Hand is a Rummy type game which has similarities to Indian Rummy and other
exciting Rummy type games. It is very popular in may areas of the Middle East and due to the diversity of different countries the game is played in, there are somewhat different
rule sets, dependent on where the game is most commonly played. The game first described will be that as played in and around the countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. See the variants section below for modifications to the rules for Hand as played in other locations.
Hand is designed for play by 2, 3 or, 4 players, each playing independently, although a partnership version is sometimes played, which is described in the Variations section below. Distribution of cards, direction of play and passing of the deal all rotate in a counterclockwise direction during the game. Hand is usually played using two standard 52 card decks, along with two Jokers total. The ranking of the cards in this game is (from highest to lowest); Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. As will be noticed, an Ace can be either the lowest card in a sequential meld which also contains the two and three of the same suit, or, it can be the highest card in a sequential mode which also contains the Queen and King of the same suit. An Ace can never be a middle card in a sequence meld.
Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed using a variety of methods. One such common method is to have each player draw a card from the deck which has been spread face-down on the table. Any players drawing cards of equal rank should discard those cards and draw new cards. The players then take seats at the table in order of cards drawn, from lowest to highest. The player drawing the lowest card of all is set as the first dealer.
After the initial deal in the game, the player with the highest score
(penalty points) from the previous deal is set as the dealer for the
next deal. If two or more players are tied for that highest score
(or the deal ends with all players earning a score of zero on the deal),
and one of those tying players is the previous dealer, the same dealer
will deal again. If not, the player, amongst those who had a tied
score on that last deal, who is closest, in a counter-clockwise
direction, from the previous dealer is set as the next dealer.
Once the players are seated and the first dealer has been determined, the dealer then distributes 14 face-down cards
(usually dealt in small packets of two cards) to each player. However, the player to his immediate right, who will also have the first turn, is dealt one extra card, for a total of 15.
After each player has the requisite number of cards, the dealer places
the remainder of the deck to one side of the table as the stock pile.
Lastly, to complete the dealing procedure, the dealer draws the next,
top card from the stock and places it face-up next to the stock pile.
The card so drawn (wild-card indicator) will be used to determine the specific wild cards to be used during this deal. If this wild-card indicator
is a Joker, he must add the Joker back into the middle of the deck and
draw the next top card from the stock. If he draws another Joker he
performs the same procedure
again, drawing yet another card. If the drawn card is any Ace, the
hand is played with the two Jokers set as wild-cards during this deal.
If the card drawn is any other card save a Joker or Ace, the two Aces of
the same suit as the card drawn are set as the wild cards for this hand.
In that case, the two actual printed Jokers take the place of the two
Aces, and are thus considered as those Aces for the remainder of this
deal. This wild-card indicator is left in place for the remainder
of the deal but takes no further part in play.
After the completion of the deal the players then pick up the hand for examination. There are several special circumstances in which a player may, (but is not required to) demand a redeal on the current deal. The following are the specific holdings in which a player can so demand such a redeal:
- A player having four (or more) pairs of exactly identical cards (i.e. a player having, amongst the cards in his hand; 9 of spades, 9 of spades, Jack of diamonds, Jack of diamonds, 4 of clubs, 4 of clubs, 8 of clubs, 8 of clubs).
- A player having three pairs of identical cards and one Joker (i.e. a player having, amongst the cards in the hand, 10 of clubs, 10 of clubs, 3 of diamonds, 3 of diamonds, King of hearts, King of hearts, Joker).
- A player having two pairs of identical cards and two Jokers (i.e. a
player having in hand, along with his other cards; Queen of spades, Queen of Spades, 9 of clubs, 9 of clubs, Joker, Joker.
The player demanding the redeal must then show the cards after which all the cards are gathered, shuffled and redealt by the same dealer.
The player to the immediate right of the dealer then makes the first play. Each players turn normally consists of drawing the top card from the face down stock pile,
making any available melds to the table, and then completing his turn by discarding
one card from his hand to a discard pile (called the field) at the center of the table.
Note however, that the first player on his first turn (who originally received 15
total cards) does not draw a card since he initially received one extra
card to form his hand. This player simply completes his turn by discarding one of his fifteen cards to the field.
A player may only draw the top card of the discard pile (field) if he is
able to combine it with two or more cards from his hand, creating a new
meld on the table in the play area directly in front of himself.
