Canasta Card Game
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- Canasta, a game of the Rummy family was the most popular American game in the early 1950s. Jokers and deuces are wild. A wild card is melded only with natural cards and then becomes a card of that same rank. Partnerships may.
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A mixed canasta is worth 300 points, a natural canasta 500 points, and a wildcard canasta 1,000 points. The player that goes out gets a bonus of 100 points. If this player had no cards (except Red Threes) on the table directly before going out ('goes out.
- General Terminology: Cards; Deal and Play; Melds and Canastas
- Classic Canasta: Deal; Melds; Initial Meld; Play; Threes; Frozen Discard Pile; End of the hand; Scoring; Strategy; Variations
- Modern American Canasta: Deal; Melds; Play; Threes; Initial Meld; End of the Play; Special Hands; Scoring; Variations / Table Rules
Introduction
The game of Canasta is said to have originated in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1939 (see for example this archive copy of Philip E Orbanes' article The Canasta Story). From there it spread to Argentina, the USA and throughout the world. It was extremely fashionable in the 1950's, threatening for a while to displace Contract Bridge as the premier card game.
The rules were standardised in North America around 1950, and it was this version of the game, which will be called Classic Canasta on this page, that gained worldwide popularity. In many countries, Classic Canasta is still played in more or less its original form, sometimes alongside a number of variations. In North America, however, some players have continued to develop the game, and these groups now favour a different version, called Modern American Canasta on this page.
Canasta is generally agreed to be best for four players, playing in partnerships. However, there are playable versions for two and three players, which are given later on this page.
General Rules and Terminology
To avoid repetition, this section describes the terms and processes that are common to most or all versions of Canasta.
The Cards
Canasta is normally played with two standard 52 card packs plus four jokers (two from each pack), making 108 cards in all. They have standard point values as follows:
| Jokers | . . . | 50 points each |
| A, 2 | . . . | 20 points each |
| K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 | . . . | 10 points each |
| 7, 6, 5, 4 | . . . | 5 points each |
The cards A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 are called natural cards. All of the deuces (twos) and jokers are wild cards. With some restrictions, wild cards can be used during the game as substitutes for a natural card of any rank.
The threes have special functions and values, depending on which variation of Canasta is being played.
The Deal and Play
Each player is dealt a hand of cards, and in the centre of the table is a face-down pile of cards called the stock and a face-up pile of cards called the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer plays first, and then the turn to play passes clockwise. A basic turn consists of drawing the top card of the stock, adding it to your hand without showing it to the other players, and discarding one card from your hand face up on top of the discard pile.
After drawing, but before discarding, you may sometimes be able to play some cards from your hand face up on the table. To play cards to the table in this way is known as melding, and the sets of cards so played are melds. These melded cards remain face up on the table until the end of the play.
The play ends when a player goes out, i.e. disposes of all the cards in his or her hand. You are only allowed to go out after your team has fulfilled certain conditions, which vary according to the type of canasta played but always include completing at least one seven-card meld or 'canasta' (see below). Having achieved this, you can go out by melding all but one of the cards in your hand and discarding this last card. In many versions of Canasta you can also go out by melding your whole hand, leaving no discard. The game can also end if the stock pile runs out of cards: if a player who wishes to draw from the stock is unable to do so, because there are no cards left there, the play ends immediately and the hand is scored.
Under certain conditions, instead of drawing from the stock, you are permitted to take the whole of the discard pile. In order to do this, you must be able to meld the top discard, without needing any of the other cards in the discard pile to make your meld valid. The procedure in this case is:
- Place the necessary cards from your hand face up on the table, and add the top card of the discard pile to them to form a valid meld or melds.
- Take all the remaining cards of the discard pile and add them to your hand.
- If you wish, make further melds from the cards you now have in your hand.
- Discard one card face up on the discard pile to end your turn.
Melds and Canastas
The object of the game is to score points by melding cards. A valid meld consists of three or more cards of the same natural rank (any rank from four up to ace), such as three kings, six fives, etc. When playing with partners, melds belong to a partnership, not to an individual player. They are kept face up in front of one of the partners. Typically, a partnership will have several melds, each of a different rank. You can add further cards of the appropriate rank to any of your side's melds, whether begun by yourself or by your partner, but you can never add cards to an opponent's meld.
