As there are quite a few versions and variations of Kalooki, we’ll write here the most popular ones which are European Kalookie and North American Kalooki.

European Kalooki Gameplay

In Kalooki (also called Kaluki, Kalookie, etc.) each player receives 13-15 cards, dealt from 2 standard decks of 52 cards. The objective of the game is to lay down on the table all the player’s cards while the other players receive penalties for the cards they have left in their hands.

Players lay down (called “meld”) their cards by creating sets (equally ranked hands) and runs (consecutive cards of the same suit). The first player to meld all his cards wins the hand. This is called “calling up”. The remaining players get penalty scores by adding the points of their cards (see the Kalooki Rules section for the cards values). A player that reaches 150 points is eliminated from the game, until he chooses to buy back in by adding a new stake to the pool. After all players have been eliminated, the remaining player wins game and takes the money in the pool. Before playing it’s required to agree on the stakes:

1. Initial stake is the amount added to the pool by all players at the beginning of the game.
2. Kalookie is the amount paid to the player that wins the hand by melding all his cards in one lay down.
3. Call up is the amount that the other players have to pay to the winner of the hand.
4. Buy in stake is the amount that a player must pay in order to get back into the game after he’s been eliminated.

There are many possible schemes, of varying sizes of the four stakes above. The rules suggest schemes such as the following:

1. 1 unit for a call up.
2. 2 units for a Kalookie.
3. 5 units for the initial stake.
4. 5 units to buy in.

If 5 players are playing, the seats and the right to the first deal are decided by shuffling 5 cards – Ace, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and dealing them to the 5 players. The player who gets the Ace is the one to make the initial deal. The other players who receive the 2, 3, 4, and 5 cards sit around the table in a clockwise order from the Ace. If there are fewer players less ‘turn’ cards are dealt. The dealer’s turn passes left after every hand.
After the dealer shuffles the cards the player to the dealer’s right cuts the cards. The dealer deals the cards until each player has 13 cards. The next card dealt is placed face-up on the table, and is the beginning of the discard pile. The remaining cards are stacked face-down next to the discard card and act as the stock.

Melding the cards
Melding is the combination of several cards from the player’s hand that are places face up on the table. Melding is actually the process of players getting rid of cards from their hands. The objective of each player is to meld all his cards.
Two examples of legal melds – a set and a run:
Set: 3 or 4 cards of the same rank, but of different suits and no repetitive suits. For example:
5, 5, 5, 5 is a legal set, but 7, 7, 7, 7 is not.
Run: At least 3 consecutive cards with the same suit. Aces are only treated as high cards, and cannot be treated as low cards. For example: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or J Q, K, Aare valid runs. It’s usually better to lay down a single long meld, in order to ruin other players’ chances of building on the runs.
Jokers
Jokers can be used in sets and runs to substitute missing cards. It must be clear which card the Joker replaces and it cannot change at a later stage (it’s not required to assign a suit for a Joker used in a set). In a set/run of 3 cards with 2 Jokers, it has to be clear whether it’s a set or a run.
At a later stage it is possible to reuse Jokers, but it can only be done by a player who has laid down an initial meld of 40 points or more, and the Joker that is released has to be used during the same turn in a new build or meld. In general, melds that were put on the table cannot be re-arranged, only added to.
Initial Meld
That is the first meld laid down by a player. It has to have point value of 40 points or more, and can contain more than one set or run. A player who has already laid down a meld of 40 points and up can at a later stage lay down melds of any value.
Building
Players can add to cards to melds after they have laid down their initial melds. Up to 2 cards in one turn can be added. Adding more than 2 cards has to be melded in the form of a set or a run.
Game Progress

After the dealer has been determined, the player to the immediate left of the dealer is the first to play, and the game progressed in a clockwise order. There are 3 parts to each player’s turn which he can perform:

1. Draw 1 card from the stock or from the discard pile (required). This can be done by the first player to play after the deal, or after the player has laid an initial meld. Otherwise the player can only take one card from the stock.
2. If the player can and intends to, he can meld some cards, build new sets or runs, and/or build on existing melds (optional).
3. Discard 1 card from his hand to the discard pile (required).

The game ends when a player wins by drawing a card from the discard pile or from the stock, and melds all his cards except one, which he must discard. This is the “calling up”. When a player calls up the play ends at once, and other players cannot discard or meld any cards they’re holding.
If the cards in the stock run out, the discard pile is immediately shuffled, placed face-down, and turns into a new stock. A new discard pile is created on the same turn. If the stock runs out of cards twice in one game, the game is considered void, the dealer remains the same and he shuffles and deals a new hand.
A player that wins by melding his 13 cards on the same turn, and not melding anything in previous turns, is called a Kalooki, and the player gets a larger amount when calling up (according to what was initially determined in the stakes).
If a player is left with 1, 2, or 3 cards after discarding his required card he must tell the other players so, and let them know how many cards he has left. Failing to do so nullifies the player’s ability to win on his next turn.
Keeping Score
After the stakes are determined prior to the beginning of the game, the score in Kalooki is divided into 3 parts:

1. The amount in the pool
2. The payments between the players
3. Recording penalty points to know who’s eliminated and who’s the winner of the pool

The winner of the hand is paid the stakes for calling up or for Kalooki, according to the agreed stakes. Players who were eliminated don’t need to pay this. In addition, each player’s penalty points are accumulated and recorded. Players to reach more than 150 penalty points are eliminated. If they want to, they can buy back in by paying the previously agreed upon stakes, after which their penalty score is reduced to the highest score of any of the other players with 150 or less. Each player can buy in up to 2 times. After the third elimination a player is eliminated without being able to buy in. Also, a player can buy in only of there are at least 2 players in the game with a penalty score of 150 or less. If all but one player have penalty scores of over 150, the remaining player is the winner and takes the pool including the accumulates initial stakes and buy-ins. In case several players have penalty scores of over 150, they will decide in turn whether they want to buy in, starting with the player to the left of the player who won the hand that had just finished, in clockwise order.

North American Kalooki Gameplay
There are several key differences between North American Kalooki and European Kalooki(e):

• There’s is no special score for Kalooki.
• There are 4 Jokers used instead of 2.
• Players receive 11-15 cards each, depending on how many players are playing.
• The initial meld requires at least 51 points.
• Aces can also count as low cards in runs. For example: A, 2, 3.
• Aces count as 15 points and Jokers as 25 points.
• There’s no buy in or pool. The winner at the end of the game scores the accumulated value of all the other players’ remaining cards.