He may never take this card and add it directly into his hand or add
that card to an existing meld already on the table.
|
| An example of an initial meld, this one totaling 55 points. |
Normally, a player, on his turn may create new legal melds or add one or
more cards to existing melds already played on the table. However, before a
player may make any of these meld plays to the table, he must first make his
initial meld. This initial meld may consist of one
or more legal new melds and must, all combined, have a total point value
(as per the chart shown further below) of 51 or more points. Once
a player, on one of his turns, makes this initial meld, he may then make any
additional new melds (regardless of the combined point value), add to
existing melds already on the table, and exchange a card for a wild card
found in another existing meld on the table on that turn or any of his
other turns during this deal. The legal meld types permissible in the game
Hand are as follows:
- Sequential Meld:
A sequential meld (also called a Run) is three or more cards in direct
consecutive sequence, all of the same suit. A sequence may contain a maximum of 13 total cards.
- Group Meld:
Three or four cards all of the exact same denomination but each a different suit. This meld type is sometimes also called a Set.
Each card in the deck has a specific point value which is used to
determine if a specific meld fulfills the first meld requirement for each
individual player (51 points) and also for determining the potential penalty points awarded to
each player based on the cards remaining in his hand at the conclusion of
the deal. The following chart shows the point value for each card from the deck
and it's corresponding point value:
| Card | Scoring Value |
|---|
| Ace | 11 (Note: this value applies even if the Ace is used
in a low sequence consisting of the Ace, 2 and, 3). |
| King, Queen, Jack | 10 |
| 2 to 10 | Numerical value marked on card. |
| Joker/Wild Card | Value of card the Joker or Wild Card is substituted for. When found unmatched in a players hand, it's value is 15. |
Each player must end his turn with a discard to the field (discard pile)
in the center of the table. This discard is mandatory, and thus a
player must always leave at least one card after melding during his turn
in order to have a card to discard to complete his turn. If a
player, discards a wild card which is an Ace, that card may only be
drawn by the next player if used to represent the actual suited Ace
marked on the card. If a Joker is discarded (in any deal in which the Jokers are actually being used as a wild card), that card
may only be drawn by the next player if used to represent any Ace (of
any suit).
Wild Cards: Any legal meld may contain, at a maximum, one wild card. If a player, during the melding phase of his turn, has the natural card for which a melded wild card represents, he may, during his turn (providing that player has already made his initial, required meld), exchange the card from his hand with the wild card. The exchanged wild card is then added to the player's hand and can then be used by the player to form new melds or add to existing melds on this turn or another turn. Normally it is obvious what the wild card represents based on it's position within the meld it is found in. However, with group melds
consisting of two natural cards and a wild card, this is not so obvious. For example, if there is a meld consisting of two fives on the table (five of clubs, five of hearts, wild Joker). In that case, the player may only replace the wild card by replacing it with both of the cards it could represent (in this example, in order for the player to take wild card, he would need to play to the meld both a five of diamonds and a five of spades). However, there are two rare exceptions to this requirement regarding replacing the wild card with the two possible replacement cards; If a player is able to make a meld of one of the two necessary cards to replace the wild card and discard his last card to end the hand, this is considered a legal play. Alternatively, if at the end of this player's turn, there are one or more players with only one card remaining in hand, this player may elect to exchange the wild card from a group of exactly three cards with just one of the two normally necessary cards.
If, after discarding on his turn, any player finds that he has three or fewer cards remaining in his hand, he must loudly announce this stating exactly how many cards he has in hand (i.e. stating "two cards" if he has two cards remaining in his hand after his discard). A player who fails to do this, may not, on his next turn, end the hand by playing and discarding his last card, he must continue play for at least two more turns
and announce the fact he has fewer than three cards on each turn.
The game continues until a player is able to, on his turn, meld one or more cards and discard his last card, which immediately ends the hand. Alternatively, the game may end if after any player's turn, the number of cards remaining in the stock pile is equal to the number of current participants in the game, the hand also immediately ends. In this alternate scenario, there is no winner of the hand and no scoring occurs.
A player is never allowed to fully deplete his hand on his first turn, but, even if able, must wait until each other player has played at least one turn before doing so. Once a player does manage to meld all his cards, and discard his last, the game
immediately ends with that player declared the winner of that deal. This player then earns a number of negative points and his opponents earn a number of positive points for the hand.
