Most rummy games have the same rules when it comes to scoring although there are different variations that can exist, based on the actual game that you will be playing. It is crucial that you know all the particular rules that are linked with scoring in order to not be surprised when a player lands a bonus or you get a negative score and you did not know that this was going to happen.
In most situations the cards are scored only when they are melded. Also, no scoring usually happens unless a player will meld all the cards in his hand. There are also rummy variations where scores are immediately calculated when you meld a hand. In most situations the cards from 10 to K or tiles from 10 to 13 are scored with 10 points. 1 or Ace are usually worth 25 points and the rest of the cards can be worth their numeric values or 5 points. In most cases you are to receive positive points for the melded cards and the cards that are not melded will give you negative points. Joker value usually varies but in most cases it is worth 15 points. When you close your hand with a Joker in some rummy variations you might get a bonus of 50 points and the card with which you close is scored.
Problems appear when we are playing special rummy variations that are not that well known. If you are in front of a rummy game that you did not play before the best course of action is to ask about scoring and make sure that you properly understand when you will receive points and penalties. The truth is that there are a lot of possible rules for online rummy game scoring. There is even the possibility that you will just gain a fixed amount of points when you make the hand and a negative point value when you do not. An example of a rummy game where this happens is Okey (also known as Turkish Rummy).
A very good way to get a hang of all scoring rules associated with the most common rummy games is to play online rummy games for free. You can easily learn all the rules that are linked with both the game and scoring and everything happens really fast.