While honing your own hand is crucial, knowing your opponents' tactics can give you important information about how to play defense. Avoiding discarding cards that might aid your opponents in finishing their melds is a rummy bonascrucial defensive strategy. For example, it might be prudent to keep any cards that could finish their sets or sequences if you observe that your opponent routinely removes cards from the discard pile. When playing defense, you also need to be aware of how many points you are prepared to give up. If you think your opponent is about to win, it might be wise to wait to go out until you can successfully reduce your own unmelded points.