- If the winner of the hand had melded all fourteen cards from his hand on the same turn, and all were new melds (no cards added to any other player's melds), that player earns a score of -60 points (this is called a Hand or Full Hand). Each opponent also earns a score based on the point value of all cards remaining in the hand, which is then multiplied by two. For any player who has not managed to yet make any melds on the current deal, that player scores an automatic 200 points (but no more on that turn). It should also be noted that a player who thus elects to meld his entire hand in one turn in this way is not confined by the usual rule that requires that the first meld total at least 51 total points.
- If the winner of the hand made his melds over the course of multiple turns, this player earns -30 points (this is called a partial hand or dhamoon). Each opponents adds to his current cumulative score a number of points equal to the total value in cards remaining in that player's hand. However, for a player who has not yet melded any cards during the current turn, this player earns a static value of 100 (but no more on that turn).
It should be noted that players can (and often will) have negative scores during the game. The game is played over the course of exactly seven deals, and the player with the lowest accumulated point total is declared the game winner. If there is a tie for lowest score, additional deals must be played until, at the end of any deal, there is one player with a lower score than all his opponents. Deals in which no scoring occurs are not counted in this seven deal total, so, in an actual game of Hand, it is possible more than seven hands will actually be dealt.
Partnership Hand:
Hand can also played in a partnership variation, by four players, formed into two partnerships. The game is played identically to the standard game with the following differences:
- Rather than individual play, as the name of this variant implies, this game consists of two partnerships consisting of two players each. These partnerships, can be determined in a number of ways, such as draw for low cards. Each player should sit directly across the table from his partner.
- One accumulative score is retained for each team. Once one player on one team manages to meld and discard his last card, his team earns the appropriate negative score (either -60 or -30 points as appropriate) and the opposing team earns a total for that hand based on the points remaining in both members of that partnerships hand (including the 100 or 200 points scored for a player who has failed to make a meld on the current deal).
- At the end of seven hands, the partnership with the lower total is declared the winning partnership for that game. If both partnerships have an equal score, additional hands must be played until one partnership has a lower score at
the completion of a deal. Hands in which no scoring occurs are not counted as played hands in calculating this seven game total.
In all other aspects, the partnership version of Hand is played identically to the standard version as described above.
Hand (Kuwait): As mentioned above, the game Hand is also commonly played in many other countries in the Middle East,
sometimes having regional rule variations. Another popular version is that which is often played in Kuwait and Qatar. As in most other versions of Hand, distribution of cards, direction of play and rotation of the deal all advance in a counterclockwise direction. This variant of Hand uses either one or two standard 52 card decks, dependent on the number of participants in the game. For a game consisting of two or three players, one deck is used. For four or five players, however, two standard decks are shuffled together and used. Two total Jokers are then added to the pack, regardless of the number of decks to be used in the game. The ranking of the cards in this game is (from high to low); Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. As will be noticed, an Ace can be either the lowest card in a sequential meld which also contains the two and three of the same suit or it can be the highest card in a sequential mode which also contains the Queen and King of the same suit. An Ace can never be a middle card in a sequence meld.
Any standard method can be used for determining seating positions and first dealer. Once this is determined, the dealer then distributes 14 face-down cards one-by-one to each player. However, the player to his immediate right, who will also have the first turn, is dealt one extra card, for a total of 15.
The player to the immediate right of the dealer then makes the first play. Each players turn normally consists of drawing the top card from the face down stock pile, declaring "Hand" if willing and able,
and lastly completing his turn by discarding to a discard pile (called the field) at the center of the table. A player may only draw the top card of the discard pile (field) on the same turn he will make an announcement or declare he has a "Hand". Or, if that player has already made an announcement during the current round, he may draw the top card from the field providing he uses it immediately to create a new meld or add to one of his own existing melds. For a declaration of "Hand", however, this will end the current round. Note also, that the first player on his first turn (who originally received 15 cards) does not draw a card since he initially received one extra card in his hand. This player simply completes his turn by discarding one of his fifteen cards to the field.
The goal of Hand is to be the first player to make a "Hand" and declare it. There are several different types of Hand, which are described further below. A player having such a "Hand" would thus be able to arrange all his cards into various melds and display them on the table.
The following are the valid individual melds which can be made in the game:
- Sequential Meld:
A sequential meld is three or more cards in sequence of the same suit. It may contain any number of cards (up to 14).
