Rules

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The Game
Each player is dealt 13 cards.

The Deck

This game is played with 2 standard 52 card decks plus 2 Jokers.

 

 The four suits

 KDKHKSKC


 The cards and their values

 

2D3D4D5D6D

2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points 6 points

7D8D9D10DJD

7 points 8 points 9 points 10 points 10 points

QDKDADJoker

 10 points 10 points 11 points 25 points

 

(*) Joker may be used in any set or run to substitute for any missing card or cards. When used in a meld to substitute for another card, the Joker takes on the point value of the card it represents. It counts 25 penalty points when in the hand of a player at the end of play.

The remaining cards are placed face down on the table, forming the stock pile (face down) and one card is placed next to the stock to form the discard pile (face up).

A standard turn consists of three parts:
1. Drawing one card, either from the top of the stock pile or from the top of the discard pile.
2. If a card was picked up from the discard pile, the player must lay down one or more melds, with a total value of 40 if the player is laying down for the first time.
3. Discarding one card from on top of the discard pile.

Drawing at the beginning of your turn and discarding in the end are compulsory. Melding is optional, and cards that could have been melded can be kept in your hand for a future opportunity.

If the stock runs out, the discard pile is shuffled and placed face down to form a new stock. The card discarded by the player who drew the last card of the old stock is placed face up beside the new stock to start the new discard pile.

Building Rules & Instructions
After laying down the initial meld, a player may add cards from his hand to any melds on the table - his own or other player's - forming a large valid meld. This is called building.

Players may add the corresponding card of the fourth suit to a three-card set (if it contains a Joker, no repeated suits are allowed), or add further consecutive cards to either end of a run.
In builds, as in original melds, a Joker can be used as a substitute for any card.

In Kalooki 40, Aces are worth 11 points, and can only be used in high runs, i.e. following a Queen and a King.

Reuse of Jokers
If a set of three cards contains a Joker, the Joker can be released in exchange for equal ranking cards of both missing suits from the player's hand. For example, if Ten of SpadesTen of DiamondsJoker has been melded, a player who has a Ten of Clubs and a Ten of Hearts can add both of these cards to the set, taking the Joker in exchange and using it elsewhere. By building just one of these 10's onto the set, player forms a closed four-card set of 10-10-10-Joker, from which the Joker can never be taken. A player can add any two of the missing suits to a three-card set with two Jokers, releasing one of the Jokers and forming a closed four-card set.

A player can add any two of the missing suits to a three-card set with two Jokers, releasing one of the Jokers and forming a closed four-card set.

If a run contains a Joker, a player who holds the card the Joker represents can use it to replace the Joker, and reuse it elsewhere.

Except in the cases where a Joker can be reused as described above, melds and runs once placed on the table can never be rearranged - they can only be added to.

Going Out
The play ends when a player wins by drawing from the stock or discards pile, melding all but one of their cards, and discarding their last card. This is known as "Going Out".

Going Kalooki
When a player lays down all their cards in one move without using any builders, this move is known as "Going Kalooki" the remaining players at the table will have an extra 25 penalty points added to their total card count.


Note that even when going out you must end your turn with a discard - it is not permitted to draw, meld all of your cards and discard nothing.

Note that there is no "laying off", as in some other rummy games. When a player calls up, the play ends immediately and the other players have no opportunity to dispose of any cards they are holding, even if they could have been melded or built onto other melds.

Scoring

Defeated (Penalty Points)

Going Out Sum of the remaining cards value in the player's hand. (Ace = 11, Joker = 25)

Kalooki     Sum of the remaining cards value in the player's hand + 25 Penalty Points. (Ace = 11, Joker = 25)

 

Payout table for ring games:

The winner always gets at least 75% of the prize pool, the other 25% will be distributed to the rest of the players. These players' percentage is calculated by the proportion of their point to the winners' points, as long as they are less than 100 penalty points behind 1st place.

 
Kalooki Payout Table