To play or not to play

In a game of rummy, once the cards are dealt, the player is often posed with an interesting predicament. As Shakespeare’s Hamlet asks his sword, the player asks his cards, “To play or not to play? That is the question!”In the game of rummy, as in poker, the player has the option to stay out of the game from the beginning. In Indian rummy, the player can *drop* his cards, which means he will not participate in the game from the start. This is called an initial drop and typically attracts 20 points in score or count. A game is dropped only if you do not foresee the chances of completing the game or even reducing your count to less than 20.

It makes sense to do an initial drop if:

1. You do not have a life or pure sequence in your cards
2. You do not have any jokers

Here are some more tips to help you decide when to drop the game.

• If you have three or more sets of double cards i.e same suite, same number (C10, C10) and they add up to more than 40 points, you might want to drop the game
• If you have more than 5 cards which are completely unrelated and they add up to more than 40 points) If you do not have a second life and see no chance of getting it – this happens if the card you wanted has been discarded by someone in the game and you can’t pick it up.

Some players who play professionally tend to guess when someone might have a winning hand. In such situations, if they are carrying cards with a high count, they tend to drop the game to be safe rather than sorry. When playing for points, it is always crucial to minimize your count. If you feel you can win or can reduce your count to less than 20, it is typically better to play than sit on the sidelines.

Most bravehearts tend to play even if the hand shows the slightest signs of promise! Happy rummying!