Wild cards (jokers and twos) can normally be used in melds as substitutes for cards of the appropriate rank. For example Q-Q-Q-2 or 8-8-8-8-8-2-joker would be valid melds. There are, however, restrictions on using wild cards, which vary according to the type of Canasta being played.
Threes cannot be melded in the normal way. They have special functions, which are different depending on whether you play classic or modern American canasta.
A meld of seven cards is called a canasta. If all of the cards in it are natural, it is called a natural or pure or clean or red canasta; the cards are squared up and a red card is placed on top. If it includes one or more wild cards it is called a mixed or dirty or black canasta; it is squared up with a natural black card on top, or one of the wild cards in it is placed at right-angles, to show that it is mixed.
In some versions of Canasta you may create a meld of more than seven cards, simply by continuing to add more cards of the same rank to an already complete canasta. If it is allowed, a meld of eight or more cards is still regarded as a canasta. If any wild cards are added to a previously pure (red) canasta, it thereby becomes mixed (black).
For each partnership, the first turn during a hand when they put down one or more melds is called their initial meld. When making the initial meld for your partnership, you must meet a certain minimum count requirement, in terms of the total value of cards that you put down. You are allowed to count several separate melds laid down at the same time in order to meet this requirement. In some versions (including Modern American), the initial meld must be made entirely from your hand; in others (including Classic) you are allowed to use the top card of the discard pile along with cards from your hand to satisfy the minimum count, before picking up the remainder of the pile.
The initial meld requirement applies to a partnership, not to an individual player. Therefore, after either you or your partner have made a meld that meets the requirement, both of you can meld freely for the rest of that hand. However, if the opponents have not yet melded, they must still meet the requirement in order to begin melding.
Classic Canasta
Canasta was standardised in the late 1940's and is still played in more or less this classic form in many parts of the world, including some parts of America. However, those who prefer the 'Modern American' game may prefer to skip this section, since many of the Classic rules are not relevant in that game.
As usual, there are four players in fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite each other. Two 52 card standard packs plus 4 jokers are shuffled together to make a 108 card pack.
The Deal
The first dealer is chosen at random, and thereafter the turn to deal rotates clockwise after each hand. The dealer shuffles and the player to dealer's right cuts. Each player is dealt 11 cards, and the rest of the cards are placed in a face-down stock pile in the centre of the table. The top card of the stock is taken off and placed face up next to the stock pile, to start the discard pile. If this first face-up card is wild or a red three, another card is turned and places on top of it, continuing until a card which is not a wild card or red three is turned up; the wild card or red three should be stacked at right angles to the rest of the pile, to indicate that it is frozen (see below).
Each player must immediately place face-up in front of them any red threes they were dealt, and draw an equal number of cards from the top of the face-down pile to replace them.
Melds in Classic Canasta
Every meld must contain at least two natural cards. The smallest meld, as usual, consists of three cards, which could be three natural cards (such as 8-8-8) or two natural cards and a wild card (such as Q-Q-2).
Melds can grow as large as you wish. A meld of seven or more cards counts as a canasta. No meld can contain more than three wild cards - so a six card meld must include at least three natural cards, and a canasta must contain at least four natural cards. There is no limit on the number of natural cards that can be added to a complete canasta. A wild card added to a pure canasta of course makes it mixed. Once a canasta contains three wild cards, no further wild cards can be added.
Note that in this version of Canasta, melds consisting entirely of wild cards are not allowed.
It is not allowed for one partnership to have two separate melds of the same rank. Any cards melded by a partnership which are the same rank as one of their existing melds are automatically merged into that meld, provided that the limit of three wild cards is not exceeded. It is however quite possible and not unusual have a meld of the same rank as one of your opponents' melds.
The Play in Classic Canasta
As usual, each turn is begun by either drawing the top card from the face-down stock or taking the whole of the discard pile. The player may meld some cards (and must do so if taking the discard pile). Each turn must be ended by discarding one card face-up on top of the discard pile.
A player may always opt to draw the top card of the face down pile. You can only take the discard pile if you can meld its top card, combined with cards from your hand if necessary. There are additional restrictions on taking the discard pile if it is frozen against your partnership (see below).
But first let us consider the case where the discard pile is not frozen against you. In that case, if the top card of the pile is a natural card (from four up to ace), you can take the pile if either:
- you play two cards from your hand that make a valid meld with the top discard: these could be either two natural cards of the same rank as the top discard, or one such natural card and one wild card, or
- the top discard matches the rank of one of your partnerships existing melds, and you add it to that meld.
