What are the card values in Rummy?
Card values decide your deadwood and your score, so they are worth memorising. The common system is simple, with just a few variant twists.
The standard values
Across Gin Rummy, basic Rummy and most others: number cards score their face value, so a 2 is 2 points and a 9 is 9. Jacks, Queens and Kings are each worth 10. The Ace is low and worth 1. These values set your deadwood total.
Where the Ace changes
The Ace is the main exception. In Rummy 500, an Ace used at the high end of a run (as in Q-K-A) is worth 15 points, while an Ace in a low run or a set counts 1. Always confirm whether Aces are high, low or both before you play.
Special-case games
Canasta uses its own scale entirely: jokers 50, Aces and twos 20, and so on, because the whole game is about high-value melds. When in doubt, our scoring overview shows how these values feed into each game's totals.
Related questions
What is deadwood in Rummy?
Deadwood is the collection of cards in your hand that are not part of any meld - not in a set and not in a run. Each unmatched card carries its point value, and the total is your deadwood count. In Gin Rummy you can only knock when your deadwood is 10 points or less, so keeping it low is everything.
How is Rummy scored?
In most Rummy games the player who goes out scores points equal to the total deadwood left in the other players' hands. Face cards count 10 each, number cards their pip value, and Aces usually 1. Variants differ: Rummy 500 scores the melds you lay down, and Gin Rummy adds bonuses for knocking, going Gin and undercutting.
What is Rummy 500?
Rummy 500, also called 500 Rum, is a variant for 2 to 8 players where you lay your melds face up and score the point value of the cards in them. The first player to reach 500 points wins. Its signature rule lets you draw more than one card from the discard pile, as long as you immediately use the deepest card you take.