- Value Meld:
Three or four cards all of the exact same denomination but each
card of a different suit.
A Joker is a wild card and may be used to represent any other card in a valid meld. Any specific meld may contain a maximum of one Joker. For purposes of determining the value of cards in melds or for calculating values of unmelded cards left in a player's hand when another player announces "Hand", the cards in the deck have the following value:
| Card | Scoring Value |
|---|
| Ace | Normally 11, but when used in a low sequence meld also containing the 2 and 3, the Ace has a value of 1. |
| King, Queen, Jack | 10 |
| 2 to 10 | Numerical value marked on card. |
| Joker | Value of card the Joker is substituted for. When found unmatched in a player's hand, its value is 20. |
During a players turn, after his draw but before his discard, a player can announce that he has a "Hand". He is thus stating that he can meld the cards in his hand into one of the following "Hands" which normally wins the round and allows the player to subtract a number of points from his current score:
| Hand Name | Description | Hand Winners Score | Announced Scoring Value | Unannounced Scoring Value |
|---|
| Announcement | A player can form valid melds from his hand totaling 51 or more points. Normally, when making an announcement, a player still retains some currently unmeldable cards. A player making this Hand announcement discards one card to the top of the field to end his turn. However, the round does not end in this case until this (or another) player is able to meld all the cards in his hand. A player cannot make an announcement until each player has had at least 8 turns. | -30 | Value of all cards in the players hand, with each Joker counting 20. | 100 |
| Regular Hand | A player's hand consisting of his entire hand of cards (14 cards) which can be formed into valid melds and a last card they will discard to the field which ends the round. | -60 | Doubled sum of all cards in the players Hand | 200 |
| Colored Hand | A Colored Hand is when all 14 cards in a player's hand are meldable and are of the same color. In addition, the 15th card discarded to the table must also be of this same color. To be considered to be of the same color, all the players cards must be of either Clubs and Spades (black cards) or Hearts and Diamonds (red cards). | -120 | Quadruple value of all cards in the players Hand | 400 |
| Suited Hand | A Suited Hand is when all 14 of the player's cards can be legally melded. In addition, these cards must all be of the same suit, as must the card which is discarded to the field to end the players final turn. | -240 | Value of all cards comprising the players hand multiplied by 8 | 800 |
| Joker Hand | A Joker Hand is similar to a Regular Hand. The only difference is that the 15th card played to the field must be a Joker. | -120 | Quadruple value of all cards in the players Hand | 400 |
| Double Joker Hand | A Double Joker Hand is similar to a Regular Hand. The only difference is that the player must discard two Jokers to the field to end his turn and the game. | -240 | Total value of all cards in the players hand multiplied by 8 | 800 |
| Joker Colored Hand | A Joker Colored Hand is similar to a standard Colored Hand. A Joker Colored
Hand consists of 14 meldable cards of the same color and his last discard to the field being a Joker. | -240 | Total value of all cards in the players hand, multiplied by 8 | 800 |
| Joker Suited Hand | A Joker Suited Hand is similar to a standard Suited Hand. This hand must consists of 14 meldable cards of the same suit. The player's last discard to the field must be a Joker. | -480 | Total sum of all cards in the players hand multiplied by 16 | 1200 |
| Double Joker Colored Hand | Thirteen meldable cards all of the same color, with the last two cards being discarded to the field to end the players turn and the round being the two Jokers. | -480 | Total sum of all cards in players hand multiplied by 32 | 1600 |
| Double Joker Suited Hand | Thirteen meldable cards all of the same suit, with the last two cards being discarded to the field to end the players turn and the round. | -720 | Total value of cards found in the players hand, multiplied by 64 | 3200 |
When a player has one of the Hands after drawing on his turn, he may thus announce he has a "Hand" which immediately ends the round.
When a player makes a basic "Announcement" (but not a "Hand"), the game continues. However, after an announcement, the announcing player must place all his applicable melds on the table which must total at least 51 total points. That player then continues the game, and may create new or add to his own melds. He may not, however, announce any of the "Hand" values once making this basic announcement. He wins the hand by, after continued play, melding all 14 of his cards and discarding his last on one of his turns.
A player may make an announcement during his turn even if another player has already made an announcement during the same round. Once a player makes such an announcement, they may continue to play valid melds or add to his own melds already on the table. No player may make a basic announcement until after each player has had at least 8 turns during the current round.
