To lay off, add cards in your hand to already-existing melds.

Example: 9 of hearts, 10 of hearts, Jack of hearts, and Queen of hearts.

Example: 3 of spades, 4 of spades, and 5 of spades.

Consecutive cards of different suits do not constitute a valid sequence.

A run or sequence is 3+ consecutive cards of a matching suit.

Example: 6 of clubs, 6 of spades, 6 of diamonds, and 6 of hearts.

Example: 10 of spades, 10 of diamonds and 10 of hearts.

A set, book or group is 3 or 4 same-ranking cards.

Sets (sometimes called groups or books) and runs (sometimes called sequences) are the two valid types of melds in Rummy.

Melding is the quickest way to get rid of cards. That combination of cards then stays there.

To meld, a player takes multiple cards from his or her hand and places them face-up on the table.

Players can rid their hand of cards in three ways: they can meld, lay off, and discard. The goal of Rummy is simple: get rid of all your cards first. Players then are permitted to look at their cards and sort them.

The dealer then places the rest of the deck face down next to it, forming the stock. The dealer deals cards one by one then begins the discard pile by placing the following card face-up in the middle of the table. The player who deals first is chosen at random and how many cards dealt to each player depends on the total number of players. When playing with three or more players, whose turn it is to deal rotates clockwise every round. Players take turns dealing when playing a two-player game.

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