The procedure for taking the pile was described in the general rules. You must show that you can use the top card in a valid meld before you are allowed to pick up the rest of the pile. After picking up the pile, you can then make further melds. For example, if there is a five on top of the pile and another five buried, you cannot use a single five in your hand to take the pile and meld the three fives. But if you have two fives in your hand you can meld these with the five on top of the pile, take the pile, and then add the other five to this meld.
Note that you can never take the discard pile if its top card is a wild card or a black three.
Note also that it is not necessary to take the discard pile in order to meld. If you wish, you can meld after drawing from the stock.
Frozen Discard Pile
There are three ways that the discard pile can be frozen against your partnership.
- The discard pile is frozen against all players if it contains a wild card. To show that it is frozen, the wild card is placed at right angles in the pile, so that it is still visible after other cards are discarded on top of it.
- In the unusual case where a red three is turned up to start the discard pile after the deal, the discard pile is frozen against all players, and the red three is placed at a right angle to show this.
- If your partnership has not yet melded, the discard pile is frozen against you.
When the discard pile is frozen against you, you can only take it if you hold in your hand two natural cards of the same rank as the top card of the discard pile, and you use these with the top discard to make a meld. This meld can either be a new one, or could be the same rank as an existing meld belonging to your partnership, in which case the melds are then merged.
For example, suppose the pile is frozen against us and our team already has a meld of 4 sevens on the table. If the player before me discards a seven, I cannot pick up the discard pile unless I have two further sevens concealed in my hand. If I do have 2 sevens in my hand, I can add them and the discarded seven to our meld (making a canasta), and take the pile.
Initial Meld Requirement in Classic Canasta
If your partnership has not yet melded, then in order to meld, the total value of the cards you lay down must meet a minimum count requirement. This requirement depends on your partnership's cumulative score from previous hands as follows:
| Cumulative score | Minimum count of initial meld | |
| negative | . . . . . | 15 points (i.e. no minimum) |
| 0 - 1495 | . . . . . | 50 points |
| 1500 - 2995 | . . . . . | 90 points |
| 3000 or more | . . . . . | 120 points |
To achieve this count, you can of course put several melds at once, and the melds can be of more than the minimum size of three cards. The standard values of the cards you play are added to check whether the requirement has been met.
We have seen that if you have not yet melded, the discard pile is frozen against you. Therefore, in order to achieve the minimum count, you must either meld entirely from your hand after drawing from the stock, or you must use two natural cards from your hand which match the top card of the discard pile. In this second case, you can count the value of the top discard, along with the cards you play from your hand in this and any other melds, towards the minimum count. You cannot count any other cards in the pile which you may intend to add in the same turn.
Example: there is a king on top of the discard pile and a king and a queen buried in the pile. You have two kings, two queens and a two in your hand. If your initial meld requirement is 50, you can meld K-K-K, Q-Q-2 using the king from the top of the pile, for 70 points. You can then add the king and queen from the pile to these melds in the same turn if you wish. But you could not make this play if you needed a minimum count of 90: even though the king and queen from the pile are ultimately worth a further 20, you cannot include these towards your initial requirement.
Bonuses for red threes, canastas and so on cannot be counted towards meeting the minimum. Even if you have a complete canasta in your hand, you are not allowed to put it down as your initial meld if the total value of its individual cards does not meet your minimum count requirement.
There is just one exception to the minimum count requirement. Suppose that your team has not yet melded, and that having drawn from the stock you are able to meld your entire hand including a canasta. In this case you may meld you whole hand (with or without a final discard) and go out without having to meet any minimum count requirement. In doing this you will score the extra bonus for going out concealed. This option remains available to a player who has exposed red threes, provided that they have not melded anything else.
Threes in Classic Canasta
- Red threes are bonus cards.
- If you draw a red three, you must immediately be place it face-up on the table with your partnership's melds (or where your melds will be, if you have not melded yet). You then draw a replacement card from the face-down stock. Although red threes score bonus points they do not count as meld, and do not help you to satisfy the minimum count requirement for your initial meld. Also they do not prevent you from subsequently scoring the bonus for going out with a concealed hand.
- Occasionally it happens that a red three is turned up at the end of the deal as a start card for the discard pile. This freezes the discard pile (see below). When the discard pile is eventually taken, the player puts the red three face-up with the partnership's melds, but does not draw a replacement card.
- Black threes are stop cards.
