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Black Heart Rum
Official Rules and Playing Guide

Introduction

Black Heart Rum is a card game for 2 to 6 players -- as individuals or in teams -- or more by using an expanded deck (also see "Appendix: Black Heart Solitaire"). Based on other popular games in the "rummy" family, Black Heart Rum adds a few unique twists that produce a game of more variety than other rummy games, thus providing room for more excitement and strategy. In fact, Black Heart Rum has been enjoyed by people who claim not to like other rummy games.

How to Use This Guide

This document is lengthy, as it not only contains a comprehensive reference guide to the rules of Black Heart Rum, but also extensive "Questions and Answers", "Strategies", and "Glossary" sections, as well as many examples spread throughout. The "Introduction and Simplified Rules" document should get experienced card players ready to play in less than ten minutes.

The main rules sections themselves do not assume any prior knowledge of card playing fundamentals. The rules are broken up into many sections: "The Basic Game" presents the foundation necessary to begin playing a simplified version of the game; "The Standard Game" expands on these concepts to present the full version of the game; and "Team Play" covers those additions necessary to play Black Heart Rum in teams. There are also sections included on "Expanding the Deck", "House Rules", and "Courtesies and Penalties".

Therefore, to learn how to play Black Heart Rum, you do not need to read this guide from beginning to end:

If...: you are familiar with other card games -- especially other rummy games -- the document entitled "Introduction and Simplified Rules" should give you all the information you need to begin playing. You may consult the "Glossary" section for any terms that are unfamiliar to you. You may then want to check out the "Questions and Answers" section, and possibly the section on "Strategies". You can read the section on "Team Play" if needed. Once you feel comfortable with the game, you may want to go back to any sections you skipped to clarify specific items.
If...: you are not familiar with other card games -- or you are only vaguely familiar and you have never played a rummy game -- you should start by reading the section entitled "The Basic Game". This will allow you to begin playing a simplified version of Black Heart Rum. If needed, you can check the "Glossary" section for any terms that are unfamiliar to you. Once you feel comfortable with the basic game, you should continue on to the section "The Standard Game". You may then want to check out the "Questions and Answers" section, and possibly the section on "Strategies". You can read the section on "Team Play" if needed. Once you feel comfortable with the standard game, you may want to go back to any sections you skipped to clarify specific items.

The Basic Game

This is a version of Black Heart Rum for beginners. Once players become familiar with these basics they are encouraged to play by the additional rules described in "The Standard Game".

The Deck

The basic deck is composed of 72 cards (the standard deck has 75 cards, see "Jokers"). To form the deck, start with two 52-card "poker" decks and then remove all the diamonds and both Jacks, Queens and Kings of hearts.

The cards in the Black Heart Rum deck come in three suits: spades, clubs, and hearts. There are no diamonds. The cards rank, in order, as follows: Ace, 2 through 10, Jack, Queen, then King -- the sequence stops at 10 in hearts. Ace always ranks "low" before the 2 (exception: see "Around the Corner").

The deck is broken down into the following divisions:

Divisions by Rank:

Royalty Cards: All the cards normally printed with human images -- Jack, Queen and King. Royalty cards come only in black. These cards require attendants (see "Attendants").
Index Cards: All the cards normally printed with a number of pips of the designated suit -- Ace and 2 through 10. Index cards come in both colors.

Divisions by Color:

Black Cards: All the cards normally printed in black -- spades and clubs. Black cards come in both royalty cards and index cards.
Hearts: All the cards normally printed in red are hearts. Hearts come only in index cards. These cards may act as attendants (see "Attendants").

The Deal

Play is divided into hands that are dealt by a designated dealer. The first dealer is chosen at random. Each successive dealer is the player to the left of the last dealer, such that the right to deal progresses around the table clockwise.

Each hand begins with the designated dealer shuffling the cards, offering them to the player to his/her right for cutting, and then dealing ten cards to each player, one at a time, face down, starting with the player to the dealer's left and progressing clockwise around the table such that the dealer is the last player to receive a card. Once the dealer receives his/her tenth card, the dealer places the next card face up in the center of the table to start the discard pile, and then places the remaining cards in a single pile face down next to the discard pile to form the draw pile.

After the cards are dealt, players take the cards dealt to them in hand by picking up the cards and holding them such that only the owner of the cards can see their faces. The player to the dealer's left then takes his/her first turn (see "Drawing and Discarding" below).

Each hand ends when a player "goes out" by having no more cards remaining in hand, (see "Going Out" below). Points are then scored (see "Scoring" below), and if no one has won (see "Winning the Game" below), the cards are collected, shuffled, and dealt by the next dealer in turn.

Drawing and Discarding

Each hand is divided into turns. The first player to take a turn in any hand is the player to the dealer's left. Turns then progress around the table clockwise such that the dealer is the last player to take a turn in any hand. Turns are taken until someone goes out, thus ending the hand (see "Going Out").

A turn begins with the player drawing a card into his/her hand -- either the top card from the draw pile or any card from the discard pile given the restrictions that follow; optionally melding (see "Melding" below); and then discarding a card to the discard pile, face up, overlapping previous discards such that all discards can still be identified (exception: see "Going Out " below). After discarding, the turn ends, and play progresses to the next player.

A player may take any card from the discard pile as his/her draw instead of taking the top card from the draw pile; however, to take a card from the discard pile the player must meet the following conditions:

The player must immediately meld the chosen card during his/her current turn (see "Melding" below); if the card cannot be melded then the discard cannot be taken. Unlike some house rules, any card taken must meet this restriction, even if it is the top card of the discard pile.
The player must also take into his/her hand any card(s) above the chosen card, i.e., any card(s) in the pile discarded after the chosen card. The player may also meld these cards if he/she so chooses but is not required to do so.

A player may choose any card in his/her hand after drawing and/or melding as his/her discard. Unlike some house rules, there is no "calling rummy" in Black Heart Rum. If a player discards a card that could possibly have been melded the discard stands as is.

Melding

After a player draws, and before he/she discards, the player may meld cards to the table face up in front of him/her as long as the melds meet the criteria for a valid set (see "Groups" and "Sequences" following), or the cards melded are laid off onto a previously melded set (see "Laying Off" below). Melds should be placed on the table with each card in a set overlapping one another such that all cards in the set are identifiable.

Melding is the objective of the game, as it is the only way to score points. Cards melded by a player are considered owned by that player for scoring purposes.

Once a card is melded, it cannot be removed from the table and placed back into a player's hand, nor can it be replaced with another card (exception: see "Replacement" under "Jokers"), nor can melded cards be re-arranged or combined to form new melds; however, melds can be expanded (see "Laying Off" below).

During a player's turn he/she may meld as many cards as possible, even if it means creating multiple sets and/or lay-off cards. Melding is always optional, as a player may keep a valid meld in hand until he/she sees fit to play it.

Groups

A group is one of the two kinds of sets that a player may meld (also see "Sequences").

Three or more cards of the same rank, regardless of suit, constitutes a valid group. Groups of index cards will contain no more than six cards -- two in each of the three suits, and groups of royalty cards will contain no more than four cards, since there are no royalty hearts (exception: see "Jokers"). Royalty cards played in a group are subject to the rules for attendants (see "Attendants" below).

Sequences

A sequence is one of the two kinds of sets that a player may meld (also see "Groups").

Three or more cards of the same suit and in order constitutes a valid sequence. Order is determined by rank (see "The Deck" above). Note that the deck contains exactly two cards of each rank in each suit. Royalty cards played in a sequence are subject to the rules for attendants (see "Attendants" below).

All sequences should be placed on the table in proper, ascending order (see "Courtesies and Penalties"; also see "Jokers").

Laying Off

One or more cards may be laid off onto a set that previously has been melded -- by any of the players -- as long as the cards laid off, taken together with the original set, would still form a valid set.

Example: A sequence consisting of the 6, 7 and 8 of spades previously has been melded. A player may play the 5 of clubs alone as a valid meld, laying it off onto the 6, 7, 8 sequence to form a new four card 5, 6, 7, 8 sequence.

Players keep any cards they lay off in front of them, even if the original set belongs to someone else. If the original set belongs to the player laying off, then the cards should be combined together to look like one complete set.

Cards laid off are subsequently treated as part of the original set, even if the original set and cards laid off belong to different owners. This may restrict the ability to lay off further cards into the set.

Example: Continuing from the previous example, a player may not subsequently lay off the other 5 of clubs onto the original set once the first 5 is melded, as the set now consists of the 5 through 8.

