It might be better to drop early rather than risk earning points from other players' completed hands if you have a bad hand with little room for improvement. Dropping gives you the opportunity to reduce your losses & start over with a new 5 apkoutlook for the following round. The game's current state and your opponents' advancement should be considered when deciding whether to drop. It might be wise to drop rather than keep playing with few options if you see that a number of players are almost ready to declare their hands or have already formed several sets and sequences. Holding on, however, might produce better results if you think you have a chance to make significant improvements to your hand in later turns.