The initial meld
In brief
To meld for the first time, you must lay down, in the same turn, melds worth at least 40 points in Rami 40, or at least 51 points in Rami 51. In Rami 51, this initial meld must also contain a pure run, a run without a joker.
The threshold
This is the only difference between the two games. Until a player has made their initial meld, they cannot lay down melds or add cards to other players’ melds. The threshold is calculated by adding together all the melds laid down in the same turn. Once you have opened, you can lay down any melds you wish, with no minimum.
The value of each melded card
- Two to nine: the card’s face value.
- Ten, jack, queen, king: 10 points.
- Ace: 11 points at the high end of a run (queen, king, ace) and in a three-of-a-kind of aces, but 1 at the low end of a run (ace, two, three).
- Joker: the value of the card it replaces, using the lower value if two positions are possible.
| Meld | Cards | Verdict | Melded points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen, king, ace of heartsAn ace placed after the king is high: it counts as a face card plus one point. | queen of heartsking of heartsace of hearts | Validrun | 31reference rules |
| Ace, two, three of heartsPlaced before the two, the ace is low and worth just one point. | ace of heartstwo of heartsthree of hearts | Validrun | 6reference rules |
| Joker, seven, eight of spades (reference rules)The joker can be the six or the nine of spades; it is scored in the lower position, as the six. | jokerseven of spadeseight of spades | Validrun | 21reference rules |
The pure run in Rami 51
In Rami 51, one of the melds in the initial meld must be a run of at least 3 cards, without a joker. Jokers are still allowed in the other melds. Two three-of-a-kind melds are therefore not enough, however many points they are worth.
Verified initial melds
Each row is verified by the app’s engine and recalculated by the site:
| Initial meld | Melds | Total | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A pure run and a run with a jokerThe queen, king and ace of hearts form the pure run; the joker is allowed in the other run. | queen of heartsking of heartsace of heartsjokerseven of spadeseight of spades | 52threshold 51, reference rules | AcceptedRami 51 |
| Two three-of-a-kind melds, enough points, no pure runRejected: the total exceeds the threshold, but the required pure run is missing. | king of heartsking of spadesking of diamondsqueen of clubsqueen of diamondsqueen of spades | 60threshold 51, reference rules | RejectedRami 51 |
| A pure run and three of a kind, a few points shortRejected: the pure run is there, but the total falls short of the threshold. The cards return to the player's hand. | five of clubssix of clubsseven of clubsking of heartsking of spadesking of diamonds | 48threshold 51, reference rules | RejectedRami 51 |
| The same cards, with the lowest thresholdAccepted: the threshold is lower and no pure run is required. | five of clubssix of clubsseven of clubsking of heartsking of spadesking of diamonds | 48threshold 40, reference rules | AcceptedRami 40 |
| Three melds, just enough to reach the thresholdSeveral melds can count toward the total in the same turn; reaching the threshold exactly is enough. | five of clubssix of clubsseven of clubsfour of diamondsfour of spadesfour of clubsace of heartstwo of heartsthree of heartsfour of hearts | 40threshold 40, reference rules | AcceptedRami 40 |
| The same cards under the house rulesThe joker is worth more, so the total increases. | queen of heartsking of heartsace of heartsjokerseven of spadeseight of spades | 61threshold 51, house rules | AcceptedRami 51 |
If the threshold is not reached
The app checks the total when the player discards. If there are not enough points, or the pure run required in Rami 51 is missing, the melded cards return to the player's hand, and the player discards as usual. They can try again on their next turn.