Gambling terms, explained straight

Card Games

Meld score meaning

A meld score is the points awarded for laying down a qualifying combination of cards, such as a set or sequence, during a card game.

Common size
Three or more cards in most rummy-style games17
Hand and Foot
3–7 cards of the same rank4
Pinochle example
150 points for A,10,K,Q,J of trump suit5

Key points

  • A meld is formed from cards in hand and laid face up or declared to count toward scoring14.
  • Meld values vary by game: Jass suit sequences score 20 to 200 points, while Penchant awards 1 point per card with exceptions26.
  • In some games, melds stay on the table for later scoring or team ownership43.

Where this term is used

Card games Meld meaning Explains the broader term 'meld' as both a noun and verb in card games. Card games Meld meaning in English Covers the English-language definition of meld in a gambling context. Card games Whist drive meaning Explains a whist drive, a social event for playing whist in rounds. Card games Rummy vs gin rummy vs rummy 500 Rummy is a family of card-melding games Card games Short whist A shortened version of whist where the first player or team to reach a fixed number of points wins the game Card games Solo card game rules pdf A solo card game is a trick-taking game in

Sources

  1. Meld (cards) en.wikipedia.org Provides the general definition of meld and common meld size in rummy games.
  2. Jass - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Supplies Jass meld scores and regional terminology.
  3. Canasta en.wikipedia.org Explains how melds stay in play for team ownership in canasta.
  4. Hand and Foot bicyclecards.com Gives Hand and Foot meld size rules.
  5. Pinochle bicyclecards.com Lists pinochle meld point values.
  6. PENCHANT pagat.com Details Penchant meld scoring, where melds score 1 point per card with exceptions.
  7. Rules of Card Games: Scoring Rummies pagat.com Confirms common meld size of three or more cards in rummy-style games.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.