Kalooki, also known as Kaluki, Kalookie or Caloochi, is a popular Rummy variation game that apparently originated in Israel. The rules and general order of play is the same as for standard Rummy, with a number of minor exceptions.
Today, Kalooki is hugely popular in America and in Europe and there are many variants of Kalooki such as Jamaican and South African versions. The rules differ depending on where the game is played or which version of Kalooki is being played. Kalooki is a game that provokes skill and thought and is as entertaining as it is competitive.

Play Requirements

Kalooki is normally played with two standard 52-card decks. In European Kalooki, only two jokers are included to create a deck of 106 cards. North American Kalooki is played with two standard playing card decks, including four jokers creating a full Kalooki deck of 108 cards.

Kalooki may be played by two to five players.

Card Values

Each card in Kalooki has a value and these card values differ among the different variants of Kalooki as follows:

CARD TYPE	EUROPEAN KALOOKI	NORTH AMERICAN KALOOKI	SOUTH AFRICAN KALOOKI
ACES	11 POINTS	15 POINTS	11 POINTS
FACES CARDS (King, Queen, Jack)	10 POINTS	10 POINTS	10 POINTS
ALL OTHER CARDS	PIP VALUE/ CARD VALUE e.g. 3 is worth 3 points	PIP VALUE/ CARD VALUE e.g. 3 is worth 3 points	PIP VALUE/ CARD VALUE e.g. 3 is worth 3 points
JOKERS **	15 POINTS	25 POINTS	25 POINTS

** In Kalooki, when a joker is used in a hand, it takes on the value of the card it represents. For example, 3, 4, Joker, 6 – the value of the Joker is 5 as it represents the 5 in the run. However, if the joker is left in the hand at the end of play, its value is 11 or 15 penalty points as above.

Object of the Game

The object of a hand of Kalooki is to be the first player to play all of the cards in their hand by melding them or “calling up”. All the other players score penalty points based on the cards values left in their hands at the end of play. Anyone accumulating more than 150 penalty points over a series of hands is eliminated from the game. The last surviving player wins the game and takes the money from the pool.

The Stakes

Before beginning play, players must decide on the following stakes:

The units in the above table are a proposed ratio and the players need to decide before the game how much these units represent. For example, if the players decide that 1 unit represents 1 USD, then a Kalooki pays $2.00 and the initial stake and buy in stake will be $5.00 each.

The Deal

The deal and order of play are decided by a draw of the cards. An Ace, two, three, four and five are shuffled together and each player draws one card. The player holding the Ace gets the first deal and the choice of seat. The remaining players take seats clockwise in order from the dealer – the holder of the two to the dealer’s left, the three to his left, etc. The deal likewise moves around the table clockwise with each hand.

The dealer shuffles the cards and offers them to the player to his right for the cut. After the cut, he deals out the cards one at a time face down around the table clockwise until each player has 13 cards.
In North American games, 15 cards are dealt if there are two to four players, 13 cards are dealt if there are five players and 11 cards are dealt per person if there are six players.
The remainder of the deck is then placed face down in a stack in the centre of the table and this is referred to as the stock pile. The top card of the stock pile is turned face up to the right of the deck to start the discard pile.

Playing

The player to the left of the dealer plays first, with turns moving around the table clockwise from there.

Each turn consists of four parts:

(1) Draw (Compulsory) – The first player may draw from either the stock pile or the discard pile without having to lay down a meld. After the first play, players may only draw from the stock until they have made an initial meld totalling at least 40 points. The single exception to this is if the player takes the top card of the discard pile and uses it immediately to make their initial meld.
In North American games, 51 points are required and cards built onto other player’s melds are counted towards this score provided that the player makes at least one new meld of their own. This is also referred to as Kalooki 51 – the minimum is 51 points.

(2) Melding (Optional) – Cards may be discarded by placing combinations of three or more cards from your hand face up on the table before you. Alternatively, you may keep melds in your hand. You may only lay down one meld during a turn.

There are two kinds of meld combinations: Runs and Sets.

A RUN or a SEQUENCE is three or more cards of the same suit in sequence. Some examples of a Valid Run include; 6, 7, 8; or 2, 3, 4, 5 and some examples of an Invalid Run include; 8, 9, 10, J or 7, 8, 9.

A SET or GROUP or BOOK is three or four cards of the same rank and different suits. Some examples of a Valid Set include; J, J, J; or 3, 3, 3, 3 and some examples of an Invalid Set include; 7, 7, 8 or A, A, 10.

It is important to remember that a single card cannot belong to two sets and/ or to both a set and a run. For example, a player can not have a set of 5, 5, 5 and 3, 4, 5 with the 5 belonging to both melds.

IMPORTANT: Aces rank high in Kalooki and so a run of A, 2, 3, 4, is an example of an invalid run and Q, K, A is regarded as a valid run. Also, Aces do not go around the corner and, therefore, a run of K, A, 2 is not valid either.

In the North American version of the Kalooki game, Aces can be counted as high or low and, therefore, in this version of the game, A, 2, 3 , 4 and Q, K, A would be examples of valid runs. In North American Kalooki, it is also not accepted that Aces go around the corner and so K, A, 2 is also not accepted as valid.

When melding six or more cards in a suit consecutively (for example, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J), the player can either put them down as a single run or alternatively, may divide them into two (or more) runs (for example, 6, 7, 8 and 9, 10, J). Normally it is considered better to put them down as a single run as it gives opponents less opportunity to build upon them. For example, it prevents other players from adding a 9 or 8 onto the above runs.

