Rearranging in Hand Russian — how the cards move
Rearranging (التحريك) is the heart of Hand Russian: once the opening go-around passes you may take the whole table apart and put it back together differently — pull a card out of a run, split sets, rebuild every meld — to shed your own cards. This page is the complete rule: the two conditions, the opening exception, three worked examples you can check card by card, how it works in the Tonj app, and the mistakes that get a proposal refused.
Play Hand Russian on TonjWhat is rearranging (التحريك)?
Rearranging is re-grouping the table: the melds on the table come apart and go back together with cards from your hand — a card leaves one meld and joins another, a long run splits, two sets become three runs — as long as everything you leave behind is a legal meld.
Rearranging in the Tonj app
On your turn press Rearrange table: tap a card, then tap a group to move it there; New group opens a fresh meld; when the whole table is legal, Play this table sends it. The counter tracks how many of your cards ride the proposal — at least one must. And the bots rearrange too, so the table can change shape on their turns as well.
How a match goes
Read the table before your card
Look at every meld on the table and at the cards stuck in your hand: which meld, grouped differently, would release one of yours?
Regroup — every meld stays valid
Re-partition the whole table together with your cards: every group you leave must be a legal set (3–4 of one rank in distinct suits) or run (3+ consecutive of one suit, ace low). Nothing may vanish, and a table card never returns to your hand — it only moves between groups.
Shed at least one card, then send
The proposal must move at least one card out of your hand — a regroup that sheds nothing is not a turn. Emptying your hand on a rearrange wins the deal at once.
The rearrange rules in detail
What a valid meld is
A set is 3 or 4 cards of one rank in distinct suits — a repeated suit is refused, even the second deck’s copy. A run is 3 or more consecutive cards of one suit with the ace LOW only: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A never is. This holds for every meld you leave behind, old or new.
Rule 1 — every meld stays valid
You may tear the table apart, but you must put it back together: each resulting group must stand on its own as a legal set or run. A leftover pair, or a run with a hole in it, refuses the whole proposal.
Rule 2 — shed at least one card
The proposal must lay at least one card from your hand onto the table. A pure tidy-up that sheds nothing is refused — rearranging is a shedding tool, not housekeeping.
The opening go-around: no rearranging
Until the opening go-around completes, nobody may touch a meld on the table: you may only lay NEW melds made wholly of your own cards. Once every seat has taken a turn, the table opens for building and rearranging for everyone.
Example 1 — take the edge card out of a run
Table: the run 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 8♥ and the set 5♠ 5♦ 5♣; your hand holds 4♠ and 4♦. Propose: 4♥ 4♠ 4♦ (a set of fours — the 4♥ leaves the run), 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 8♥ (the run closes up, still valid) and the set of fives unchanged. Every meld is legal and you shed two cards at once.
Example 2 — two sets into three runs
Table: the set 6♥ 6♠ 6♣ and the set 8♥ 8♠ 8♣; your hand holds 7♥, 7♠ and 7♣. Propose the three runs 6♥ 7♥ 8♥, 6♠ 7♠ 8♠ and 6♣ 7♣ 8♣ — six table cards plus your three sevens, every group a valid run. One rearrange, three cards shed.
Example 3 — a rearrange that empties your hand
Table: the four-card set 9♥ 9♠ 9♦ 9♣ and the run 5♥ 6♥ 7♥; your hand is down to 7♦ and 8♦. Propose: the run 7♦ 8♦ 9♦ — the 9♦ leaves the set, which keeps 9♥ 9♠ 9♣ — and the hearts run unchanged. Both melds valid, two cards shed, your hand is empty: the deal is yours on the spot.
Common mistakes
Refusals you can avoid: rearranging before the opening go-around completes; leaving a two-card group behind; putting two cards of the same suit in one set (the second deck’s copy counts too); closing a run with Q-K-A (the ace is low only); sending a table that sheds none of your cards; and trying to pull a table card back into your hand — table cards only ever move between groups.
Rearranging at a glance
| Every meld | A valid set or run — no exceptions |
|---|---|
| Your hand | At least one card must ride the proposal |
| Opening go-around | Build and rearrange stay locked until it completes |
| Table cards | Never return to a hand — groups only |
| Empty hand | A rearrange that sheds your last card wins at once |
Rearranging is the shedding engine of the single deal: the more shapes you can see for the same table, the faster your hand empties. The ace still prices at 11 pips if the stock runs dry.
Frequently asked questions
What is rearranging in Hand Russian?
After the opening go-around you may re-group every meld on the table with cards from your hand — split runs, move cards between sets — provided every meld you leave is valid and you shed at least one card. Table cards never return to your hand.
Can a table card come back into my hand?
Never. A rearrange may move table cards freely between groups, but nothing leaves the table and nothing climbs back into a hand — the engine refuses any proposal that loses a table card.
Do the bots rearrange too?
Yes — the bots on Tonj search for re-partitions of the table and submit full rearranges like any player, so the table can change shape on a bot’s turn as well.
Why was my rearrange refused?
One of three gates: a meld you left is not a legal set or run; the proposal sheds none of your cards; or the opening go-around is still live — until it completes you may only lay new melds of your own cards.
Does the plain Hand game have rearranging?
No — rearranging the table is the hallmark of Hand Russian. The plain Hand game lets you meld and build, but its table melds stay put; only Hand Russian opens the whole table to re-grouping.