Any number of cards may be laid off onto a set at a time. If the cards laid off could themselves form an independent set -- especially in the case of a sequence -- then the player laying off the cards must explicitly state that he/she is laying off cards and not forming an independent set (see "Courtesies and Penalties" for a technique that may help avoid some confusion in this case).

Example: Again continuing from the prior examples, a player now melds the 2, 3 and 4 of clubs. If the player does not indicate that he/she is laying off cards, then any player could subsequently lay off either the other 5 of clubs onto this new sequence, or the other 4 of clubs onto the other 5, 6, 7, 8 sequence. If the player explicitly indicates that he/she is laying off onto the other sequence -- thus forming a single 2 through 8 sequence -- then neither the 4 nor 5 of clubs would play.

Further cards may be laid off onto a set that already has had cards laid off onto it without limits (also see "Around the Corner" and "Jokers").

Any royalty cards laid off must have accompanying attendants (see "Attendants" below).

Attendants

The royalty of Black Heart Rum goes nowhere without their attendants. Therefore, each and every royalty card melded must be accompanied by a heart of arbitrary rank. This is the one fundamentally unique rule of Black Heart Rum. The heart attendant is typically placed immediately below its corresponding royalty card.

Examples: In her hand, Jane holds the 10, Jack, Queen and King of clubs, and the 5 and 7 of hearts. She may meld the 10, Jack and Queen, but she must additionally meld the two hearts, one for the Jack and one for the Queen. She might arrange these on the table as: 10-clubs, 5-hearts, J-clubs, 7-hearts, Q-clubs. Jane may not yet meld the King of clubs, since she does not have another heart to act as the King's attendant. Another player, Justin, holds three Kings but only one heart. He must wait until he gets two more hearts before he can make the meld.

Only royalty cards require attendants. Of course, index cards may also be combined with hearts of the proper rank in groups, but the hearts in this case are not considered attendants. Royalty cards cannot be combined with hearts in groups because there are no royalty hearts; the only way royalty cards can be combined with hearts is through the use of attendants.

Attendants are considered melded cards for all rules (especially see "Scoring" and "Initial Meld"), and hence an attendant cannot be replaced with another heart once melded (exception: see "Replacement" under "Jokers"). A heart drawn from the discard pile and melded as an attendant satisfies the requirements for melding a card so drawn (see "Drawing and Discarding").

Going Out

A player goes out by melding and/or discarding his/her last card in hand. Unlike some house rules, a player does not need a "final discard", but may meld all the cards in his/her hand.

As soon as a player goes out, play for the hand immediately stops, the points for the hand are scored -- including a bonus to the player who went out (see "Scoring" below), the scores are totaled, victory conditions are checked (see "Winning the Game" below), and -- assuming there is not yet a winner -- the next hand begins.

If the draw pile becomes exhausted, players may continue to draw from the discard pile subject to the rules for such activity (see "Drawing and Discarding"), and play progresses normally. As soon as someone cannot -- or chooses not -- to take from the discard pile then each player begins taking abbreviated turns in an effort to meld as many cards as he/she can. Players may draw from the discard pile during these final turns -- subject to rule -- but they may not discard. If someone goes out during these abbreviated turns -- without discarding -- then the hand ends immediately and scoring is as normal. Once all players fail to meld in turn, play for this hand ends, and everyone scores his/her hand without anyone getting credit for going out (see "Scoring" below; also see "Expanding the Deck").

Scoring

Once a player goes out and the hand ends, points are totaled for each player by adding the value of the cards he/she has melded, and subtracting the value of the cards he/she still has remaining in hand. In addition, a bonus is given to the player that goes out in each hand.

Scoring is based on the rank of the cards melded and/or held according to the following table:

Card/Act	Points
Ace	15 points
2 through 9	5 points
10	10 points
Royalty	10 points
Going Out	25 bonus points

Example: Adam and Betty are playing a game of Black Heart Rum. Adam just went out. Adam melded a group of three 3s, a group of four 5s, and a 9, 10, Jack sequence with an Ace of hearts attendant. He gets 25 points for going out, plus 5 points for each 3, plus 5 points for each 5, plus 5 points for the 9, 10 points for the 10, 10 points for the Jack, and 15 points for the Ace, for a total of 100 points. Betty melded a group of three Queens with attendants of a 4, 9, and 10 of hearts, and laid off the 7 and 8 onto Adam's sequence. In her hand she holds two Kings and a 6. She gets 10 points for each Queen, plus 5 points for the 4, 5 points for the 9, and 10 points for the 10, which totals 60 points. She must now subtract 10 points for each King and 5 points for the 6 she holds. This gives her a final total of 35 points for the hand.

Scores for each hand are accumulated in a running total for each player. This accumulated total is used to check for victory conditions (see "Winning the Game"; also see "Initial Meld" and "Team Play").

Winning the Game

The winner is the first player to go out and accumulate a total score of 500 or more points. All points scored in all hands, including the final hand, count toward this total. Notice this means that a player must go out in the final hand to win the game. If a player accumulates 500 or more points, but was not the last player to go out, then play continues until he/she goes out or someone else goes out with a total of 500 or more points.

The Standard Game

These are additional rules that add a great deal more flavor to the basic game. All these rules should be considered to be in effect unless agreed to otherwise by all players.

Around the Corner

Sequences of black cards may be constructed around the corner such that the Ace ranks "above" the King, and then the sequence comes back around to the 2. This would make sequences such as Queen, King, Ace and King, Ace, 2 valid. This is not the same as a similar house rule in some rummy variants where the Ace can be played either high or low, but without wrap around.

Cards may be laid off around the corner freely in either direction, so that a King may be laid off onto a previously melded Ace, 2, 3 sequence, or an Ace may be laid off onto a Jack, Queen, King sequence.

Heart sequences never wrap around due to the absence of royalty cards. The Ace of hearts does not play on the 10 of hearts.

When laying off onto sequences around the corner, it is theoretically possible to wrap one end of the sequence back around until it meets the other end. In this case, care must be taken to recognize where the "ends" of the sequence are for further laying off (see "Courtesies and Penalties" for a technique that may help).

Jokers

To the basic deck, add two black jokers and one red joker, bringing the total number of cards in the deck to 75. Many available decks of cards do not come with a printed red joker, so it is customary to substitute one of the discarded Jack of diamonds as the red joker.

Jokers follow the same divisions by color as the other cards in the deck, i.e., the black jokers are considered black cards, and the red joker is considered a heart (see "Usage" below).

Usage

Jokers are treated as arbitrary cards of their given color -- also known as "wild" cards. A joker may be played in a set in place of a missing card as long as the deck contains a card of the same color as the joker that could have been played instead; specifically:

A black joker may be played as a spade or a club in a sequence.
A black joker may be played as a royalty card in any set.
The red joker may be played as a heart in a sequence -- index card only.
The red joker may be played as an attendant.
Either color joker may be played as an index card in a group.

Jokers may be laid off onto a set given the same restrictions as above.

Example: In her hand, Nancy has a 9 and Jack of clubs, a Jack of spades, a 9 and 10 of hearts, three Kings, a black joker, and a red joker. She may use the black joker as the 10 to make a sequence with the clubs, but not the red joker since clubs are not red. She may use the black joker to make a group with the two Jacks, but not the red joker because there are no red Jacks. She may use the red joker as an attendant with her Kings, but not the black joker because attendants must be red. She may use the red joker as the 8 to make a sequence with her hearts, but she may not use it as a Jack because there are no Jacks in hearts, and she may not use the black joker since hearts are not black. Finally, she may use either or both of the jokers to make a group with the two 9s because 9s come in both colors; she may even use one joker now and lay off the other joker as a fourth 9 during a later turn.

A joker is melded just as if it were the card it represents. If a black joker is played as a royalty card then it needs an attendant. If a joker is drawn from the discard pile then it must immediately be melded.

There is no need to explicitly state the exact rank and suit of a single melded joker, as its representation follows a "least restrictive" rule. If played in a sequence then the exact rank and suit the joker represents is fixed based on where the card is arranged in the set. If played in a group then the joker simply represents a card of the group's rank. If played as an attendant then the red joker represents any heart. If two jokers are melded with a single non-joker, then the nature of the set -- i.e., whether it is a group or a sequence -- must be designated. If all three jokers are melded without any non-jokers, then the rank of the index group -- the only possible set with mixed colors -- must be designated.

A joker may be played to extend a set beyond its normal limits, but in no case may it be used to represent a card that does not exist in the deck in the joker's color. This means that a group of index cards could contain as many as nine cards including all three jokers, a group of royalty cards could contain as many as six cards including both black jokers, a sequence in spades or clubs could contain as many as 28 cards -- wrapped around twice -- including both black jokers, but a heart sequence could never extend above the 10 nor below the Ace, nor could a royalty group ever contain the red joker except as an attendant.

