Draw at the start of your turn

At the start of your turn, you may have to draw one or more cards before you can play anything else. This is often the case in games with a discard pile.

If there is no discard pile, you obviously have to draw from the stock. In games with a discard pile, you can choose whether you draw those cards from the stock, or from the discard pile. You cannot mix drawing from stock and discard pile: you must draw all cards from the same source.

"or as many as you like from the discard pile"

If the game has a discard pile, and you have drawn your cards from the discard pile, then in some games you can draw even more cards from the discard pile. This can be handy if there are more useful cards on the discard pile.

Draw at the start vs. draw if you don't play

Do not confuse this rule with the draw if you don't play rule. This rule tells you to always draw cards before you play; the other rule tells you that you must draw more cards only if you don't play anything.

Games with this rule

In Jin RRRummy, you must draw one card; in Tonic RRRummy, you may also draw as many as you like from the discard pile. Of the other built-in games in RRRummy, Carousel is the only game where you must draw a card from the stock at the start of your turn.

 

In most if not all Rummy type games with a discard pile, you have to draw a card at the start of your turn. In Tile Rummy, this rule does not apply.