds hidden until you knock, draw only the top discard, and score the difference in deadwood. In Rummy 500 melds go on the table as you make them, you can lay off on your opponent's melds, you can take from anywhere in the discard pile, and both players score every hand — the value of what they melded minus what they were caught holding — until someone reaches 500.

How many cards are dealt in Rummy 500?

Thirteen each in the two-player game played on CardCouch. With three or more players the standard deal is seven cards each. One card is turned face up to start the discard pile and the rest form the stock.

What are the card values in Rummy 500?

Aces count 15, Kings, Queens and Jacks 10, and number cards their face value. An Ace used at the low end of a run (Ace-2-3) counts only 1. Melded cards count for you; cards left in your hand at the end of a hand count against you at the same values, so an Ace caught in hand costs 15.

What happens when the stock runs out in Rummy 500?

The next player may still take from the discard pile if they can meld the card they take; if they cannot, or choose not to, the hand ends and is scored as it stands. There is no reshuffle of the discards in the rules used here.

New to the game? Read the how-to-play guide or sharpen up with the strategy guide.