This card is called the upcard and becomes the beginning of the discard pile. One card is taken from the top of the stock and placed face up next to it. The rest of the deck is then placed face down in the middle of the players this is referred to as the stock. One person begins as dealer for the first hand, and then the person to the dealer's left becomes dealer for the next hand, and so on. Each game is based on 10 hands, and the rules for each hand are unique. The number of decks varies from 2 to 4 and is based on the number of players (see chart).
Aces are high (above a King), and Jokers and 2's are wild cards. Shanghai rum is played with multiple decks of 52 standard playing cards, including the Jokers. 5 Rules to play Shanghai with Rook playing cards.3.3 Number of Wild Cards allowed in a meld.1.4 Play for the player who has gone down.