- By discarding a black three you prevent the next player from taking the discard pile. However, black threes do not freeze the pile. After the black three is covered by another card, it has no further effect, and the pile can be taken in the usual way.
- Black threes cannot be melded, except in one exceptional case. A player who is going out may meld a group of three or four black threes as part of that last turn. Such a meld of black threes cannot contain wild cards.
End of the hand: Going Out
The play ends as soon as a player goes out. You can only go out if your partnership has melded at least one canasta. Once your side has a canasta, you may go out if you can and wish to, by melding all of your cards, or by melding all but one and discarding your last card. It is legal to complete the required canasta and go out on the same turn.
If your side does not yet have a canasta, you are not allowed to leave yourself without any cards at the end of your turn: you must play in such a way as to keep at least one card after discarding. It is against the rules in this case to meld all your cards except one. You would then be forced to discard this last card, which would constitute going out illegally.
Note that it is not always an advantage to go out as soon as you are able to; the cards left in your partner's hand will count against your side, and you may in any case be able to score more points by continuing. If you are able to go out but unsure whether to do so, you may if you wish ask your partner 'may I go out?'. This question can only be asked immediately after drawing from the stock or taking the discard pile, before making any further melds other than the one involving the top card of the pile if it was taken. Your partner must answer 'yes' or 'no' and the answer is binding. If the answer is 'yes', you must go out; if the answer is 'no' you are not allowed to go out. You are under no obligation to ask your partner's permission before going out; if you wish, you can simply go out without consulting your partner.
Another way that play can end is when there are no more cards left in the face-down stock. Play can continue with no stock as long as each player takes the previous player's discard and melds it. In this situation a player must take the discard if the pile is not frozen and if the discard matches any previous meld of that player's side. As soon as a player is entitled to draw from the stock and chooses to do so, but there is no card in the stock, the play ends.
If a player draws a red three as the last card of the stock, the red three is placed face up as usual and then, since there is no replacement card that can be drawn from the stock, the play immediately ends. The player who drew the red three is not allowed to meld nor discard.
Classic Canasta Scoring
When the play has ended the hand is scored. Each partnership's score for the hand consists of:
- the total value of any bonuses they are entitled to - see the table below,
- plus the total value of all the cards they have melded,
- minus the total value of any cards remaining in their hands,
The bonus scores are as follows:
| For going out | 100 points |
| *For going out concealed - that is, the player's whole hand is melded in one turn, and includes at least one canasta. | an extra 100 points, making 200 for going out. |
| For each natural (red) canasta | 500 points |
| For each mixed (black) canasta | 300 points |
| **For each red three laid out, if the team has at least one meld | 100 points |
| **For all four red threes | an extra 400 points, making 800 for red threes |
| *Note. To score the bonus for going out concealed, the player must not have previously melded, must not add any cards to partner's melds, and must put down a complete canasta. The player going out concealed may take the discard pile in their final turn and still score the concealed bonus; if they take the discard pile and partner has not yet melded, they must satisfy the relevant initial meld requirement. | |
| **Note. If a partnership did not manage to meld at all, then each of their red threes counts minus 100 points instead of plus 100. If they are unlucky enough to have all four red threes and have not melded, they score minus 800 points for these threes. | |
After the bonuses have been calculated, the cards melded by each team are counted using the standard values - see general rules. Black threes are worth 5 points each. For ease of counting and checking, the usual method is to group the cards into piles worth 100 points each. (Note that in a canasta, the values of the cards themselves are counted in addition to the bonus for the canasta, so for example a natural canasta of seven kings is really worth 570 points altogether - 500 for the canasta and 70 for the kings.)
The cards remaining in the hands of the players are also counted using the same standard values, but these points count against the team and are subtracted from their score.
A cumulative total score is kept for each partnership. It is possible to have a negative score. When one or both partnerships have a total of 5,000 or more points at the end of a hand, the game ends and the side with the higher total score wins. The margin of victory is the difference between the scores of the two sides.
Classic Canasta Strategy
Here is an archive copy of Tuomas Korppi's Canasta Strategy Guide for the classic game.
Canasta Card Game Download
Classic Canasta Variations
- A player is not allowed to take the (unfrozen) discard pile in order to add its top card to a completed canasta.
- A player is not allowed to take the (unfrozen) discard pile with one matching natural card and one wild card. Two natural cards are needed.
