Growing Up Phillips: Oklahoma Rummy

Pick a holiday, any holiday.  Or maybe a Sunday.  Dinner is done, dishes are cleared and washed and most houses are settling down for the evening.  But not ours.  We're gathering around the table to play Oklahoma Rummy.  Genny and Manny would be there, maybe Pat and Morris, those of us kids who wanted to play, my dad and any other guests/visitors who so chose.  Outbursts of "Buy" and "that was a playable card" rumble around the table, usually 8 or 10 or more of us playing.  It took three decks of cards.  Its a good game for kids - you learn your numbers and jacks, queens, kings and aces, jokers (six of them in three decks) and, when you got really good at it, counting cards, observing players and what they've played, even trying to read faces.  Maybe even developing a poker face of your own (mine was wide-eyed gullible, they never knew if I had a good hand or bad hand because I always looked like a deer caught in the headlights).  You eventually learn things like to not throw away playable cards and that when someone does, its either a mistake on their part or they're really close to "going out" and winning the hand.  Oh yeah, don't forget to "knock."  And yes, we kept score, you had to count the points in your hand (2-7 was 5 points, 8-King was 10 points, Ace was 15 points and Joker was 50 points, I think).  Of course, the lowest number of points at the end of the series of hands wins.

The other really cool thing about Oklahoma Rummy is that it keeps you thinking.  Its not like Gin Rummy where you always try to go for whatever you can in the way of sets and runs but Oklahoma Rummy is scripted by hand, I think this is how it goes and if not, it gives you the idea:
1.  Two sets
2.  Two runs
3.  One set, one run
4.  Three sets
5.  Two sets, one run
6.  Two runs, one set
7.  Three runs

I won't go in to all the rules here.  Actually, its been a lot of years since I've played.  Maybe I'll bring three decks of cards to Christmas this year.  I recall you discard and the next person may pick up the discard or a new card.  If they don't want the discard and someone else needs it, they can "buy" and take it plus 2 or 3 cards from the top of the deck. 

And, like anything else, we developed our nicknames for the hands, sets were something called setbacks and runs may be ruins.  It was all in good fun and it was a good learning experience!