Rummy is one of the best mind games devised by ancient Indians and has been a part of the Indian gaming culture for many centuries now. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the game as it is with many games that are developed through the collective consciousness of a community that gets them to gain a form that is truly representative of the culture, intellect, and psyche of a population demography.
Indians have been recognized the world over for their mental acumen, especially algorithmic, logical, and memory capabilities. The analytical thinking skills which are deployed in the game of rummy are parallel to no other.
Card games have this unique characteristic, unlike most games where there is an element of probability involved. Some call it the element of chance, but just as there is an element of chance in almost everything in this world, so also the game of rummy is characterized by this element. The probability criteria in this game come into play at various levels: 1) at the level of the cards which have been dealt to the self 2) the probability of estimating the cards which have been dealt to the opponent players on table 3) the cards which will be available for play in the open deck 4) the cards which will be discarded by the opponent players.
The data available to estimate these probabilities is essentially the card pick and discard pattern of the opponent players. They can give a fairly good idea of the sets and sequences that they are working with. Once you have an estimate of the sets and sequences that the opponents are sitting on, you can also subsequently calculate the probability of a card is available in the deck for pick up at your end in order to make your rummy game.
In the offline version of the game, the skills are required much higher than in the online version. The requirement of a player to memorize all the cards being picked up and discarded by the opponent players is completely dependent on the memory acumen of the players in the offline world. In the Internet online version of this game, some of this data is available on the rummy game table in various tabs around the game table. Such as information about discards. This information is clearly available in the side panel on the game table for each opponent player. Information about all the card transactions that have happened in the market is also available on the game table.
However, it is important for the player to keep these data points actively in their mind as and when they happen in order to keep refining their probability calculations at every stage of card transactions in the game. With each transaction that happens, the probability chart keeps getting more and more accurate, and for longer games, sometimes it is possible to analyze with a creeping degree of accuracy, who holds which cards, and who is going to discard which card and the game then shifts purely on the basis of the realization of that probability. For smarter, players can also tilt the game, by changing the game itself, by changing the card they are waiting on, by breaking a set and moving on a different set instead. This strategic move can leave the players in a dilemma because it can take some time for the opponent players to analyze and establish that a player has changed the strategy mid-way.
All of this, of course, is assuming, that every opponent on the table is putting all their logical, analytical, probabilistic, and memory skills to use.
Some players do not care about the opponent’s gameplay, and simply choose to focus on their own cards and probabilities. That is their own personal game style and has been known to provide a decent degree of success too at the games.
The catch here, however, is to keep practicing. The more your practice, and analyze every hand, whether you win or you lose, the better you get at the game. Are there any huge uncalculated risks that you took? Did you calculate the probabilities correctly? Did you optimize your grouping for maximum chances of success? Did you pick the right cards? Did you discard the right cards? Did you wait too long? Should you have dropped the game instead of entering the game? Should you have entered the game instead of dropping? These are all questions that should be intuitively revisited with each hand, in order for you to get better at your game.
The skill of rummy, therefore, is to get better at more probability games, especially probability card games. Once you get introduced to the game, you will enjoy the process of applying your thinking skills and logical skills, and analytical acumen into play, and love this dance between your mental ability and the element of probability that this beautiful game of rummy is interspersed with.
The element of cash card games in rummy is to add an element of risk associated with the game so that you are forced to apply your mental abilities more and exercise them further, instead of taking the game as purely a game of chance without regard to the outcome of the game.
Please note that this article is written by our writers at Silkrummy.com. We strongly believe in responsible gaming and encourage our players to play cash rummy games at stakes within their comfort zones only.