- Modify the rule against having two melds of the same rank. A meld of less than seven cards is called an open meld, and you cannot have two open melds of the same rank, but once you have completed a canasta you can start a new meld of that same rank.
- Remove the limit on wild cards for melds of more than seven cards. You still need at least four natural cards in a canasta, but you can then add wild cards to it without limit.
- Keep both the rule against two melds of the same rank and the wild card limit, but do not allow a player to take the pile using one natural and one wild card to add to a canasta that already contains three wild cards.
- Introduce a rule that you can never take the pile when its top card matches one of your team's canastas, even if you have two natural cards of the same rank in your hand.
- Red threes count positive if and only if the team has melded at least one canasta. A mere initial meld does not suffice.
- A meld must not contain more wild cards than natural cards, thus a meld like Q-Q-2-2-2 is not allowed.
- If a player discards a card that could be added to an opponents' completed canasta the left hand opponent must not take the discard pile. (The discard of such a card is equivalent to the discard of a black three.)
- A player may not claim the bonus for going out concealed if he takes the discard pile. Going out concealed with a complete Canasta included in the hand that goes out is called 'Hand-Canasta', and is rewarded by a 1,000 point bonus. If a player melds out and meets all the previous requirements except that he does not meld a complete canasta of his own, then this is called 'Verdeckt Ausmachen', for which his side is awarded a 200 point bonus (instead of only 100 points).
- A player with only one card in his hand may take a one card discard pile under the same conditions which would entitle him to take a discard pile of two or more cards. (Since the player will necessarily have no cards in hand at the end of the turn, this can only be done if the team has a canasta and is therefore entitled to go out.)
Modern American Canasta
This newer version of Canasta incorporates some features from the variants Pennies from Heaven and Hand and Foot. Those who have adopted it enjoy its stricter rules and find the classic version too easy in comparison. I am not sure how widespread this version of Canasta is, but there are significant and growing numbers of players in New York, New Jersey and Florida. It would be interesting to know whether it has taken root in other regions as well.
I am grateful to Shirley Schwartz, M Glatt and Lorraine Seman for describing this game to me, to Helaine Neiman, who teaches canasta in Northern New Jersey for her help and advice, and to the former American Canasta Association who briefly published a partial description of the rules on their website in 1999. The rules have continued to evolve and the description below reflects my understanding of how the game is commonly played at the time of writing (2017). No doubt many players also continue to play according to earlier versions of the rules and some of these options are listed in the variations / table rules section.
As usual, there are four players in fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite each other. The winners will be the first team to achieve a cumulative score of 8500 or more points, or the team that has more points if both teams achieve this on the same deal. Two 52 card standard packs plus 4 jokers are shuffled together to make a 108 card pack. Sometimes a special tray is used to hold the draw and discard piles but this is not essential.
The Deal
The dealer shuffles, the player to dealer's right cuts. 13 cards are then dealt to each player. The undealt cards are placed face down in the centre to form a draw pile. No card is turned face up to start a discard pile - the play begins with the discard pile empty. The ninth card from the bottom of the draw pile is turned at right angles to the pile. This is known as the turn card. During the game, a player who draws the turn card must announce it so that all players know that there are just 8 cards remaining in the draw pile - the 'bottom 8'.
One procedure for dealing is as follows: when performing the cut, the player to the dealer's right lifts the top part of the deck, deals 8 cards from the bottom of this section into the draw tray, places the ninth card sideways in the draw tray as the turn card, and finally places the rest of the section on the draw pile. Meanwhile the dealer takes the cards that were left by the cutter and deals 13 cards to each player, one at a time, placing any remaining cards on top of the draw pile, or taking cards from the top of the draw pile to complete the deal if needed.
The turn to deal passes to the left after each hand. Normally the player to dealer's right also acts as scorekeeper for the hand.
Melds
In this game, twos and jokers are wild, and threes are special. The remaining cards, from 4 up to ace, are called natural cards. Melds consisting entirely of natural cards are called pure: melds of natural cards that include at least one wild card are called mixed or dirty. Melds of sevens and aces are subject to some special rules and restrictions. Melds consisting entirely of wild cards are also allowed. Many players refer to all the melds as 'canastas'. In that case a meld of fewer than seven cards is called an 'incomplete canasta' and a meld of seven cards is a 'complete' or 'closed'canasta. A meld can never contain more than seven cards.