(3) Laying Off (Optional) – After you have laid down your initial meld, you can in the same turn or in later turns add cards from your hand to melds already on the table. You may lay off cards onto your own melds or other melds formed by another player with the object of forming a larger valid meld. In Kalooki, this is known as building and it only happens during a player’s turn and not at the end of a hand. It is important to note that you do not have to meld during your turn in order to build onto other melds. Also, although you can build in the same turn as having laid down your initial meld, the values of cards that you build cannot be counted towards the 40 points you need to make your initial meld valid.

For example, you can add the card of the fourth suit to extend a set – if there is a set of 5,
5, 5 on the table, you could add a 5 but not anything else. The cards of a set must all be of different suits, so there are no other cards that can be added to that meld. If that three card set contained a joker, there would be a choice of suits that could be added to it.

You can also add cards to either end of a run so long as they form a valid meld but you cannot add more than two cards to the same end of a single run in a single turn. Thus, if there is a run of 2, 3, 4 on the table, you may add 5 or you could add 5 and 6. You could not add 5, 6 and 7 to that existing meld but there is nothing to stop you placing it down as a new meld.

(4) Discarding (Compulsory) – Even if you have melded all the cards in your hand, you must place a card from your hand face up on top of the discard pile to complete your turn. Once the player has discarded, his turn is over and he may not play any cards until it is his turn again.

The Use of Jokers

All Jokers are wild cards that can stand for any card in a meld and even a duplicate of a card already in another meld. That is, a Joker may be used in any set or run to substitute for any missing card or cards. If you use a joker at one end of a run, you must declare what card the joker represents as this cannot be later changed by any player. Also, if you put down two jokers melded with a natural card, for example, 5, Joker, Joker, then you must make it clear whether it is a set (5, 5, 5) or a run (5, 6, 7) and if it is a run you must say what the two cards represent. However, you do not need to specify the suit represented by a joker used in a set.

You can, in some circumstances, re-use a joker previously melded by yourself or by another player. This can only be done by a player who has laid down the initial meld that met the 40 point requirement and the released joker must immediately be used in a new meld or built upon an existing meld – it can never be added to a hand of a player. For example, 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, in a situation where there is 4, 4, Joker melded, a player who has 4 and 4 can add both of these cards to the meld to form a “closed set” and take the joker to use elsewhere in the same turn. However, if you add just 4 to that set and thereby form 4, 4, 4, Joker; it then becomes a four card “closed set” and so the joker cannot be taken.

In the North American game, only one natural card is required to take a joker from a set.

On the other hand, if the three card set contained two Jokers as such 2, Joker, Joker, then you could add any two of the three missing suits in order to obtain just one joker. For instance, you could add 2 and 2 which, after you take one joker, would leave a closed set of four cards 2, 2, 2 and Joker.

If a run contains a joker, a player who holds the card that the joker represents can place it on the run, in substitution for the joker, and reuse the joker elsewhere. For example, in the run 9 , 10, Joker, a player can replace the Joker with J. Remember, the joker cannot be taken into the hand but must be used in the same turn.

The Initial Meld

After the first play, players may only draw from the stock until they have made an initial meld totalling at least 40 points. The initial meld may include a card taken from the top of the discard pile or a player may make their initial meld on a turn when they drew from the stock pile.

The End of Play

The play ends when one player melds all their cards and discards their last card and thereby goes out. This is referred to as calling up or going out. It is important to note, that even when calling up, you must end your turn with a discard – it is not legal to draw, meld all your cards and discard nothing. Once any player calls up or goes out, there is no opportunity for the other players to lay off cards or lay down melds. Play ends immediately and all players are stuck with the points that are in their hands. Those points are totalled and added to the players’ cumulative scores.
If after discarding to end your turn, you are left with 1, 2 or 3 cards, you must warn the other players how many cards you have left in your hand, otherwise you will be barred from going out on your next turn.
Winning by melding all 13 cards on the same turn is known as “Kalooki” or “Hunt” and earns a larger point bonus than calling up. That is, usually 25 points are added to all the other player’s penalty points.

What if the Stock Pile Finishes

If the stock pile runs out of cards, the discard pile is shuffled and put on the table face down to form a new stock pile. 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. However, if the stock pile runs out a second time, there is no second reshuffle and the game is declared void. When this happens, there is no score or payment and the same dealer shuffles and deals a new hand.

Scoring in Kalooki

The total point value of the cards held in the hands of each of the other players when a player calls up or goes Kalooki, are called penalty points. These determine who is eliminated from the game and who will eventually win the prize pool. A cumulative total of penalty points is kept on a regular score sheet.
If a player reaches 150 points, he/she is eliminated from the game, unless he chooses to buy in by paying the buy-in amount that was agreed upon at the start of the game. If he buys back in, the score is reduced to the score of the highest scoring player who is still below 150 points. Buying in is subject to two rules; (a) A player can buy in only twice during a game and (b) buying in can only be done if there are at least two players under 150 points.

At the start of the game, each player will make an agreed upon payment or stake to the pool. The winner of a hand is paid this stake for a call up or for going kalooki by each of the other players in the hand. Players who have been eliminated from the game will not pay. Players settle up on the call up and going Kalooki at the end of each hand. The pool goes to the last player remaining in the game. That is, all scores can be managed on the score sheet and payments settled at the end.
Note that in the North American game, there is no pool or buying in. Only cards remaining in the hands of players are counted at the end of each hand for scoring purposes. Also there is no bonus for going Kalooki.

Variations

Swedish Kalooki

A version of Kalooki that is very close to British/European Kalooki is called Swedish Kalooki. The main differences are that in Swedish Kalooki the player who accumulates 100 penalty points (instead of 150) is eliminated from the game, and the stakes are also different.