13-card rummy, two jokers
13-card rummy is the standard Indian table. Two printed jokers are added to a 52-card deck, pure sequence is required for declaration, impure sequence is allowed, sets sit alongside the sequences. The chapter below reads the format end to end. from the joker rule to the show protocol.
The deck and the deal
One standard 52-card deck plus two printed jokers. Two to six players. Thirteen cards each, face down. The undealt cards form the closed stock; the top card of the closed stock is turned face-up to start the open pile. The player to the dealer's left picks first.
Pure sequence and impure sequence
A pure sequence is a run of three or more consecutive cards of the same suit with no joker. An impure sequence is the same run with a printed joker substituting for one card. A declaration must contain at least one pure sequence. The joker rule is the most-failed beginner protocol. read the chapter on declaration errors.
Sets alongside sequences
A set is three or four cards of the same rank but different suits, with at most one printed joker substituted for a missing suit. Sets can sit alongside sequences in the same hand; they cannot substitute for a sequence. The hand must read in order: pure sequence, impure sequence, set, leftovers.
The joker as a substitute
A printed joker is a wild card for one round only. it takes the value of whatever card it replaces in an impure sequence or set. A joker that is unused at declaration time carries zero value. Read the strategy chapter on joker valuation to walk the substitute math.
The 2026 declaration rule
The Indian Rummy Federation published a clarified declaration rule in 2026. The notice points at which card must be face-up at the moment of declaration, and which formats it changes. The chapter on rulebook revisions reads the change line by line. Verify the rule on the federation's notice before sitting at any 13-card table.
Pick one format tonight, then read the chapter that breaks it.
The same eight chapters that built this handbook also explain why a particular round went wrong. Open the app, play a single round of this format, then come back to whichever chapter matches the moment that surprised you.