Understanding The Psychology Of Your Opponent In Online Rummy

Understanding The Psychology Of Your Opponent In Online Rummy

Many begin playing rummy out of curiosity. After all, most can relate to watching our older siblings or relatives engaging in this game for hours. Rummy is high on entertainment, but it is also a game of skill. You need to employ your cognitive skills to stay ahead of your opponents, but you need to do it subtly. Being a card game, the fate of your game is almost entirely dependent on your hand and how you play them. Be careful though, for your opponents may be seasoned rummy players after playing on web and rummy app.

It is the same for everybody, and this is why gauging the hands of opponents is one of the most widely practiced skills in a game of rummy. In an across the table game, you can better understand your opponent’s reactions to other players picking up and discarding cards. In online rummy, you don’t have that option. You have to understand the psychology of your opponents to gauge their hands as well as the level of skill. 

Observe The Discarded Cards

It is easy to get an idea about the skill level of your opponents if you observe their picking up and discarding of cards from the open deck. If you find that the cards discarded by others are not useful to you at all, it is a foregone conclusion that the opponents are experienced who already had an idea about your hand. 

On the other hand, if the cards discarded by others are helping you to form a sequence, make sure that they are not high-value cards. It is difficult to form a sequence with high-value cards and declare the game, and your opponent might be setting a trap for you. 

​Since you don’t have the leeway to observe the expressions of your opponents while picking up or discarding cards, you will have to gauge their intention by observing their cards.

Veteran players of Indian rummy may entice their opponents to pick up high-value cards and try to form sequence while they get a perfect sequence in their hands. So, if you see that the cards discarded by others are high-value cards, but are helping you to form a sequence, make sure that you complete the sequence fast. Otherwise, it may just be a ploy by your opponents.

However, if you find that the cards discarded by others are not all high-value ones and may help you to form a sequence, give it a chase; you might not be up against a very experienced player after all. This is because inexperienced players may unknowingly divulge their strength. So, observe the discarded cards first to understand the skill levels of individual players and then work on your strategy accordingly. 

Picking Up Cards

If your opponents are picking up cards from the open deck and also discarding some, you can get a fair idea about their hands in rummy. But, if they are discarding cards, and picking up from the closed deck of cards, it becomes difficult to get the better of them. 

However, what is observed is that veteran players usually pick up cards from the closed deck. If you find that a player is picking up cards from the closed deck repeatedly, you can assume that the player does not probably have a good hand. If you feel that an opponent is discarding only high value or face cards, you may also get an idea about his/her hand. 

Discarding Jokers

If an opponent is discarding jokers and picking up other cards, you can make two assumptions about the player. The first is that the player is an unskilled one who doesn’t realize the value of a joker. The second assumption is that the player is about to get a perfect sequence. 

In any case, use your memory and try to recollect the other cards he/she had discarded. If you find a pattern, you must play safe. An experienced player may need to discard the joker and get a different card if a set of three cards of the same suit and series are formed. One cannot use a joker with two similar cards and that is why the joker may need to be discarded. However, if there is no pattern, the player may just be an amateur who does not have enough skills to form a perfect sequence. 

Picking Up Jokers

If a player has just picked up a joker from the open deck of a rummy game, you need to consider two things – the player who discarded the joker and one who picked it up. Quickly think about the cards picked up and discarded by both players. This may help you to get a clear idea of what the two players are up to.

While understanding what’s going on behind the moves made by your opponent can be intriguing and add to the essence of the game, don’t forget that at the end of the day, rummy is a game of pure entertainment. So, don’t forget to have fun along the way!