Number of Players	Number of Cards	Game Play	Skill Level
3-5 (2, 6-8)	52 (104)	Easy - Complex	Luck - Skill

The game of Canasta and several other games developed from this popular form of Rummy. The distinctive feature of 500 Rum is that each player scores the value of the sets he melds, in addition to the usual points for going out and for cards caught in other players' hands. 500 Rum is one of the finest games in the Rummy family, and it deserves to have an even bigger following than it does.

Number of Players. Two to eight persons may play, but the game is best played with three, four, or five people. Four may play as partners (see Persian Rummy, p. 142).

The Pack. A standard 52-card pack is used. Five or more players should use a double pack.

Rank of Cards. Ace (high or low), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A.

Card Values. 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 Shuffle and Cut. 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 Deal. The dealer completes the cut and deals seven cards to each player (except in the two-hand game, in which each player receives 13 cards).

Object of the Game. 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 three or more cards of the same suit.

The Play. 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 above 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.

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.

Sequences may not "go round the corner"; thus, A, K, Q or A, 2, 3 may be melded, but not K, A, 2.

Scoring. When any player gets rid of all his cards, 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. For 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 and collects from each opponent the difference between their final scores. 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.

Partnership 500 Rum

Four play, two against two as partners, 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.

Persian Rummy

The game is the same as Partnership 500 Rum with the following exceptions.

The pack is 56 cards: the standard 52 cards plus four jokers.

Each joker counts as 20 points, and jokers may not be used in sequences or as wild cards, but only in groups of three or four jokers. Any meld of four, laid down all at once, counts double its face value. Thus, four jokers laid down together count 160; three jokers laid down count 60, and the fourth joker when added counts only 20 more. Four 6s put down together count 48, but three 6s count only 18, and the fourth 6 adds only 6 points. If a player gets rid of all his cards, his side scores a bonus of 25.

A game ends after two deals. The side with the best score receives a bonus of 50 points and wins the difference between its final score and the opponents' score.

Michigan Rum

This game is played the same as 500 Rum, except for the following:

Melds are scored as they are put on the table. The player who goes out first is the winner. The cards left in the hands of the other players are not subtracted from their scores. Rather, the winner is credited with the total of all the points remaining in the opponents' hands