Replacement

Any card that could replace a joker in a meld and still leave a valid meld -- without rearranging -- is considered a "natural" for the joker (see the "least restrictive" discussion under "Usage" above).

Any player that holds a natural for a melded joker may exchange the natural for the joker during his/her turn. The natural replaces the joker in the meld, and the joker is taken into the player's hand. The player may then meld the joker immediately in the same turn or hold it for use in a later turn.

Jokers are exchanged after the player draws, but before he/she melds or discards. The act of exchanging does not count as melding for initial meld rules (see "Initial Meld"), nor for drawing a natural from the discard pile (see "Drawing and Discarding"). If a natural is drawn from the discard pile and used to replace a joker, then the joker must immediately be melded instead.

The natural does not have to be the same color as the joker it replaces, it only has to be a card that leaves a valid meld, without rearranging. Thus, any card of the proper rank can replace a joker in a group -- even another joker of the opposite color in a group of index cards -- but only a card of the exact rank and suit can replace a joker in a sequence.

Any player may replace a joker with its natural, not just the player who melded the joker. The natural is replaced directly in the meld with the joker, not kept by the holder of the natural as if it were a card laid off.

Scoring

Jokers are worth 10 points when melded, but the penalty is doubled to 20 when a joker is held at the end of a hand (see "Scoring" below). If a joker is replaced then the score for the joker is forfeited in the original meld, but the score for the natural that replaced the joker is credited instead.

Initial Meld

The first group of melds made by a player in a hand is called his/her "initial meld" for that hand. For purposes of this rule, this initial meld does not necessarily all come from a single set -- group or sequence -- but may be comprised of several groups, sequences, or cards laid off.

A player's initial meld must contain at least a certain number of cards -- including any attendants and jokers -- to be allowed. If a player has not melded previously in a hand, and he/she cannot meet the initial meld minimum, then he/she must wait to meld any cards until he/she can meld at least the minimum number of cards.

The minimum number of cards required for an initial meld is equal to three cards, plus one extra card for each 100 points the player has accumulated in total for all previous hands, rounded down. There is no minimum initial meld requirement if the player has started the hand with a negative accumulated total, and the minimum initial meld requirement can never exceed the number of cards a player is dealt -- ten.

Example: At the start of each game, all players have zero points; therefore, everyone starts the game needing three cards for his/her initial meld. This means that a player cannot simply lay off a single card as his/her first meld, though he/she could lay off three cards to three different previously played melds, or even a 10 and Jack, for example, to a previous 7, 8, 9 sequence, since the Jack's attendant would bring the total number of cards melded up to the required number of three.

Another example: After several hands a player now has 295 points accumulated in total. The player is required to have at least five cards -- three plus the two for 200 -- in his/her initial meld. The player could meld two groups of index cards, as the six cards this would provide are at least the five required, or he/she could meld a group of index cards and lay off a royalty card -- with accompanying attendant -- for a total of exactly five cards, or any other combination that makes at least five cards. If the player had but five more points accumulated, for a total of 300, then he/she would need at least six cards in his/her initial meld.

Yet another example: A player starts the hand "in the hole" with an accumulated total score of minus 50. The player's initial meld may be a single card laid off, as he/she is free from any initial meld minimum requirement.

Still yet another example: A player has somehow accumulated over 800 points without going out, and so has not yet won the game. The player's initial meld requirement is ten, not eleven, since he/she is only dealt ten cards.

The following table summarizes the initial meld requirements by score:

Score	Requirement
Less than 0	1 or more cards (no restriction)
0 to 99	3 or more cards
100 to 199	4 or more cards
200 to 299	5 or more cards
300 to 399	6 or more cards
400 to 499	7 or more cards
500 to 599	8 or more cards
600 to 699	9 or more cards
700 or more	10 or more cards

Once a player makes his/her initial meld there is no further restriction placed on melding during subsequent turns in the same hand.

Playing one's initial meld is commonly referred to as "opening".

Black Heart

Going out on one's initial meld is called a "black heart" maneuver. A player receives an extra bonus based on the number of players in the game, including him/herself, of 25 points per player, up to a maximum of 100 points. This bonus is in addition to the bonus he/she receives for going out (see "Scoring" below; also see "Team Play").

Black heart rules apply even if the player started the hand with a negative accumulated total score, and so had no minimum initial meld requirement.

Scoring

The basic scoring table is adjusted as follows to account for jokers and black hearts:

Card/Act	Points
Ace	15 points
2 through 9	5 points
10	10 points
Royalty	10 points
Joker	10 points (-20 if held)
Going Out	25 bonus points
Black Heart	25 per player (100 max)
	extra bonus points

Example: Ann, Bob, and Cindy are playing a three player game. Ann just went out on her initial meld, melding a group of three 7s including a joker, and a Jack, Queen, King, Ace around-the-corner sequence with a 3, 6 and 10 of hearts as attendants. She gets 25 points for going out, plus 75 points for the black heart in a three player game, plus 5 points each for her two sevens, plus 10 points for her joker, plus 10 points each for the Jack, Queen, and King, plus 15 points for the Ace, plus 5 points for the 3, 5 points for the 6, and 10 points for the 10. This gives Ann a total of 185 points. In this same hand, Bob melded a group of three 2s and a 7, 8, 9 sequence, but is left holding an Ace, two Queens, and a joker. He gets 15 points for his group, plus 15 points for his sequence, minus 15 points for his Ace, minus 20 points for his Queens, minus 20 points for the joker. This gives Bob a total of minus 25 points.

Another example: In a five player game, Shirley goes out on her initial meld with 75 points in melds. The black heart bonus is 100, since 25 times five players is over the maximum. She scores 25 for going out, plus 100 for the black heart, plus her 75 in melds, for a total of 200 points for the hand.

Team Play

The following rules pertain to team play in Black Heart Rum. Except as noted below, all other rules are in effect as previously described.

Team Organization

Four players may play in teams of two players each. Six players may play in either three teams of two or two teams of three. Teammates always sit equal distances from each other around the table; thus, in games with two-player teams the teammates sit opposite from each other, and in a six player game with two teams of three the teammates sit every other player from each other (also see "Expanding the Deck").

Teammates are not allowed to communicate to each other with respect to the game (exception: see "Asking Permission").

Initial Meld

A team's initial meld is restricted based on the team's combined accumulated score (see "Scoring" below). Once any member of a team has met the initial meld requirements the entire team is considered to have met its requirements, and so every other teammate may then meld without restriction.

For a team to be credited with a black heart, a member of the team must go out on the team's initial meld, i.e., no one on the team could have previously melded (also see "Scoring" below).

A player is allowed to ask permission of his/her teammates before playing the team's initial meld (see "Asking Permission" below).

Going Out

If any player on a team goes out, then the team is considered to have gone out (see "Scoring" below).

A player is allowed to ask permission of his/her teammates before going out (see "Asking Permission" below).

Asking Permission

A player is allowed to communicate game information to his/her teammate(s) in the form of asking for permission to play the team's initial meld, or asking for permission to go out. A player may ask permission anytime during the player's turn before discarding -- even before drawing. The question must be asked openly for all players to hear.

A player asking for permission is bound by the answer given by his/her teammate(s), and may not meld or go out on the current turn if any teammate withholds permission. If permission is granted, the asking player is required to go through with the announced action (see "Courtesies and Penalties").

Players are never required to ask permission, as a player may feel that melding or going out at that time is too important. For example, a player may not want to ask permission to go out if he/she knows that doing so will give his/her team enough points to win.

Scoring

All the melds for all members of a team are added together, and a combined running total is kept for each team.

When a team goes out, the cards left in hand are subtracted as normal from the score of the team(s) that did not go out; however, any cards held by a teammate of the player that went out are not subtracted from his/her team. These cards are usually just ignored -- counting neither for nor against -- but if a team gets a black heart by going out on its initial meld, the cards are instead added to the team's score, just as if they had been melded -- jokers counting 10 as melded, not 20 as held.

Example: In a four player game, Toby and Tina are teammates, and John and Julie are teammates. John just went out on his first meld, but Julie had melded previously in this hand, so they do not get credited with a black heart. John has 75 points melded, and of course, none in his hand. Julie has 100 points melded and 50 points in her hand. Toby has 100 points melded and 25 in hand. Tina has 50 points melded and 50 points in hand, including a joker that counts as 20. John and Julie's team scores 25 for going out plus 75 for John's melds plus 100 for Julie's melds, for a total of 200 points. Julie's in-hand cards are ignored. Toby and Tina's team scores 100 for Toby's melds minus 25 for his in-hand cards plus 50 for Tina's melds minus 50 for her in-hand cards, for a total of 75 points.