A meld of 4s, 5s, 6s, 8s, 9s, 10s, jacks, queens or kings consists of at least three and not more than of seven cards of the appropriate rank. Wild cards can be used as substitutes for one or two of the cards, but these wild cards can only be used
- when the meld is put down as part of the team's initial meld, provided the meld contains at least two natural cards, or
- subsequently, provided that the meld already contains at least five natural cards.
So after a team's initial meld, any new melds begun by either member of that team in future turns must be clean until they contain at least five cards. Another consequence is that if a team's initial meld includes for example a dirty meld of sixes 6-6-joker, cards added to this meld in future turns must be real sixes until there are five of them: 6-6-6-6-6-joker. At that point either a six or a wild card could be used to complete (close) the canasta.
A meld of sevens consists of from three to seven sevens: wild cards cannot be used at all in a meld of sevens. Note that although there is a large bonus for completing a canasta of sevens, if you start a meld of sevens but fail to complete your sevens canasta you incur a penalty at the end of the play.
A meld of aces must be pure unless it is part of the team's initial meld and includes at least one wild card from the outset. A dirty (mixed) meld of aces can initially contain from three to seven cards, including at least two natural aces and not more than two wild cards. As with other natural melds, a dirty ace meld begun with one wild card cannot have a second wild card added until it contains five real aces. A meld of aces begun after your team has put down its initial meld cannot include any wild cards. If an ace meld is begun pure (whether as part of the team's initial meld or later), no wild cards can be added to it. A pure meld of fewer than seven aces incurs a penalty at the end of the play.
A meld of wild cards consists of from three to seven twos and jokers in any combination. If your team starts a meld of wild cards, you cannot add any wild cards to any of your other melds until your wild card canasta is complete. If you have a wild card meld of fewer than seven cards when the play ends, your team incurs a penalty.
One team is not allowed to have more than one meld of the same rank. However, it is possible for both teams to meld the same rank. For example after one team has put down an initial meld of aces with wild cards, the other team may also use aces with wild cards for their initial meld.
When a natural canasta is completed (closed), neither team is allowed to begin or add to a meld of that rank. Natural cards that match the rank of a closed canasta are known as dead cards. However if the opponents have not melded, a closed canasta does not prevent them from including cards of that rank in a special hand.
The Play in American Canasta
The player to dealer's left begins and the turn to play passes clockwise.
A normal turn is begun by either drawing the top card from the face-down stock or taking the whole of the discard pile. The player may meld some cards (and must do so if taking the discard pile). Each turn must be ended by discarding one card face-up on top of the discard pile.
A player may always opt to draw the top card of the face down stock.
You can only take the discard pile if you have a pair of natural cards in your hand which are of the same rank as the top card of the discard pile. You must show your pair and meld these cards with the top discard before taking the rest of the pile into your hand. After picking up the pile, you can then make further melds. If your team has not yet melded, you cannot take the discard pile until you have met the initial meld requirement.
It is not necessary to take the discard pile in order to meld. If you wish, you can meld after drawing from the stock.
If the top discard matches the rank of one of your partnership's existing melds, you can take the pile if you have a pair of cards of the same rank in your hand and your existing meld has three or four cards. The new meld of three cards is immediately combined with your existing meld of that rank.
If a team has a meld of five or more cards matching the rank of the top discard, they cannot take the pile since this would create a meld of more than seven cards, which is not allowed. Therefore cards that match the opponents' 5-card or 6-card meld are safe discards: they can be thrown without any risk that the opponents will take the pile. 'Dead' cards, which match a closed canasta, are also safe to discard.
It is illegal to meld in such a way as to leave yourself with only one card, unless either
- you have satisfied the conditions for going out, or
- you are putting down the initial meld for your team and the 'turn card' has not yet been drawn.
If you are not going out, you must have at least two cards in your hand after melding: one to discard and one to continue play. In case (b) although you discard the last card of your original hand, making the initial meld entitles you to draw three or four bonus cards from the deck and use those to continue play.
There are certain restrictions on discards:
- Threes can never be discarded.
- It is illegal to discard a wild card, except in the following cases:
- You may discard a wild card as your final discard, when going out.
- In rare cases, you may reach a situation where your hand consists entirely of wild cards. If on your turn you then draw yet another wild card, you may discard a wild card of your choice. The next player is not allowed to take the pile (since there are no natural cards that can match your discard). If requested by an opponent, you must show your hand to prove that you had only wild cards.
