Knocking: When a player will hold less than than 10 points of deadwood (cards not part of a meld) after discarding, he may knock (though he is not required to knock). If a player draws the upcard, he may not discard it during the same turn. If he passes on it as well, then the non-dealer draws the top card of the stock, and play proceeds.Įach player's turn begins by drawing a card, either the upcard (the top of the discard pile, or the top card of the stock.Įach player's turn ends by discarding one card (placed face-up on the discard pile). If the non-dealer does not want the card, he must say as much, and the dealer then has the opportunity to take the upcard. Gameplay: On the first upcard, the non-dealer must decide whether or not to take the exposed card. Object of the Game: The object of the game is to form melds (or matched sets), which are three or four cards of a single rank (5-5-5, for example), or a run of three or more cards of consecutive rank in the same suit (4-5-6 of clubs, for example).
The remainder of the deck if placed face-down next to the upcard, and forms the stock.
The next card, called the upcard, is placed face-up in the center of the table. Dealing: The dealer distributes the cards, one at a time, face down, first to his opponent and then to himself, until each player has ten cards.