Another example: It is now the next hand of the game being played in the last example. Toby just went out, also on his first meld. Tina previously had not melded either, so the team gets credit for a black heart. Toby has 75 points melded, and of course, none in hand. Tina had, of course, no points melded, but due to the black heart, she will lay down her 75 points in hand and count them as melded, including another joker that she now counts as 10. John has 100 points melded and 25 points in hand. Julie has 75 points melded and 25 points in hand. Toby and Tina's team scores 25 for going out plus 100 for the black heart in a four player game plus 75 for Toby's melds plus 75 for the cards Tina had in hand that are now counted as melded, for a total of 275 points. John and Julie's team scores 100 for John's melds minus 25 for his in-hand cards plus 75 for Julie's melds minus 25 for her in-hand cards, for a total of 125.

Winning the Game

The winning team is the first to have a player on the team go out and accumulate a total team score of 500 or more points (also see "Expanding the Deck").

Expanding the Deck

An expanded Black Heart Rum deck is used to play with more than six players, or to play with five or six players comfortably and avoid the risk of exhausting the draw pile.

To expand the Black Heart Rum deck, add a "half" deck for every two players above four, fractions rounded up, to the standard deck. A half deck is formed by taking the spades, clubs, Ace through 10 of hearts, one black joker, and one red joker from another "poker" style deck of cards, though add only one red joker for every two half decks, fractions rounded up.

A simple way to calculate the cards needed is: take the number of players in the game, divide by two, round up any fraction, and use that many poker decks as the basis for the expanded deck, though never use less than two poker decks. Include as many black jokers as poker decks used, and include half as many red jokers, fractions rounded up.

Example: We want to play a nine player game. To form the deck we will use, we start with five poker decks -- half of nine is four and a half, which rounds up to five. We strip out the diamonds and heart royalty, and then we add in five black jokers and three red jokers -- half of five is two and a half, which rounds up to three. Since our decks do not come with printed red jokers we will use three of the discarded Jacks of diamonds.

Another example: We want to play a two player game. Our formula says to start with only one poker deck, but we know we need to use at least the standard Black Heart Rum deck, which uses two poker decks.

All cards should have identical backs, but in any case, never include a uniquely identifiable card in one back style and not in another.

Example: We are using three poker decks, including two red jokers, for our six player game. We do not have three decks available all with the same back design, so we are using two of one design and one of another. We are careful to choose one red joker from one design and one from the other.

Some things to keep in mind when playing with an expanded deck:

Due to the mathematical probabilities involved, it becomes somewhat easier to form groups over sequences as the number of decks increases; however, the difference is slight -- and becomes less significant with each deck added -- so the average player may not notice.
A larger deck becomes harder to shuffle. The dealer may ask other players to help him/her shuffle various equal portions of the deck. Each portion of the deck should then be mixed together as randomly as possible. To accomplish this, each shuffler should take half of his/her shuffled portion, pass it to the shuffler on the left, and shuffle again. This process can be repeated for greater randomness. The entire deck can then be stacked back together prior to cutting and dealing.
When playing with more than six players, many more opportunities form to play team games. Always remember that teams must be of even size, and all team members must sit equally spaced from each other around the table. In games with large size teams using an expended deck, players may find that 500 points makes for too short a game. Players may agree in advance to play to a higher score if they so choose.

House Rules

Except as otherwise prohibited herein, players are allowed to agree to any other optional rules they see fit in advance. If any player disagrees with the application of a house rule, then the rule is forfeited.

Courtesies and Penalties

This section covers items that are not strictly "rules of the game", but items that should be enforced nonetheless to provide for smooth play.

Players should not look at their cards until all cards are dealt, and players should count their cards immediately after they are dealt. If a player discovers that he/she has been dealt the wrong number of cards, then the dealer should correct the amount -- either by taking a randomly selected card back or dealing another card -- as long as the discovery is made before anyone has played. If the discovery is made after anyone has played then the deal should be forfeited with the same dealer dealing the hand again.
If the dealer accidentally turns a card face up when dealing, then the player to whom the card is dealt should be allowed to either keep or reject the up-turned card -- without looking at his/her other cards. If the player has looked at his/her other cards, then the card must be kept. If the player rejects the card, then the dealer must replace the card from the draw pile after all cards are dealt, and shuffle the up-turned card into the draw pile.
Players should not try to deceive each other with respect to the number of cards held. If a player is asked how many cards he/she has, the player should answer accurately if the number is ten or less, or simply state "more than ten" if he/she has more.
When drawing from the discard pile, players should give everyone ample opportunity to study the extra cards taken. A player should leave these extra cards face up on the table until his/her melding is completed.
Players should not knowingly take a card from the discard pile that they cannot meld. If a player accidentally takes a card that he/she discovers cannot be melded, then the player should be given every chance to reconstruct the discard pile without penalty and begin his/her turn again. If the player cannot reconstruct the discard pile back to the way it was before the errant draw, then the deal should be forfeited -- same dealer deals again -- and the offending player deducted 100 points from his/her score.
Players should be given grace when drawing from the discard pile. If a player started his/her current turn by drawing from the discard pile, yet overlooked another melding opportunity for a card that lies deeper in the pile, the player should be permitted to draw this deeper card just as if he/she had started the turn by drawing it instead, so long as the player has not yet discarded for the turn.
If a player starts to draw from the draw pile, the player is not allowed to change his/her mind and instead draw from the discard pile once he/she sees the card drawn. If the player merely touches the card then he/she may release the card and instead pick from the discard pile.
If a player accidentally draws two cards from the draw pile, then the errant second card should be placed face up on the draw pile. The next player in turn may either take this card to which he/she is entitled, leave it as is -- passing the option to the next player in turn -- and draw from the discard pile, or shuffle the errant card back into the draw pile and take the new top card.
A player should not feign discarding a particular card in an effort to gauge the reaction of his/her opponent(s) to the card chosen. Once a player releases his/her discard, he/she may not reverse the action and take the card back, even if he/she could have melded the card instead.
Players should not try to confuse others by arranging their melds in a haphazard fashion. All sequences should be arranged in ascending order. Players may also wish to adopt the following practice:

If a meld is laid off upon by a different player than the originator, the original meld should have one of its cards turned sideways to indicate that the meld is extended. If the original meld is a group then any card will do. If the meld is a sequence then the card to which the laid-off card(s) play(s) is chosen.

Example: The 3, 4, and 5 of clubs is melded. Someone lays off the 6 and 7; the 5 in the original meld is turned sideways. Someone else lays off the 2; the 3 is now also turned sideways.

If the cards laid off could themselves form an independent meld, then one of its cards should also be turned sideways in accordance with above.

Example: Continuing from the previous example, if the same person that laid off the 6 and 7 now lays off the 8, then the 6 is turned sideways

Players may find it helpful to think of the sideways turned card as an ellipse that says, "continued elsewhere." When represented in a sequence, the side that has the turned card is "closed" to further lay-off cards, since a card has already been played in this position. When represented in a group, the turned card helps clarify any potentially ambiguous lay-off cards.

Example: On the table is a group of three 10s, a group of three 6s, with one 6 turned sideways, and a 7, 8, 9 of spades sequence, with the 9 turned sideways. There is also a lone 6 of spades and a lone 10 of spades played as lay-off cards. Since the 9 of spades is turned sideways, we know that the lone 10 must belong to it, and we cannot lay off the other 10 of spades onto the sequence, but we could lay off a Jack of spades; however, since the 7 of spades is not turned sideways, and one of the 6s in the group is, we know that the lone 6 belongs to the group, and we could lay off the other 6 of spades onto the sequence, but we could not lay off a lone 5 of spades.

Players are asked not to "grab" a joker from another player's meld when exchanging a natural for it. Players should hand the natural to the player that melded the joker and ask him/her to exchange it.
If an error is made in scoring it should be corrected if at all possible. If the error cannot be corrected to everyone's satisfaction then the game should be forfeited.
It is customary for the scorekeeper to announce everyone's accumulated score at the start of each hand. The scorekeeper should also make an effort to remind all players what their initial meld requirements for the upcoming hand are at this time. There is no penalty for failing to provide this information, as it is everyone's responsibility to know this information for themselves.
In a team game, players should keep all melds for the team together in front of only one of the teammates. It is customary for the teammate who played the initial meld in a hand to keep all the team's melds in front of him/her during that hand.
In a team game, a player should not try to deceive his/her opponents by asking for permission to take an action that the player cannot take. If the same player errantly asks permission twice in the same hand for the same action that he/she cannot take, then the asking player is required to play the rest of the hand with his/her in-hand cards face up for all players to see.