Normally a player cannot add to an opponents melds, however there is one exception to this rule. If a player has the exact card for which the Joker was substituted for in a meld displayed on the table, they may exchange that card for the Joker, adding it into their own hand for use in a meld of their own. If a three card Value meld contains a Joker, the Joker may not be exchanged, as it is not specifically clear which of the exact cards the Joker is replacing.
The player making one of the "Hand" announcements then subtracts the applicable points from the chart from his current score. A player who has previously made a regular announcement during the current round may not make a Hand announcement, but players who have not made any previous announcements during the current round may.
For each opponent who has previously announced during this hand, that player must add to their current score the value listed in the column of the chart labeled "Announced Scoring Value". For players who have not announced during the current round, they must add to their score the value in the column of the chart labeled "Unannounced Scoring Value".
Although most games have various penalties for making irregularities or mistakes during the game (usually unintentionally), Hand has special rules governing the play. An irregularity in this game would consider any of the following:
-
Taking the top card of the field without using it immediately in a meld.
-
Announcing a Hand when not actually having one.
-
Having two Jokers in the same meld.
-
Announcing with a total card meld value less then 51 points.
-
A value meld containing two cards of the same suit.
-
Making an announcement before the required number of turns (8).
-
Exchanging the Joker from an exposed Value meld which only contains three cards.
If the irregularity can be corrected immediately
and providing no advantage to the player who makes the error, the game can continue with no penalty. However, if this error is found later or after the winner declares hand, a penalty is assessed to the offending player
or players. The number of points is directly dependent on the winners hand, as per the following chart:
| Hand Name | Player Penalty Value |
|---|
| Announcement | 150 |
| Regular Hand | 300 |
| Colored Hand | 600 |
| Suited Hand | 1200 |
| Joker Hand | 600 |
| Double Joker Hand | 1200 |
| Joker Colored Hand | 1200 |
| Joker Suited Hand | 1800 |
| Double Joker Colored Hand | 3200 |
| Double Joker Suited Hand | 6400 |
After a predetermined set number of rounds are played (usually nine or seven), the player with the lowest total score is declared the winner of the game.
Hand (Egypt):
The variant of Hand as commonly played in Egypt is played very similar to the version as played in Jordan and nearby countries
(as described at the top of this page), but also including some of the special bonuses as described in the Kuwaiti and Qatari version.
The only real difference is the awarding of certain special bonuses (usually with an accompanying increase in penalties for the other players) for player winning a hand with certain combinations.
- If a player manages to win the hand by melding all 14 of his cards in any one turn, and his discard is a wild card, he scores twice the value as for a "Full Hand". Thus, this player earns -120 points to his current score and each opponent must multiply the value of the cards remaining in the hand by four. If any of those opponents did not manage to meld any cards during this hand, that player adds a flat 400 points to his current score.
- Similarly, if the player manages to win by melding all 14 of his cards in any one turn, and if all these melded cards (the discard is irrelevant) are all of the same color (either all red or all black), this player earns -120 points. Each opponent would then also need to quadruple (multiply by four) the value of all cards remaining in the hand. If one or more of those opponents had failed to meld any cards during this hand, those players score a flat 400 points added to their current score. Note that it is permissible for melds played by the winner to also include Jokers.
- If a player manages to win the deal by melding all 14 of his cards in any one turn, and all these cards are of the exact same suit, that player earns -240 points. The score of each opponent on that deal are thus multiplied by eight (or a flat 800 points if the player did not yet manage to meld any cards during the deal). The cards melded by the winning player may include one or two Jokers.
- If a player manages to form his hand into 13 legally meldable cards, and has two Jokers not used in those melds, he may discard both Jokers instead of the usual one card, in winning the hand. This also scores that player -240 points and the scores for the opponents is multiplied by eight (or a flat 800 points if that player has not managed to create any legal melds on that deal).
- In applicable situations, it should be noted that these bonuses (and multiplicative penalties to the opponents) can be combined, adding up all the applicable bonuses. For example if a player were to end the deal by playing all 14 of his cards in one of his turns, all these cards were of the same suit, and his discard was a wild card, that player would score -360, and the scores for the opponents would be multiplied by 12 (or a flat score of 1200 if they did not manage to meld any cards during the current deal).
Save for this difference regarding these bonus scores, this variant of Hand is played identically to the version described at the top of this page.
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