The past few years have seen a lot of changes in the world around us. Most things in our lives have been redefined and people have had to make many changes physically and mentally to adapt to these changed circumstances. As you may have guessed we are talking about the advent of the Internet and how it has affected almost every aspect of life.
Like almost everything in our lives, this change has swept up the game world and that includes our favorite game – rummy! We Indians have been playing this game for a long time. The 13 cards rummy game has pervaded our lives so much that we are prone to squeezing in a game even in the most unlikely of times and places. With the advent of the game on to the web world, access and convenience has increased. We can play the game even when we are alone, having the option to play with players who are scattered all over the nation and who share your passion for the game.
Since it has been established that online rummy is hear to stay and that more and more people are starting to enjoy this format more, we can expect some changes. In fact there are a few rummy customs that were a part of traditional rummy that are going to be no longer in use.
Defunct rummy customs:
Stylish and showy shuffling of cards: If you have played rummy with family and friends, you would know what we are referring to. At the start of every round, there would be at least one person in the group who would expertly shuffle the cards and impress the others with their prowess. This custom is defunct as the rummy game hosting site will be doing this automatically.
Cutting the deck: Another custom of rummy is the cutting of the deck. This would occur once the order has been decided. The person who is going to be dealing the cards would ceremoniously offer the cards to the player just before him, this person would cut the deck and draw out a joker card. This process would occur at the start of each game. Again, this is a custom that does not apply any more
Dealing cards: While a few would make the dealing of cards for a game of 13 cards rummy a display of dexterity and grace, there can be very few of us who can claim to relish this chore. Often as we dealt the cards, we would be distracted by some player and end up missing out on the order in which the cards to be dealt. Now this much dreaded and sometimes risky chore has been taken over by the site hosting the game.
Counting points: The game of rummy as it was played before the advent of online rummy would have been incomplete without the paper and pen that would be used to write the score. Columns would be created for each player as per the order of play. Then scores would be written in plus and minus, with the scorekeeper struggling to maintain it properly. The scores would be the focal point of much discussion and disagreement. In fact the scoreboard would also determine the order for dealing. This custom has lost its importance and has been replaced by a much slicker and more accurate scoreboard which is automatically collated by the site.
These are just a few, we are sure if we think about it we can come with many more rummy customs that are no longer part of rummy today