Questions and Answers

The following questions were selected to help clarify specific points that may seem confusing to a player learning Black Heart Rum. All answers assume that all rules of the standard game are in effect.

Q.: I previously melded a 3, 4 and 5 of clubs sequence, and also a 7, 8 and 9 of clubs sequence. I now have a 6 of clubs that I want to lay off. Do I use this to combine the previous two sequences?
A.: No. Previously played melds can never be combined (though the distinction is moot for groups). Instead, you must decide whether the 6 of clubs is to be laid off onto the 3, 4, 5 of clubs sequence or the 7, 8, 9 of clubs sequence. It is important to make this distinction because if someone comes along later with the other 7 of clubs, it could be laid off onto your 6 of clubs in the former case but not in the latter. Similarly, if later you get a 10, Jack, and Queen of clubs, you must decide if you want to lay off all three of these cards (plus attendants) onto the 7, 8, 9 sequence, or if you want to form a new sequence. (See "Courtesies and Penalties" for a technique that may help avoid some confusion in these cases.)
Q.: All the cards have been taken from the draw pile and the person to my right just played a 5, 6 and 7 of spades sequence during her shortened turn without discarding. The only card I have left in my hand is the 8 of spades. Can I go out?
A.: Absolutely. You are free to lay off onto a sequence that has been played during the abbreviated final turns. If, however, the 8 was the top card in the discard pile, and you had another, unplayable card in your hand, then the best you could do is pick up the 8 and meld it. You are not permitted to discard your last card, since no one may discard once players begin skipping their draw due to an empty draw pile.
Q.: Do I have to make a set out of the (bottom) card I take from the discard pile?
A.: No, you just have to meld it in some way. Besides forming a set, you may fulfill your obligation to meld a card drawn from the discard pile either by laying the card off onto another set, or -- if it's a heart -- by using it as an attendant for a concurrently melded royalty card. Note that replacing a joker does not count as melding a natural drawn from the discard pile. Instead, the obligation to meld is transferred to the replaced joker.
Q.: In a three player game, I started the current hand with 475 points. I just went out. Does this mean I must go out again to win?
A.: No. Points are scored for the current hand and added to the player's total before checking for victory conditions. Since you just went out, you are guaranteed at least the 25 points you need for 500. Since you went out, and now have 500 or more points, you're the winner. Congratulations!
Q.: In my hand I have two Queens, the black joker, and two hearts. Can I meld the Queens and joker together as a set, with the two hearts as attendants for the two Queens?
A.: Not quite. You also need a third heart to act as an attendant for the joker. If the black joker is used as a royalty card -- which it must be in this case to make a group of three Queens -- then it needs an attendant just as if it actually was a royalty card.
Q.: I have both 4s of hearts and the red joker. Can I meld these together as a group of 4s, even though it would mean that the joker would be acting like a third 4 of hearts, and the deck only contains two?
A.: Sure. When the rules state that a card of the proper color must exist in the deck, it doesn't mean that the card has to exist in the available deck, just that a card of the proper color must be defined in the Black Heart Rum deck. The rule is described this way only to emphasize the fact that some cards that exist in a normal "poker" deck don't exist in the Black Heart Rum deck. For example, if you had a couple of Kings instead of 4s, then you couldn't use the red joker as a third King, because there are no red Kings defined in the Black Heart Rum deck, even though red Kings exist in a poker deck.
Q.: In my hand I hold the 4 and 5 of clubs, along with a black joker. Someone has previously melded a group of 3s, including both 3 of clubs. Can I still use the joker as the 3 of clubs in a 3, 4, 5 sequence even though there is no possibility of it being exchanged?
A.: Yes. The ability to replace a joker has no bearing on the ability to play it. In fact, some people purposely like to meld jokers that can't be replaced as a way of "protecting" them. In your case, you are guaranteed to get the 10 points for the joker instead of the 5 points you would get for a 3, plus you don't give your opponents a chance to get an advantage by taking the joker.
Q.: There is a sequence on the table of 3 of hearts, 4 of hearts, and the red joker. I have the 2 of hearts. Can I replace the joker, since it would still leave a valid 2, 3, 4 meld?
A.: No. When a joker is played in a sequence its rank is fixed based on the placement of the joker. In your case the joker is assumed to represent a 5 of hearts. The reason for this is to avoid any confusion when cards are laid off onto the sequence. Notice this means that it is theoretically a little harder to replace a joker in a sequence than in a group (since there are only two cards that could replace a joker in a sequence, but there may be as many as four cards that could replace a joker in a group), but your odds of replacing a joker in a sequence is the same whether the joker is at the end of the sequence or in the middle.
Q.: The rules say I can replace a joker with any card that would still leave a valid meld. Does this mean I can replace one joker with another?
A.: Actually, yes, it does. And you might want to do this to exchange a joker of one color in your hand with a melded joker of the other color. Of course, the joker you use as the "natural" must still leave a meld that would be valid for a joker of that color. In other words, you could not replace a black joker in a spade or club sequence with a red joker, or a red joker in a heart sequence with a black joker, or replace a joker used as a royalty card or one used as an attendant with a joker of the opposite color. So the bottom line is you can only do the joker color swap trick if the melded joker is played in a group of index cards. And please don't ask to replace one black joker with the other black joker, okay?
Q.: I originally melded a group of three 4s as two 4s of spades and a black joker. Another player has since replaced the joker with a 4 of clubs. Does this mean I lose the ten points for the joker?
A.: Yes. When the hand ends you score exactly those cards in front of you. You would thus get credit for the 4 of clubs (five points), but not the joker (which, hopefully, your opponent used in good health). On the bright side, had your group been Aces instead of 4s, you would actually have gained points had someone replaced the joker.
Q.: It's the start of a new game. The person next to me just melded three Aces. Can't I play my Ace onto his group?
A.: Not if this is your first meld and you have no other cards to meld. According to the initial meld rule, your first meld of any hand must be three cards, plus one card for each hundred points you have accumulated prior to the start of the hand. Since it's a new game, you must have zero points, and so you need to meld at least three cards during the same turn before you are allowed to meld any. Many players mistakenly think that the initial meld rule doesn't take effect until they reach 100 points. It only seems this way because most of the time you will need to meld three cards anyway just to make a set.
Q.: I started the current hand with 150 points. I have a group of three 7s. Do I need to wait for a fourth 7 before I can meld anything?
A.: Not necessarily. If someone else has melded you might be able to lay off a card. You do not need to have four cards all in the same set, you just need to meld at least four cards in the same turn. If you get another set you can also meld that along with the 7s as your initial meld. You do not need exactly four cards, just at least four.
Q.: I have over 100 points, so I need to meld four cards at a time. I now have two cards left in my hand. How am I ever going to go out if I need four cards?
A.: You don't. You only need four cards in your initial meld of the hand. Once you meld the four (or more) cards to meet your requirement for the hand, you may meld as few cards at a time as you'd like for the remainder of the hand. Since you obviously have played your first meld for this hand already, you are free to meld your last two cards without restriction.
Q.: Why do you list initial meld requirements for scores greater than 500? I thought the game ended at 500?
A.: Well, not quite. The game ends when someone goes out with a total score of 500 or more points. It is quite possible that someone will get more than 500 points and still not be the winner if he/she scored enough points to put him/her over 500 in a hand in which someone else went out. In this case, the player would need eight cards for his/her initial meld in the next hand. I have seen games in which players had over 700 points total and still did not win (in fact, I was one of those players)! No matter how high your score gets, however, you are never required to meld more cards than you are dealt.
Q.: I've gone several hands without going out. I now have over 700 points and I still haven't won. I know my score means I will need ten or more cards for my initial meld in the next hand, but does this mean I'll need a black heart, since I'm only dealt ten cards?
A.: No. Many players erroneously think that they must form their initial meld exclusively from cards in their hand. This is not the case. A player may take as many cards as he/she wants from the discard pile to help, which will probably leave some cards remaining in his/her hand. The reason the initial meld requirement is capped at ten isn't because it's impossible to meld more cards than one's dealt, it's just disproportionately more difficult.
Q.: Why is it that the bonus for going out always stays the same, but the extra bonus for a black heart is based on the number of players in the game, and yet only up to a certain maximum? This all seems inconsistent.
A.: It may seem inconsistent, but it isn't, for the reward remains commensurate to the difficulty of the task. As the number of players increases two things happen: the number of discards in each round of turns increases, making it harder to get to any cards that you may want; and the overall number of melds played increases, making it easier to lay off cards. If all you want to do is go out any way you can, then these two factors tend to stay in balance, since any extra cards taken from the discard pile will be just that much easier to meld. When going for a black heart, however, initially adding players to a game throws off this balance, since you can't afford to draw any unplayable cards from the discard pile if you're attempting to go out on your initial meld. With enough players, though, the increased number of opportunities to lay off cards from within your hand once again starts to make up for the unavailability of potential "out" cards that you must leave "buried" within the discard pile.
Q.: I'm playing a four player team game and my partner just went out. Now I'm stuck with a number of potential melds that I was holding onto, including a number of jokers at 20 points each! Is this fair?
A.: Well, it's hard to say what's fair, though you might want to remind your teammate about the rules for asking permission before going out (see "Asking Permission"). Don't worry about your jokers, though. They won't score against you as held cards, since cards held by a teammate of the player that goes out aren't deducted (see "Scoring" under "Team Play"). It's true that you won't get credit for the melds, but they won't count against you either. Of course, if your partner went out on your team's initial meld, then you qualify for the black heart bonus, and you do get to score your melds. In fact, you get to score all the cards in your hand, including those jokers at the meld value of 10 points apiece. Now that's fair, isn't it?
Q.: Why do you add in a teammates in-hand cards when the team gets a black heart? Isn't this excessive?
A.: Actually, no, it isn't. Remember, for a team to get a black heart, a player must go out on the team's initial meld. This means that all teammates will always have only in-hand cards and no melds. A team black heart requires the "cooperation" of all the teammates, even if accidentally, because if any teammate melds first, then the black heart is lost. In order to get a black heart by strategy -- and not merely by luck -- the teammate(s) must purposely not play melds that they otherwise might have played. To not give credit for these would be unfair. You may think, then, that credit should only be given for the teammate(s) "melds in hand", but the current system is simpler, and it recognizes the fact that a little melding tends to produce a lot of melding, and the teammate(s) probably passed up a number of melding opportunities beyond those reflected in their hands. Plus, when you think about it, shouldn't the reward be great anyway, given the fact that the risk is so high? If a team black heart attempt fails, then the team will be deducted not just the points that are in one player's hand, but the points that are in all the teammates hands!
Q.: I understand why I might want to ask my teammate for permission to go out, in case she's holding a bunch of cards that she wants to meld, but why should I ask for permission to meld?
A.: Actually, you are only allowed to ask for permission to play the team's initial meld. (Many people refer to this as "opening", as in, "Partner, may I open?") The reason you should ask is because your teammate might think he/she can go out on his/her initial meld. If you meld, you will have interfered with his/her black heart attempt, since his/her initial meld would no longer be the team's initial meld. Besides, it's always polite to ask.
Q.: I'm playing a six player game and we keep running out of cards to draw. Can we just deal out fewer cards to each player?
A.: No. Dealing fewer cards would have a dramatic effect on one's ability to go out, especially on his/her initial meld thereby gaining a black heart bonus. Instead, you should expand the deck, which would maintain proper play balance (see "Expanding the Deck"). If you have no more decks of cards available, then you might want to try a "cut-in" game. Play with four players at a time, with two players "on the bench" in some prescribed "batting order". The person that goes out in any hand goes to the "end of the bench", and the person "on deck" gets to take his/her place. All other rules are the same, including victory conditions. This scheme isn't perfectly fair, but it's a lot of fun, and you can balance it out by playing several games this way, making sure that players that started "on the bench" in the last game get to start "at bat" in the next. (Sorry for all the baseball analogies, but I'm a big fan.)

