Value of cards: Face cards are 10 points each. Ranks of cards from low to high: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King. The remaining of the deck, positioned face down, is called the stock pile.

The next card from the deck is turned face up to indicate the start of the discard pile. Each player is dealt 10 cards, face down, one at a time alternately. Dealership alternates from round to round, with the first dealer chosen by any agreed upon method. The rummy game is played with a normal deck of 52 cards.