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500 Rum may be played by anywhere from 2 to 8 people, but it is best played with 3 to 5 players.
500 Rum is played using a standard 52-card pack. When playing with more than 4 players, a double pack should be substituted.
An ace counts as 15 points, except in the sequence 3, 2, A, when it counts as 1. Face cards count as 10 points each. Other cards count their pip value.
The players draw for deal, low dealing first. Ace is the lowest card in the draw. The dealer shuffles, and the player to the right cuts. The dealer completes the cut and deals seven cards to each player. The player to the left of the dealer becomes the dealer in the next game.
The object of the game is to score points by laying down and laying off cards as in regular rummy, in matched sets of three or four, and in sequences of four or more cards of the same suit. Aces are high or low; they may be played before the king or after the two card.
The undealt portion of the cards, placed face down, forms the stock; the top card is turned face up and is placed beside the stock as the upcard to start the discard pile. The discard pile should be slightly spread, so that players can readily see all the cards in it. Each player in turn, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer, may draw either the top card of the stock or any card from the discard pile. There are two conditions when drawing a card from the discard pile: 1) the player must take all the cards on top of the selected card and 2) the card so drawn must immediately be used, either by laying it down in a set or by laying it off on a set already on the table. The remaining cards taken with the discard may be melded in the same turn or simply added to the player's hand. If you draw only one card from the discard pile, you do not have to use it immediately.
Each player in turn, after drawing but before discarding, may lay down any matched set or may lay off any card that matches a set already on the table. Cards that are laid off are kept on the table in front of the player. The player ends his turn by discarding a single card from his hand.
Sequences may not "go round the corner"; thus, A, K, Q or A, 2, 3 may be melded, but not K, A, 2.
When any player discards the last card in his hand, the play immediately ends. Each player's score is then figured as follows: The player is credited with the point value of all cards that he has showing on the table. From this figure is subtracted the point value of all cards remaining in his hand. The difference is added or subtracted from his score, as the case may be.
Example: If the cards he has shown total 87 points, and the cards left in his hand total 90 points, 3 points are subtracted from his previous net score.
The first player whose score reaches +500 wins the game. If two or more players reach 500 on the same hand, the one with the highest score is the winner.
When a player lays off a card, he keeps it on the table in front of him for convenience in scoring later, but must state to what showing combination it is being added. Thus, if J♦ 10♦ 9♦ are on the table, along with the set Q♠ Q♥ Q♣, a player putting down the Q♦ must state to which set it belongs: if the player makes the queen part of the diamond sequence, any player may later add K♦ to that sequence.
This game is the same as 500 Rum, with the following exceptions.
An ace counts as 25 points in any situation. Face cards and the ten card are worth 10 points. All other cards are worth 5 points.
This game is the same as 500 Rum, with the following exceptions.
Four players are organized into two teams of two players each, with partners facing each other across the table. The rules are exactly as in 500 Rum, except the partners may play off on each other's matched sets and sequences in an effort to go out as quickly as possible. When any player goes out, the play ends and the score of each partnership is figured as a unit. The game is over when either side reaches +500.