- When the discard pile is empty (on the first turn of the game, or when you have taken the pile at the start of your turn), it is illegal to discard an ace or a seven, unless these are the only natural cards you have in your hand at the time you discard. If you discard an ace or seven in this situation, you must show your hand if requested by an opponent, to prove that you had only aces, sevens and wild cards.
- When the discard pile is empty it is illegal to discard a 'dead' card - a card of the same rank as a completed canasta belonging to either team - unless you have no legal alternative. If requested by an opponent you must show your hand to prove that the only cards you had other than dead cards were sevens, aces and wild cards.
Threes in American Canasta
If you are dealt any threes, red or black, in your initial hand, you should normally begin your first turn by placing all your threes face up in the space that will be used for your team's melds. You immediately draw an equal number of replacement cards from the top of the stock, and if any of these are threes you lay them out and replace them in the same way, until you have no threes among your 13 cards. You then begin your normal turn by drawing from the stock (or possibly taking the discard pile).
If you draw a three from the stock during the game you should normally place it face up among your team's melds and immediately draw a replacement card from the stock. You then continue your turn by melding (if you can and wish to) and discarding.
If your team has not yet put down its initial meld, it is permissible to retain just one three in your hand, either from the initial deal or one drawn later, for the purpose of collecting a straight - see special hands. If you choose to keep a three the following rules apply:
- You may only keep a three in your hand if your team has not yet melded. As soon as your team puts down its initial meld (so that a straight is no longer possible) you must lay down any three you are holding at your next opportunity. If it is your partner who lays down the initial meld this will be at the start of your next turn: you lay down your three before drawing from the stock, and as usual you must draw a replacement card for the three. You then draw another card from the stock or take the pile according to the normal rules to begin your regular turn.
- You may never keep more than one three in your hand. If you draw a second three you must lay down one of them and draw a replacement card.
If you have been holding a three in your hand and decide you no longer wish to keep it, then during your turn you may lay the three face up in your team's meld area and draw a replacement card from the stock.
The Initial Meld in American Canasta
The first meld made by each team during a hand is subject to some conditions. There are three possible ways to make a valid initial meld.
| Cumulative score | Minimum count of initial meld |
| less than 3000 | 125 points |
| 3000 to 4995 | 155 points |
| 5000 or more | 180 points |
- a pure meld of at least three matching natural cards (with no wild cards), or
- a wild card meld (at least three wild cards).
- 2. The Splash
- If you have a natural canasta (seven natural cards of the same rank) or a wild card canasta (seven cards that are twos or jokers) in your hand, you may meld them as the initial meld for your team. In this case you do not have to meet any minimum count requirement.
- If this canasta was already complete in your hand before your turn, and you also have a natural pair of a different rank that matches the top card of the discard pile, you can use the pair to take the discard pile in the same turn. However, you cannot claim a splash using six cards from your hand and the seventh card of the canasta from the discard pile.
- 3. Special Hand
- If after drawing from the deck you have the cards required for any of the special hands that your table rules allow and your team has not yet put down its initial meld you may make the first and only meld for your team by laying down your entire hand without a discard and thereby end the play.
- If you take the discard pile you cannot have drawn in that turn. Therefore, in order to take the pile, you must have the initial meld complete in your hand before the start of your turn. Unless you were dealt this meld in your original hand, this means that you could in fact have melded on your previous turn. However, good players often prefer to hold back from melding as soon as they can waiting for a better set of cards or a better opportunity.
- You can take the pile if you have a natural pair matching the natural card on top of the pile. Natural means any card from 4 to Ace inclusive. For example if you put down from your hand A-A-joker, Q-Q-Q, 9-9-2 and you have a pair of 10's in your hand, you can take the discard pile if the top card is a 9, a 10, a Queen or an Ace. Aces are natural cards, even when used in a meld of mixed Aces (but see variations).
If a team makes its initial meld after the turn card has been drawn, so that only 8 or fewer cards remain in the draw pile, no bonus cards are taken.
American Canasta: End of the Play
The play ends if a player goes out or if the stock becomes depleted so that a player who needs to draw a card cannot do so.
You can go out if you can satisfy both of the following conditions:
- your team has completed two canastas, and
- you are able to meld all but one of your cards and discard your last card.
Unless you have completed a special hand, it is not legal in this version of Canasta to go out by melding all your cards - you must have a card to discard at the end of your turn. This final discard is made face-down, and this is the only case in which a wild card can be discarded.
