Traditional Kalooki

Players and cards

There are usually three to eight players; tournaments are played with four players at each table.
Two or more packs of cards are used, depending on the number of players.

No. of Players No. of Packs No. of Jokers

3-4 2 4-6

5-6 3 8

7-8 4 10

The object of the game is to go out by laying down all of the player's cards. The point values of
the cards left in a player's hand when someone goes out are:

Card Points

Joker 50

Black Ace 15

King, Queen, Jack 10

2 to 10 face value

Red Ace 1

Sets
A "3" is a set of three or more cards of the same rank, such as 5-5-5 or K-K-K-K-K. The suits of
the cards do not matter and duplicates are allowed.

A "4" is a run of four or more consecutive cards in the same suit, such as spade7-spade8-
spade9-spade10-spadeJ. Aces can be high or low, regardless of their point value, but they
cannot be in the middle of a run, so A-2-3-4 and J-Q-K-A are valid, but Q-K-A-2-3 is not.

When more than one "4" is put down by one player, they must be of different suits, and when
more than one "3" is put down by one player, they must be of different ranks. In games where
three sets of "4" are required a full suit can be used to substitute.

Jokers can be used as wild cards to substitute for any card with the restriction that they are not
allowed to 'kiss'. This rule can be further explained as follows:

● In a "4" jokers cannot be used for consecutive cards - so club9-Joker-clubJ-Joker is

OK but club9-Joker-Joker-clubQ is not.
● In a "3" there must be at least two genuine (non-joker) cards, so 4-4-Joker and 7-
Joker-7-Joker are OK, but 9-Joker-Joker or Joker-9-Joker is not.
Jokers cannot be removed from their set. However, when a joker is used in a "4" it can be moved
up, in that set, by the holder of the real card that it represents (see tacking below), provided that
two jokers do not end up side by side. Once a joker moves as far up in a set as it can go it can
no longer move. A player may not add jokers to sets laid by other players. They may only place
jokers on their own sets.

Deal and contracts

Players take turns to deal the cards. Nine hands (deals) make up a game, and the winner is the
player who has the lowest cumulative score at the end of the game. The cards are dealt out one
at a time. The number of cards dealt to each player depends on the hand being played as shown
in the table below. After all players have been dealt their cards, the next card is turned face up to
start the discards pile, and the remaining undealt cards are stacked face down beside it to form
the stock.

In each hand, there is a contract or quota of 3s and 4s that a player must lay down:

Hand No. Cards dealt Contract

1 9 3, 3, 3

2 10 3, 3, 4

3 11 3, 4, 4

4 12 4, 4, 4

5 12 3, 3, 3, 3

6 13 3, 3, 3, 4

7 14 3, 3, 4, 4 (colloquially called "half and half")

8 15 3, 4, 4, 4

9 16 4, 4, 4, 4

Some players deal 12 cards each in the first three hands, rather than 9, 10 and 11. In some
circles hands 1–4 are referred to as the Kalooki game while hands 5–9 are referred to as Super
Kalooki. Most people play Kalooki as hands 1–9.

Baby Kalooki hands and contracts are:

Hand No. Cards dealt Contract

1 6 3, 3

2 7 3, 4

3 8 4, 4
Some players deal 8 cards for each hand of Baby Kalooki. This is a quick easy format for
teaching the game.

Play
The player to the dealer's left begins and the turn to play passes clockwise. A player's turn
consists of:

● 1. The pluck: drawing one card from the top card of the face-down stock or the top of
the discard pile;
● 2. The lay: optionally laying down some cards. The first lay must be the complete
contract for the game, then the player is free to add cards to any of the sets laid on
the table. When the player has finished their lay, or if they are not able to lay, they
move on to;
● 3. The discard: discarding any one card (other than a joker) face up on the discard
pile.
Calling
If a player has not yet laid down any cards and wants to take a card discarded by another player
when it is not their turn to play next, they can call the card by saying (or shouting) "CALL". Each
player is allowed 3 calls per contract. The player whose turn it is to play has two options:

● 1. Allow the call. The player whose turn it is gives the top discard to the player who
called it. The calling player takes the discard and must also draw one penalty card
from the stock, but cannot lay down any cards or discard at this time. The caller will
from now on have two extra cards in their hand. The play then reverts to the player
whose turn was interrupted by the call, who must now draw from the stock, and
continue the turn in the usual way.
● 2. Refuse the call. If the player whose turn it is has not yet laid down, they have the
right to take the discard for themselves, rather than giving it to the caller and drawing
from the stock; the call then has no effect.
Calling is subject to the following rules:

● If several people try to call the same card, the person who calls first gets the card,
assuming that the person whose turn it is allows the call. The person whose turn it is,
is responsible to determine who called first.
● No one can call a card before it reaches the table.
● Once a player plucks from the stock the previously discarded card is "dead" and
cannot be called.
● Each player is allowed a maximum of three calls per hand (deal). Since each call
adds two cards to a player's hand, the player can check how many calls they have
made by counting the cards in their hand.
● A player who has laid down cards can no longer call.
Laying
The first cards a player lays down must satisfy the contract for the game being played. There is
no point requirement as in some other versions of Rummy. The player places these cards face
up in front of them, where they stay for the rest of the hand. If there are other sets on the table
they may tack on cards as appropriate (see tacking below) and then discard as usual.

A player who has laid down is no longer allowed to take cards from the discard pile. When a
player has laid down they can no longer call for a discard, and in their turn they must draw from
the stock. If another player calls in that turn, the first player must allow the call, unless they have
already cleared the stock with their pluck, in which case the discarded card is dead.
If a player lays downs all their cards and comes out without any other player coming down, that is
called “double up” and all players have to double their points in that contract

Tacking
After laying down the contracted sets, the player is allowed to lay down additional appropriate
cards to any of the sets laid on the table, in the same turn, or in later turns of the same hand.
This is called tacking on or laying off. Further cards of the same rank can be tacked onto a "3". A
"4" can be extended by tacking on the next higher or lower card in sequence. When the suit is
complete no further tacking is possible.

Jokers can only be tacked on a player's own laid sets.

No player may tack cards until they have laid their contract.

Discarding
Jokers cannot be discarded, but apart from that there is no restriction on what card may be
discarded from a hand at the end of a player's turn. It is legal to discard a card that could be
tacked onto a set on the table, and it is legal to discard the same card that the player just picked
up, if they find it is in their interest to do so.

It sometimes happens that the entire stock is used up before any player has gone out. If this
happens, the discard pile, except for its top card, is reshuffled and placed face down to form a
new stock. Play continues as before. If the stock runs out a second time, which may happen if
players are holding back the key cards needed by others to lay down their contracts, the play
ends with no score. All the cards are thrown in, shuffled and dealt again by the same dealer and
the play is restarted (playing for the same contract).

Scoring
As soon as a player goes out by getting rid of all their cards, the hand ends. The other players
count the total value of the cards they have in their hands (see above) and add the result to their
cumulative point total.

If the first player laying manages to go out on the same turn that they first lay down cards, this is
known as bending the table or down and out, and the other players score double points for that
game, known as being doubled up.

At the end of nine hands, the player who has the lowest cumulative score is the winner.

Penalties
It sometimes happens that a player will carelessly, or calculatingly, call more than three times in
one hand. This can be verified by counting the cards that the player is holding. Another player
may challenge this over-caller before the over-caller begins their play to lay their cards. If over-
calling is discovered, the player is given 50 points for each over-call. If the challenger is wrong
they receive a 50-point penalty. Once a player has begun to lay their cards they cannot be
challenged for an over-call.

If a player lays incorrectly and is discovered before their discard, they are required to pick up the
hand and take a 50-point penalty, unless they are able to rearrange the hand successfully to
complete the contract. If an incorrect lay is discovered after play has already passed to the next
player it remains.
If a player fails to begin their play with a pluck or end their play with a discard, including when
laying their hand, there is a 50-point penalty.

Other usual infractions which incur 50-point penalties:

● Resting cards on the table which should still be in hand

● Exposing cards when not laying (accidentally or deliberately)
● Attempting to discard a joker

Bonuses
If the dealer of a hand can successfully cut exactly the correct number of cards to be dealt for
that hand, they receive a bonus of -50 points.