Official Condensed Rules for Shanghai Rummy as per ISRA

OFFICIAL

SHANGHAI RUMMY 

CONDENSED RULES 

Per the International Shanghai Rummy Association

Complete Rules, Strategy and Glossary of Terms can be Found in the Official Shanghai Rummy Box Set available through SVR Games Starting February, 2026.

PLAYING THE GAME

The game is played with the Shanghai Rummy card set available through SVR Games or three decks of standard playing cards - including the jokers. 

DETERMINING SEATING AND FIRST DEAL.

To start the game the cards are shuffled (usually by two persons splitting the stack) and the entire stack is placed back on the table. Then each person cuts the card stack revealing a card. Seating and dealing order are determined by the cards drawn. Highest to lowest with Jokers being the highest followed by A’s moving all the way down to 2s. 

THE CUT

Once everyone is seated, the person to the dealer’s right has the opportunity to get the cut. After cards are re-shuffled that person to the dealer’s right tries to cut the cards to the EXACT number of cards needed to deal 11 to each player PLUS one for the flip card that starts the play. The cards are then delt and if the exact number of cards in the cut given to the dealer equal the 11 cards per player plus the flip card, then that person got “the cut” and all other persons get a 50-point penalty against them on the score pad The cut takes place every round.  The deal and cut are then passed onto a new person every round moving clockwise from the previous person who cut the cards.

THE GAME BEGINS

The player to the dealers’ left starts play. They have the choice to either take the exposed flip card or draw the face down card on the top of the stack. 

The goal of the game is to collect SETS and RUNS. 

A SET is a group of THREE or more cards of the same value in any suit.

A RUN is a group of FOUR or more cards in running order – and all cards must be of the same suit.

For a player to go down you must collect a certain number of Sets and Runs depending on which round you are playing as follows: 

ROUND ONE: Two Sets – or – SET SET

ROUND TWO: One Set and one Run – or – SET RUN

ROUND THREE: Two Runs – or – RUN RUN

ROUND FOUR: Three Sets – or -  SET SET SET

ROUND FIVE: Two Sets & One Run: SET SET RUN

ROUND SIX: One Set & Two Runs: SET RUN RUN

ROUND SEVEN: Three Runs: RUN RUN RUN 

JOKERS AND ACES

Aces can be high or low and used next to the two or the king. But you cannot wrap around the ace – it must be either high or low and ends the run. 

Jokers are wild and can be played as any card to complete a set or a run. 

GETTING ON THE BED

Persons take turns in order and once a person has compiled the required Sets or Runs in their hand - depending on the round – they can put their cards down on the table face up showing their prospective Runs and/or Sets. This is called going down – Or “Getting on the bed”.  This does not end the game. Play continues and other persons usually also go down prior to the end of the round.  You can only play the specific number of sets and runs in that round. You cannot play any additional sets or runs but, can play off both your and the other player sets and or runs on the table.

As play continues, any person that is on the bed can get rid of their other cards when it is their turn by playing on any run or set that has been played. To discard onto the table a person must have a “Player” – a card that matches a set or plays at the front or back end of a run. Persons who are not down can not play cards onto other players’ cards. 

The hand ends when a person goes all the way out of cards. This does NOT mean the person discards their last card into the discard pile. A person must go all the way out by playing all of their cards onto the table. So remember – to go all the way out you must have ALL PLAYERS in your hand. If you have a non-player in your hand you can not go all the way out.

SCORING

The goal of Shanghai Rummy is to get the lowest score after the 7 rounds. The person who goes out each round scores a 0 for that round and gets a star on the score pad. All other persons count the cards remaining in their hands and add up the points as follows:

JOKERS 50 Points

Aces 20 Points

Face Cards 10 Points

Number Cards 5 Points

BUYING CARDS

During each round all participants have the option to buy the face up flip card or discard showing. If a person wants that card, they must say “I’ll Buy”  If they have priority to buy the card, they can then take it but must draw TWO ADDITIONAL PENALTY CARDS from the face down stack.  The player whose turn it is has first dibs on the discard for free. If they don’t want it, then another player can BUY the card.  If more than one person wants to buy a particular card – priority is determined by rotating clockwise from the player whose turn it is. But remember the person whose turn it is has the first priority and gets the card for free if they want it. 

All persons are limited to TWO BUYS PER ROUND.  

MORE JOKER RULES

1)  Jokers can be used in runs– but not next to each other. So a run  can not be 3, Joker, Joker 6 of spades. There must be a regular card between each joker in a run. 

2) For a set, Jokers can be used anywhere.  

3)  And here is where you must start really thinking – sorry. Once you are on the table, a joker on the table can be replaced by a card in your hand that is exactly what the Joker represents on the table. This only applies to runs. So during your play if you are down and then after you start your play,  you can substitute a card in your hand for a joker in a played run. For example, if you have the 8 of diamonds in your hand and you see a joker on the table being used as the 8 of diamonds in a run, you can play your 8 of diamonds and then slip the joker out – BUT LEAVE IT ON THE TABLE -  Then you can use it anywhere on the table you like but it must be used this play before you discard or go out. 

4)  And just to reiterate – once on the table, you CAN NOT switch out JOKERS in a set – only in a run.

5)  Three jokers can be used to form a set – but this rarely happens. 

THE SLAM 

This is when a person completes the set or run requirement of the round and all of the cards in their hand are players – AND no other person is down yet. If they then pick up a final player in their draw they can then SLAM their cards down on the table and the round is instantly over and all other players will have a ton of points against them. 

Complete Rules, Strategies and Glossary of Terms can be found in the booklet available in the Official Shanghai Rummy Box set coming soon  through SVR Games.  A must and highly recommended for anybody who loves card games and specifically Shanghai Rummy.

You can also check out the following two websites:

Play Shanghai Rummy

www.playshanghairummy.com

and

International Shanghai Rummy Association

www.shanghairummyassociation.com