500 Rum
What Is 500 Rum?
500 Rum is a popular rummy variant with one important twist: you score points for every card you successfully meld onto the table, not just for going out. This changes the strategy completely — you want to meld as many high-value cards as possible during the game, not just race to empty your hand. The player with the highest total score when someone reaches 500 wins.
What You Need
- One standard deck of 52 playing cards (use two decks for five or more players)
- Two to eight players
- Paper and pen for scoring
Card Values
- Ace: 15 points when used in a high sequence (Q-K-A) or alone; 1 point when used low (A-2-3)
- Face cards (King, Queen, Jack): 10 points each
- Number cards 2 through 10: face value
Understanding Melds
A meld is a valid group of cards you lay face-up on the table to score points. There are two types:
- Set: Three or four cards of the same rank, any suits. Example: three Jacks.
- Run: Three or more consecutive cards all of the same suit. Example: 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 8♥.
Setting Up the Game
- Shuffle all cards.
- Deal cards face-down: 13 cards each for two players; 7 cards each for three or four players; 6 cards each for five or more.
- Place remaining cards face-down as the stock pile.
- Flip the top card face-up to start the discard pile. Spread it so all cards remain visible as the game progresses — in 500 Rum, the entire discard history stays visible.
How to Play — Step by Step
- Draw: Take one card from the stock pile, OR take any card from the discard pile. Here is the key rule about taking from the discard pile: you may take ANY card in the pile — not just the top card. However, if you take a card from the middle of the pile, you must also take every card above it, and you must immediately meld the specific card you chose.
- Meld: You may lay down any valid melds face-up on the table. Each card melded scores its point value for you immediately.
- Lay off: You may add cards from your hand onto any meld already on the table — yours or any other player’s. Each card you lay off also scores its point value.
- Discard: Play one card face-up onto the discard pile to end your turn.
Going Out
When a player plays their last card — either by melding, laying off, or discarding — the round ends. The player who goes out scores zero penalty for that round.
Scoring
When someone goes out, every player adds up the point values of cards they successfully melded during the round. Then they subtract the point values of cards still in their hand. Your net score for the round is added to your running total. A player can have a negative round score if they have many unmelded cards.
Winning
When any player’s cumulative score reaches 500 or more, the game ends. The player with the highest total score wins — not necessarily the player who just went out.
Tips for New Players
- Meld early and often — you score for every card on the table, so don’t hold back waiting for a perfect hand.
- Taking deep cards from the discard pile can be very rewarding if you get a high-value card you need, but you must take everything above it — sometimes that’s a lot of extra cards.
- High-value cards like Aces and face cards score the most when melded but cost the most if they’re stuck in your hand when someone goes out.