The three groups to recognise
Pure sequence
Same suit, consecutive ranks, at least three cards, and no joker. This is the group a finished 13-card hand is expected to include.
Impure sequence
A run that uses a joker, or a printed wild card, to fill a gap. It can complete a hand only alongside a separate pure sequence.
Set
Three or four cards of one rank in different suits. Duplicate suits in the same set are not accepted in the common rule.
Before a declaration
- You still hold 13 cards after the discard that accompanies the declaration, according to the table’s procedure.
- One group is pure.
- Every other card sits in a sequence or a set.
Card values at a glance
These points describe how an unfinished hand is usually scored. They are not stakes, entry fees or cash values.
| Card | Usual value |
|---|---|
| Ace, King, Queen, Jack | 10 |
| Number cards | Face value |
| Joker used in a valid group | 0 |
Three easy mistakes to catch
A colour match is not a suit match.
Hearts and diamonds are both red. They are still different suits, so 5♥ 6♦ 7♥ is not a sequence.
Matching ranks are not automatically a valid set.
Two eights of hearts and one eight of spades repeat a suit. The common set wants different suits.
One strong group does not finish the hand.
A pure sequence of five still leaves eight cards to place. Declare only when nothing is left over.