Kalooki is a card game that is played by two to four players. Each game starts with all players being dealt thirteen cards. The remaining cards will be in a pile, commonly known as the stock pile. The game starts by having a player drawing from the stock pile, and then discarding a number of cards, thus forming a discard pile. There are many different combinations that can be formed for discarding cards. The next player can then choose to draw from the stock pile or from the discard pile. The turn ends when the player decides which cards to discard to the discard pile. The goal of the game is to get rid of all the cards. Whoever manages to do that first will win the game.

In a Kalooki deck, there are a total of a hundred and eight cards. This is the equivalent of two decks of cards, together with all the jokers. Regardless of the number of players, each player will always start with thirteen cards. As mentioned earlier, cards can be discarded during each turn, and whoever manages to discard all the cards first will win. The challenge that the player face, therefore, is to find combinations of the cards that are either in a set or in a run. Cards that are in a set are those that are similar in value. For example, three fives make a set. A run is a set of cards that has consecutive numbers. For instance, seven, eight, nine, makes up a run. Each run or set contains three to four cards.

During a game, a player can choose to play a single card, a set, or a run. This depends on the strategy that the player is adopting. The value of each card is the same as the card number. For example, a number three card would have a value of three. An ace has a value of eleven. All pictures have a value of ten. The joker has a value of twenty five, which makes it the most valuable card. A player may then decide whether to keep individual cards and play them out later as melds (i.e. a set or a run), or to play them as individual cards. It's not uncommon to see a Kalooki player holding on to many cards, and coming back strong later in the game as other players have run out of valuable cards to play.

Due to its simplicity, Kalooki is a very popular game that can be played anywhere with family and friends. A Kalooki deck can provide many hours of fun and entertainment. Therefore, it is not surprising to see the Kalooki game gaining popularity all around the world in many different countries. This viral effect is further magnified by the Internet. Information on Kalooki game play, rules, etc., can be easily found online. For all you know, you may even play the Kalooki game online with other players.