Strategies

What follows is a brief look at some strategies unique to Black Heart Rum. This is in no way a comprehensive list, nor can it ever hope to be a substitute for experience, but it might help to get one started.

Organize the cards in your hand. You may be surprised how much a good organization helps your ability to see potential plays. Experienced rummy players are probably use to organizing their cards based on possible sets; however, the rules of Black Heart Rum require a few modifications to this scheme. I recommend breaking up your cards into three groups: hearts, royalty, and black index cards. Of course, you still need to be aware of the potential for sets involving cards between the groups, but this organization is a good start. I also try to separate out cards that can be melded and cards I know I want to discard, as well as cards I don't want to discard. It can get pretty confusing, but that's one of the joys of Black Heart Rum!
Maintain a good balance of cards in your hand, especially between hearts and royalty. Nothing is more frustrating than having a fist full of royalty -- especially if they are in sets -- and have no attendants for them. You may conclude that you should try to hoard hearts then, but this strategy usually doesn't work either. Heart sequences are typically tougher to make than black sequences, since so many hearts are played as attendants, and this tends to "break up" potential sequences. You may find yourself stuck with a bunch of unmatched hearts and have nothing to meld.
Strive to meld royalty whenever possible. Not only are royalty cards themselves worth a premium, but their attendants add even more value to a royalty meld. Plus you get to meld more cards, which helps your efforts to go out and score even more. You may even want to collect a few royalty cards that do not currently match, just to have them in your hand for when matches come along. Of course, you can't focus entirely on royalty; there simply aren't enough of them.
Maintain flexibility. Black Heart Rum is a very flexible game. Not only are there jokers for wild cards, but hearts can be played in a number of different ways: in groups, sequences, or as attendants; plus you get a lot of flexibility simply due to the fact that there are two of every card in the deck. You need to learn how to manage this flexibility. For example, don't be too quick to meld your jokers, as you not only will reduce your flexibility as soon as you do, but you also will give your opponents a chance to replace the joker, thereby increasing their flexibility. Conversely, don't be too quick to replace a joker for which you hold the only possible natural, as doing so will only increase your risk. There are also some unique restrictions that come with the game -- e.g., needing attendants for royalty cards -- that you must learn to manage as well. Royalty cards are nice, but since they are the least flexible cards in the game you can box yourself in quickly if you are not looking for other avenues to score.
Know your odds for filling a potential set. Imagine that we have two cards that "match" -- i.e., either two cards of the same rank or two cards of adjacent rank in the same suit. We can examine the chances of drawing a card that will fill each type of set. Listing the types of sets in descending order, there are, including jokers, seven cards that will fill a group of index cards, six cards that will fill a sequence of black cards, five cards that will fill a sequence of hearts, and four cards that will fill a group of royalty cards. We can also include the number of cards available for filling an "inside sequence" -- i.e., one in which we start with two cards of the same suit missing a single intervening rank -- which is four cards for a black suit and three cards for hearts. Furthermore, the chances for extending any sequence beyond three cards remains constant as the sequence grows, but the chances of extending a group become less and less as the group gets bigger. This analysis tells us that index card groups are the easiest to make initially, though their lay-off potential becomes less and less, and royalty card groups are the hardest of all, and only become worse as the group gets bigger. Also recognize that groups tend to interfere with the ability to form sequences much more than sequences will tend to interfere with making groups. If given a choice, then, we can conclude that royalty cards should be saved for sequences rather than for groups, and index cards can be used to make groups fairly easily in the short term, but saved for sequences if you are concerned about long term melding possibilities. Of course, you may want to purposely meld groups to interfere with your opponents' melding chances as well. Finally, since hearts are so valuable as attendants, the analysis above -- though interesting -- really does not dictate how they should be played.
Learn how the odds change with typical and not-so-typical play. Though the odds may look decent for forming heart sequences, keep in mind that players will often play hearts as attendants, making such sequences harder to fill. Including the red joker, there are only nine more hearts in the deck than royalty, so if you notice a lot of hearts being melded in heart sequences or index groups, then you may want to think about discarding royalty. Also be sure to recognize those events that can greatly effect the odds. If someone plays a group of all four queens -- a despicable act in most quarters -- you can pretty much write off forming sets with more than one royalty card. Here is a hint: it may be time to start dumping hearts!
Be aware of what cards your opponent is saving from the discard pile. This is a very common strategy in any rummy game, but Black Heart Rum offers a few unique twists. For example, if your opponent seems to be keeping a lot of hearts, does this mean that he/she is trying for heart sequences? Probably not. It probably means that he/she has a lot of royalty cards that need attendants. It still means that you might want to avoid discarding hearts, but it may also mean that you should start focusing more on index card melds.
There are few substitutes for going out. In many rummy games you want to dig into the discard pile as much as possible in an effort to amass more and more points; however, in Black Heart Rum, you very literally cannot win unless you go out. There are other benefits to going out as well, for example, the bonus points you get, and the ability to stick players with points in their hands. Occasionally, however, you may be down to a very few cards, and for one reason or another, the cards in your hand are just not "right" for going out quickly. You must be aware when this is the case and be willing to get more cards out of the discard pile, even if it seems that another player may be close to going out.
Don't be too anxious to meld all the cards you can. This is a good rummy strategy in its own regard, but has some added twists when applied to Black Heart Rum. One of the primary advantages of holding onto cards that play is that you might find better places to play them later. This is even more obvious in Black Heart Rum due to the greater flexibility. Should I play this heart sequence now? I might need the hearts for attendants later. Do I play this group of Aces now -- which are worth good points, to be sure? It might interfere with my ability to make sequences with royalty cards later. And what about laying off a card that I might eventually be able to turn into its own set? In most rummy games you would almost never meld a single card that you didn't take from the discard pile, but since the Black Heart Rum deck contains two of everything, it may be a case of "use it or lose it" if someone else plays the other card of the same rank and suit.
Know when and when not to try for a black heart bonus. Pulling off a black heart -- going out on your initial meld -- is great; not only do you get some extra bonus points, but you also get to see the great look on your opponents faces! There is an art, however, to playing for the black heart. If you are dealt a couple jokers, the decision is easy, but the play may not be. You will have so many possibilities that your head will hurt -- especially when all those possibilities seem to leave you one card short. If you are dealt one joker, or your cards are particularly well matched, then you should probably go for it in a two player game -- since you will have immediate access to all discards -- but you may need to think about it with more players. Of course, the rewards are also higher with more players, so an occasional risk may be worth it. The rewards can be even higher in a team game, but you will need the cooperation of your teammates as well, so it's even more difficult to pull off. Also keep in mind that the other players will eventually catch on if you are constantly trying for a black heart, and this will strip you of some of the benefit.
Learn how to counter some of the common strategies your opponents might use. Players will generally play each hand of Black Heart Rum with one of three goals in mind: 1) go out as quickly as possible, 2) make as many melds as possible, or 3) try to get a black heart. You can remember how to counter each of these approaches by using an analogy based on the old children's game Rock, Paper, Scissors. This analogy works because you can use a version of each approach to counter one of the others. Think of the first approach as "paper"; named so because one using this approach treats his/her hand as disposable. Think of the second as "scissors", because one using this approach must always cut into the discard pile. Think of the third as "rock", because one must stand fast and wait for the right cards to come along. Now, like the children's game, rock smashes scissors. If your opponent is ignoring going out, you can safely sit back and go for the big black heart bonus, using your opponent's multiple melds to your advantage as lay-off opportunities. Scissors cuts paper. If your opponent is ignoring scoring opportunities in an effort to go out quickly, you might be able to make up for the modest bonus he/she will get by picking up those melds he/she is leaving behind in the discard pile. Lastly, paper covers rock. If your opponent is saving for the black heart, you can threaten him/her by reducing your hand as quickly as possible, possibly sticking him/her with a bunch of points in hand, but probably at least making him/her change plans. No analogy is perfect, and neither is this one, but it is a rough rule of thumb to keep in mind. The real recommendation is to try and vary your own approach. If you are always looking to cut up the discard pile you will probably be beaten as often as if you had thrown down two fingers every time as a child.

