Overview

Rummoli is a Canadian card and chip game first marketed in 1940 by the Copp Clark Publishing Company of Toronto. It combines elements of poker and rummy into a single game played on a specialized game board. The board has labeled pot sections where chips accumulate, and gameplay alternates between a poker hand phase and a rummy-style sequential card-play phase. Players compete to win chips by forming the best poker hands and by being the first to play all their cards.

Components

• 1 Rummoli game board (with labeled pot sections: Poker Pot, Rummoli Pot, Ace of Spades, King of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, 10 of Spades, Sequence 7-8-9 of Diamonds)
• 1 standard deck of 52 playing cards (no jokers)
• Playing chips (distributed equally among players)

Setup

1. Cut cards to determine the first dealer (highest card, Ace is high).
2. Distribute chips equally among all players (2-8 players).
3. Each player places 1 chip on each of the labeled pot sections on the board.
4. The dealer deals all cards one at a time, including one extra hand (the “Widow”), even if cards do not distribute evenly. Some players may have one more card than others.
5. The dealer may choose to exchange their hand for the Widow (without looking at it first) or auction the Widow to other players. The dealer keeps the auction proceeds. If no one takes the Widow, it remains face-down and out of play.

Turn Structure

Each round consists of two phases:

Phase 1 – Poker:

1. Each player selects their best 5 cards for a poker hand and sets them aside.
2. Remaining cards are kept for the Rummy phase.
3. Players either reveal hands simultaneously (showdown variant) or conduct betting rounds (poker-style variant).
4. The best poker hand wins all chips from the Poker Pot.

Phase 2 – Rummy:

1. All players arrange their remaining cards by suit and rank.
2. The poker winner plays their lowest card, announcing it aloud.
3. Play passes to whoever holds the next consecutive card in the same suit. That player plays it (and any further consecutive cards they hold).
4. When a suit is blocked (no one holds the next card, or an Ace is reached), the last player to play a card switches to a different suit, playing their lowest card in the new suit.
5. Play continues until one player empties their hand.

Actions

Poker Phase Actions:

• Select 5 cards for your poker hand.
• Bet, call, raise, or fold (if using the betting variant).
• Win the Poker Pot with the best hand.

Rummy Phase Actions:

• Play cards in sequential order within a suit.
• When you play a pay card matching a pot label on the board (e.g., Ace of Spades, King of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, 10 of Spades, or the 7-8-9 of Diamonds sequence), collect all chips from that pot.
• Switch suits when the current sequence is blocked.

Going Out: The first player to play all their cards wins the Rummy phase. They collect all chips from the Rummoli Pot and receive 1 chip from each other player for every card remaining in that player’s hand.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Chips won accumulate over multiple rounds. The game continues for an agreed number of rounds or until players decide to stop.

At the end of the game, unclaimed pot chips may be resolved through a final poker hand or card cut. The player with the most chips overall wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• The Widow can contain key pay cards. If no one takes the Widow, those cards (and their pot bonuses) remain uncollected for the round, and the chips roll over to the next round.
• If pay cards are in the Widow, the chips on those pot sections carry over and grow larger each round, creating increasingly valuable jackpots.
• The poker hand variant (with betting) adds a gambling element; the showdown variant is simpler and faster.
• Cards do not distribute evenly with all player counts. The extra card(s) in some hands is normal.
• The Rummy phase requires tracking which suits are blocked; a suit blocks when the next sequential card is in the Widow or has already been played.

Player Reference

Round flow: Ante (1 chip per pot) > Deal + Widow > Poker phase > Rummy phase.

Poker: Best 5-card hand wins Poker Pot.

Rummy: Play cards sequentially by suit. Pay cards matching board pots win those chips.

Going out: First player with no cards wins Rummoli Pot + 1 chip per remaining card from each opponent.

Widow: Dealer may swap or auction it. Unclaimed pay cards roll over.