Kalooki 40's place inside the Rummy group of games
The Kalooki 40 game is a dominant part of the group of Rummygames. It is most popular among UK players and is often played offline in clubs. It is believed that the Kalooki variant derives from an ancient Chinese ancestor - mahjong(or mai jiang) that was spread by foreign merchants to the rest of the world. Today it is a very popular online variant that requires sophistication, skill and special tactics.
What is Kalooki 40 game?
Kalooki 40 is based on a the common playing format of Rummygames. Played by 2-4 players, the game play consists of a clockwise turn order. The goal of the game is to get rid of the cards in your handbefore your opponents do. In order to that, you need to meld the cards in your hand into sets and run as the game progresses, lay them down on the table and discard one last card into the discard pile.
The meld sequences can be divided into two types: sets and runs. A Run - consists of at least 3 consecutive cards of the same suit. A Set - consists of 3-4 card of identical rank, but different suits. It is important to note that both sets and runs must have at least 3 cards to be considered valid.
At the beginning of a hand, there is a short high-card round that determines the order of the turns. In each turn a player must make a minimum of 2 moves. Draw a card - which can be done either from the stock pile (face down) or the discard pile (face up). Itis important to note that in Kalooki 40, when a players draws a card from the discard pile he must meld it in a set or a run and lay down on the table in the same turn. At the end of the turn, the player must discard one card into the discard pile. By laying down melds on the table during the game, players can reduce the risk of getting caught with all of the cards in their hand in case another player wins the gamebefore them. This strategy is crucial when it comes to multi round games a.k.a tournaments - both single table and multi-table ones.