Appendix: Black Heart Solitaire

Black Heart Solitaire is a solitaire game based on Black Heart Rum that allows you to enjoy much of the same game play found in the parent game -- even when you cannot find an opponent.

The object of Black Heart Solitaire is to beat an automated opponent -- simply called "the opponent" -- in a slightly modified game of Black Heart Rum. You, as the human player -- appropriately called "the player" -- play the game as normal. Your opponent, however, must follow strict rules of play as described in the sections that follow.

The Deck

The standard Black Heart Rum deck is used, comprised of 75 cards: Ace through King in spades and clubs, Ace through 10 in hearts, two black jokers, and a red joker -- though a Jack of diamonds may be used to represent the red joker.

The Deal

Black Heart Solitaire is played in hands much like Black Heart Rum. Each hand begins with a deal -- after the cards are shuffled -- and ends when either the player or the opponent goes out (see "Going Out" below).

Deal as in a two player game of Black Heart Rum. Start by dealing a card face down to the far end of the table to start the opponent's "hand", then a card face down to the near end of the table to start the player's hand. Continue this procedure until 10 cards are dealt to each hand. The cards dealt to the opponent's hand should slightly overlap one another so that the number of cards in the hand can be identified at all times.

After dealing the hands, place the next card face up in the center of the table to start the discard pile, and place the remaining cards face down next to this card to form the draw pile. Lastly, turn up the top card of the opponent's hand -- called the opponent's "up card". Play then commences with the opponent's first turn (see "Drawing and Discarding" following).

Drawing and Discarding

Turns are taken as in a two player game of Black Heart Rum, with turns alternating between opponent and player. Note that the player is always the dealer, so the opponent always plays first. Each turn consists of a draw, an optional meld, and a discard.

The player must follow all the rules of Black Heart Rum in every turn he/she takes (see "Drawing and Discarding" under "The Basic Game"); however, play is modified slightly for the opponent. In each turn, the opponent must draw the top card from the discard pile if it can be melded and play it, otherwise the opponent must draw the top card from the draw pile. If the card drawn cannot be melded, then it is placed in the discard pile as the opponent's discard. If the card drawn can be melded, then it must be played accordingly, and another card ultimately will be discarded from the opponent's hand (see "Melding" below).

Melding

The player follows all rules for melding as in Black Heart Rum, including all initial meld rules (see "Melding" under "The Basic Game", and "The Standard Game"); however, the opponent follows special rules. The one major difference between Black Heart Solitaire and Black Heart Rum is how the opponent melds.

The opponent melds all cards into a single pile -- called the "meld pile" -- between the opponent's hand and the draw pile. The meld pile should be spread out slightly so that all cards can be seen, though only the top card -- sometimes called the "meld card" -- is considered active.

Sets are not formed by the opponent as in Black Heart Rum. Instead, two cards are melded together if they "match". A match is defined as:

two cards of the same rank,
two cards of the same suit in adjacent ranks -- including King-Ace,
any royalty card and any heart, or
any joker and any other card.

If a drawn card matches the up card, then the drawn card is placed overlapped onto the up card, and both cards are moved to the top of the meld pile such that the drawn card is on top. The process of selecting a discard then begins as described in the following paragraph. If a drawn card matches the top card of the meld pile, then it is "laid off" onto the meld pile, and the process of selecting a discard begins.

To select a discard, cards are successively turned up from the hand until no valid plays are available. If there is currently no up card, then the top card is turned up from the hand. If this card matches the top of the meld pile, then it must be laid off, and a new card is turned up until there is no match. Once there is a non-matching up card, it is moved slightly aside to become the "proposed discard", and the next card in the hand is turned up as well. If this second turned-up card matches the proposed discard, then the second turned-up card must be overlapped onto the proposed discard and both moved to the meld pile -- second turned-up card on top -- and the process of selecting a discard begins again. If the turned-up card matches the top card of the meld pile, then the turned-up card must be laid off. Once the turned-up card matches neither the proposed discard nor the top of the meld pile, then the proposed discard is discarded -- leaving behind the turned-up card as the opponent's up card -- and the opponent's turn ends.

Precedence is always given to matching over laying off; thus, if a drawn card matches both the up card and the top of the meld pile, it must be matched with the up card; if a card turned up from the hand matches both the proposed discard and the top of the meld pile, then it must be matched with the proposed discard.

Attendants are never required for royalty cards by the opponent; the attendant rule is abstracted out by allowing any heart to match any royalty card and vice versa. Attendants are still required by the player as normal.

Cards are never laid off between the player and the opponent, though the player is free to lay off onto his/her own melds. The player is also free to replace any joker that he/she melds, though any jokers in the opponent's meld pile are unavailable.

Going Out

Either the player or the opponent goes out as in a game of Black Heart Rum by melding or discarding his/her last card in hand. No final discard is required by either the player or the opponent. Once either the player or the opponent goes out, then play for that hand ends, the points are totaled (see "Scoring" below), and barring a winner (see "Winning the Game" below), the next hand is dealt.

Scoring

Scoring is identical to a two player game of Black Heart Rum, including the value of a black heart at 50 extra bonus points (see "Scoring" under "The Standard Game"). All the cards in the opponent's meld pile are scored as melded, and all the cards remaining in the opponent's hand are deducted as normal, including the up card. The opponent scores the normal 25 bonus points for going out, and can score the extra black heart bonus by going out on a turn that started with an empty meld pile.

Winning the Game

Victory conditions are as in Black Heart Rum. If the player goes out and has accumulated a total score of 500 or more points, then he/she wins. If the opponent does the same first, then the player loses.

