What Is Kaluki?
Kaluki — also spelled Kalooki or Kaloochi — is a popular rummy variant played in the UK, South Africa, and Jewish communities worldwide. It uses two decks plus Jokers. The defining features are the opening meld requirement — your first meld must total at least 51 points — and the Joker-stealing rule, which lets you take a wild card from an existing meld on the table by replacing it with the natural card it represents. Jokers held in hand when someone goes out are extremely costly penalty points.
What You Need
- Two standard 52-card decks plus four Jokers shuffled together — 108 cards total
- Two to four players
- Score pad
Card Values
- Aces: 11 points
- Face cards (King, Queen, Jack): 10 points each
- Number cards 2 through 10: face value
- Jokers: wild — worth 25 penalty points if in hand when someone goes out
Setting Up the Game
- Shuffle all 108 cards.
- Deal 13 cards to each player face-down.
- Place remaining cards face-down as the Stock pile.
- Flip one card face-up to start the Discard pile.
How to Play — Step by Step
The player to the left of the dealer goes first. Play moves clockwise.
- Draw one card from the Stock or take the top Discard card.
- If you have enough cards for your opening meld: your FIRST meld of the game must total at least 51 points in card values. Count the face values of all cards in your proposed melds — they must add up to 51 or more. Until you have made your opening meld, you cannot lay off cards onto other players’ melds.
- After making your opening meld, you may freely meld more sets and runs from your hand, and lay off cards onto any existing melds on the table.
- Discard one card face-up to end your turn.
Melds — Sets and Runs
A set is three or more cards of the same rank, any suits. A run is four or more consecutive cards of the same suit. Ace can be high (Q-K-A) or low (A-2-3) but not both. Jokers can substitute for any card in any meld.
Stealing Jokers From the Table
If a Joker is sitting in a meld on the table, you can steal it on your turn. Replace the Joker with the natural card it represents — which you must hold in your hand — and take the Joker to use immediately in a new meld. You cannot take a Joker from the table and hold it in your hand without immediately using it.
Scoring
When a player goes out by playing their last card, every other player counts the penalty points of cards still in their hand: face value for number cards, 10 for face cards, 11 for Aces, and 25 for each Joker. Add to running totals.
Winning
Lowest cumulative score after an agreed number of rounds wins.
Tips for New Players
- Plan your opening meld from the moment cards are dealt — look for high-value combinations like three Aces (33 points) or a mix of face cards that clears 51 quickly.
- Jokers are powerful but dangerous to hold — use them as soon as you can rather than saving them until someone else goes out.
- Steal Jokers from the table aggressively when you have the natural card — it gives you a free Joker and denies it to opponents.