Strategy

Much of the strategy of Black Heart Solitaire is the same as in Black Heart Rum; however, there are a few differences worth noting:

Watch the opponent's up card and meld card. This strategy is analogous to watching the discard pile in a regular game of Black Heart Rum. Generally, you will want to avoid discarding a card that matches either the up card or the meld card because you will be forced to have the opponent pick up the discard and play it. If you must choose, it is generally safer to match the meld card, since this will usually result in fewer cards being played. There is even one case in which you may want to intentionally discard a card that matches the meld card. If you want the opponent's up card, you can discard a card that matches the meld card -- but not the up card. This will force the up card to become the first potential discard. Then, if the card(s) turned up do not match this card, it will be yours.
Take advantage of a slow start by the opponent. Until the opponent's meld pile is started, there is only one card -- the up card -- that can be matched. You can take more chances in the early going than you might take once the meld pile is started and you have a second card -- the meld card -- to worry about. Unfortunately, however, since the opponent always goes first, there are two random cards that can match the up card in the first turn -- the initial discard and the top of the draw pile -- so the meld pile may already be started before you get your first turn.
Understand your risk. Obviously, as the opponent's hand is reduced your risk becomes greater and greater; however, also be aware of what up cards and meld cards are riskier than others. Royalty cards are the most risky, since there are thirty cards that will match any given royalty card, including all hearts. Next risky are the 2 through 9 of hearts with twenty-four matching cards including all royalty cards. The Ace and 10 of hearts are only slightly less risky with twenty-two matching cards. Conversely, black index cards only have twelve matching cards. These numbers, of course, do not take into account any potential matches that are unavailable because they already have been played. Also be aware that an up card and meld card that "nearly" match each other will reduce the overall risk slightly, since there will be some overlap of cards that match both.
Do not try to go out first in every hand. If the risk is low, try to go out, especially on your initial meld; however, once the risk becomes higher, concentrate instead on making as many points in melds as possible. The opponent will often discard cards that match others in the discard pile, so do not be afraid to go after them if it means taking in fewer points than you meld. Of course, near the end of a game you may be forced to play defensively to avoid a loss if the opponent goes out with sufficient points.
Do not give up. Like most games of solitaire, Black Heart Solitaire is not an easy game to win. It is absolutely amazing how many times it will look like you have a hand won only to see the opponent go on a run and meld all the remaining cards in hand. It can be frustrating, but that only makes victory sweeter when it comes.

Glossary

The following terms are defined in context throughout the rules, but are collected here for ease of reference. Quoted phrases represent an alternate -- often more common -- form of the term appropriate to a secondary definition.

Attendant: A heart that is played to accompany a royalty card.
Back: The side of a card that is the same for every card. When choosing the standard decks that will form the Black Heart Rum deck, it is important that both decks have identical backs.
Black Card: A card that is normally printed in black, i.e., a spade or a club, or any of the two black jokers.
Black Heart: 1. The act of going out on one's initial meld.
2. "black heart bonus" The extra points one gets for going out on one's initial meld.
Card: Those rectangular pieces of cardboard with which you play the game.
Clubs: One of the two black suits in the Black Heart Rum deck.
Cut: To take the top portion -- approximately half -- of the deck, place it next to the bottom portion, and then place the (former) bottom portion on top of the (former) top portion, thus inverting the two portions. This is optionally done by the player to the dealer's right after the cards are shuffled and before they are dealt.
Deal: v. To initially dispense cards to the players to start a hand, and initialize the discard and draw piles.
n. Same as "hand".
Dealer: The person who deals.
Deck: The set of cards that are used to play the game.
Diamonds: A red suit that is typically found in cards. There are no diamonds in the Black Heart Rum deck.
Discard: v. To play a card from the hand to the table to end one's turn.
n. The card played to the table to end one's turn.
Discard Pile: The face-up, overlapped row of cards in the middle of the table to which players place their discard, or from which players may optionally draw.
Draw: v. To pick up a card from the table to begin one's turn.
n. "draw card" The card drawn to start one's turn.
Draw Pile: The face-down pile of cards in the middle of the table from which players usually draw to begin their turns.
Face: The side of the card that is different for each card. Cards are "face up" if this side is showing, and "face down" if the back is showing.
Go Out: To meld and/or discard one's last remaining held card(s).
Group: A meld set composed of three or more cards of the same rank in any combination of suits.
Hand: 1. The sequence of game play that begins with dealing the cards and ends with someone going out by melding or discarding his/her last card in hand, also known as a "deal".
2. "in hand" Cards kept by a player that are known only to that player, also known as "held" cards.
Hearts: The only red suit in the Black Heart Rum deck, which includes the red joker that is considered a heart.
Held Cards: Cards kept in hand, especially those that are left in hand after another player goes out.
House Rules: Rules that are not strictly part of the game but are agreed to be in effect by all players ahead of time.
Index Card: A card of any suit that is normally printed with a number of pips of the designated suit, i.e., an Ace or 2 through 10.
Initial Meld: The first set of melds made by a player -- all during the same turn -- in any given hand.
Joker: A card typically printed with a court jester image. Jokers come in either black or red -- the red joker is usually represented by the Jack of diamonds. Jokers are used to represent a missing card of the given color in a meld.
Lay Off: v. To meld one or more cards that are combined with a previously played meld, thus forming a larger, still valid meld.
n. "lay-off card(s)" The card(s) played to the table in the act of laying off.
Matching: In Black Heart Solitaire, the type of melding that is done by the opponent.
Meld: v. To play cards to the table in defined sets that will be scored later as points for the player.
n. The cards played to the table in the act of melding.
Meld Card: In Black Heart Solitaire, the top card of the meld pile. This is the only card in the meld pile that is compared for matching.
Meld Pile: In Black Heart Solitaire, the pile of cards fanned out below the opponent's hand that represents the opponent's melds.
Natural: A card that is used to replace a previously melded joker while leaving behind a still valid meld.
Open: v. To play one's or one's team's initial meld.
n. "opening meld" Same as initial meld.
The Opponent: In Black Heart Solitaire, the abstract opponent against whom the player competes.
Out Card: The last card a player needs or draws to go out. Any of a number of cards that, when or if drawn, would allow a player to meld all his/her remaining cards.
Pips: The spots or suit symbols that are printed on index cards. Index cards typically have a number of pips printed in the center of the card equal to the card's rank, with an Ace having one pip.
The Player: In Black Heart Solitaire, the person playing the game; used primarily to differentiate between the actual player and the abstract opponent.
Poker Deck: A standard 52-card deck that is used to play most card games, consisting of an Ace, 2 through 10, Jack, Queen and King in each of four suits: spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds.
Proposed Discard: In Black Heart Solitaire, a former-if temporary-up card that is marked for discarding pending the establishment of a new, non-matching up card.
Rank: An ordering given to a card, usually numeric.
Red Card: A heart -- as there are no diamonds in Black Heart Rum -- or the red joker, which is considered a heart.
Royalty Card: A card of any suit that is normally printed with human images, i.e., a Jack, Queen or King. In some circles royalty cards are called "face cards" or "picture cards".
Rummy: 1. Any of a family of card games in which cards are melded in groups and sequences.
2. "going rummy" In some circles, this is an alternate term for going out.
Run: In some circles, this is an alternate term for a sequence.
Sequence: A meld set composed of three or more cards of the same suit, in order by rank.
Set: A generic name for either a group or a sequence.
Shuffle: To mix up the cards prior to dealing.
Spades: One of the two black suits in the Black Heart Rum deck.
Suit: A grouping of cards all having the same uniquely identifiable symbol. The Black Heart Rum deck contains cards of three suits: spades, clubs, and hearts.
Turn: The sequence of game play that begins with a player's draw and ends with his/her discard and/or his/her going out.
Up Card: In Black Heart Solitaire, the top card of the opponent's hand. This card is compared for matching.
Wild Cards: Cards that are used to represent other cards. In Black Heart Rum, the only wild cards are the jokers -- though the red joker is often represented by a Jack of diamonds.

Copyright

Black Heart Rum rules and guide © Copyright 1996, 1997 by Tobias Oscar Vaughn, all rights reserved. Rules based in part on Bonus Rummy, © Copyright 1988 by Tobias Oscar Vaughn. Anyone may freely make a copy of these rules as long as such copies are not sold for profit, and the entire contents are copied in full, including this copyright statement. Adapting these rules to another presentation media -- including but not limited to constructing a computerized version of the game -- is strictly prohibited without the prior consent of the author.

However, if you really want to make a computer version of Black Heart Rum, just ask me!

Last revision: January 12, 1997.

Questions and comments may be e-mailed to the author at "vaughn@winternet.com".

An simplified version of these rules is available here.

Black Heart Rum Official Rules and Playing Guide

Black Heart Rum
Official Rules and Playing Guide