When you are in a position to go out you may, if you wish, first ask your partner's permission. If you ask, and partner says yes, you must go out; if partner says no, you cannot go out on that turn, and therefore you must keep at least one card in your hand after discarding. You may ask permission to go out only once in each hand.
If you satisfy the conditions for going out, you are free to go out on any turn without consulting your partner.
If you do not satisfy the conditions for going out, you are not allowed to leave yourself without any cards at the end of your turn: you must play in such a way as to keep at least one card after discarding.
It often happens that the end of the stock is reached before anyone has gone out. The player who draws the turn card must announce it, saying 'turn card' or 'turn', so that everyone knows there are only 8 cards left to draw and no bonus cards are available. When there are no cards left in the stock, play can continue as long as each player is able and willing to take the previous player's discard. As soon as someone needs or wishes to draw from the stock, the play immediately ends and the hand is scored. If the last card drawn from the stock is a three the game ends immediately. The player who drew the three cannot meld or discard and the three will count 5 points against that player's team.
American Canasta: Special Hands
A special hand is a combination of 14 cards which entitles you to go out by exposing your entire hand after drawing from the deck, without discarding. You are only allowed to put down a special hand if your team has not yet melded any cards. Note that a special hand may include cards matching a closed (complete) canasta melded by the opposing team - i.e. cards that would otherwise be considered 'dead'. Since a special hand cannot use cards taken from the discard pile this does not prevent dead cards from being safe to discard.
Three types of special hand are widely recognised: straight, pairs and garbage.
- Without wild cards. Example: 4-4-5-5-7-7-8-8-9-9-10-10-Q-Q.
- With twos, sevens and aces. Example: 2-2-6-6-7-7-9-9-J-J-K-K-A-A.
American Canasta: Scoring
At the end of the play, each team reckons its score for the hand. There are six possible elements to this score, and the way they are combined depends on how many canastas the team has completed.
| Scoring item | Team has no complete canastas | Team has one complete canasta | Team has two or more complete canastas | Team goes out with a special hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bonus scores for canastas and for going out | does not apply | bonus added to score | bonus added to score | not counted |
| 2. Penalties for incomplete canastas | penalty deducted from score | penalty deducted from score | penalty deducted from score | not counted |
| 3. Bonuses or penalties for threes | penalty deducted from score | not counted | bonus added to score | not counted |
| 4. Scores for melded cards | deducted from score | added to score | added to score | not counted |
| 5. Penalties for cards remaining in players' hands | deducted from score | deducted from score | deducted from score | not counted |
| 6. Scores for special hands | not counted | not counted | not counted | added to score |
Note that if a team has at least one completed canasta, the values of their melded cards (item 4) are always added to their score, even if these cards form part of an incomplete canasta of aces, sevens or wild cards (item 2) for which the team is to be penalised.
Note that if one team goes out with a special hand, the other team scores in the normal way, depending on how many canastas they managed to complete.
- each complete mixed canasta, using any natural rank except sevens: 300 points
- each complete pure canasta, using any natural rank except sevens or aces: 500 points
- each complete pure canasta of aces or sevens: 2500 points
- a complete twos canasta scores 3000 points (this is a wild canasta made entirely of twos)
- a complete joker canasta scores 2500 points (this must contain all four jokers, together with three twos)
- any other complete wild canasta (containing one, two or three jokers) scores 2000 points
- for a pure ace meld of less than seven cards: minus 2500 points
- for a sevens meld of less than seven cards: minus 2500 points
- for a wild card meld of less than seven cards: normally minus 2000 points, but 2500 points if it contains all four jokers
- for three or more sevens remaining in a player's hand: minus 1500 points
- for three or more aces remaining in a player's hand: minus 1500 points
| one red three . . . 100 points | one black three . . . 100 points |
| two red threes . . . 300 points | two black threes . . . 300 points |
| three red threes . . . 500 points | three black threes . . . 500 points |
| four red threes . . . 1000 points | four black threes . . . 1000 points |
- If a team has no canastas, the total score for their melded red and black threes (calculated from the above table) is a penalty, to be subtracted from their score.
- If a team has one canasta there is no score for melded threes.
- If a team has two or more canastas, the total score for their melded red and black threes (calculated from the above table) is a bonus, to be added to their score.
- straight: 3000 points
- pairs without wild cards: 2500 points
- pairs with twos, sevens and aces: 2000 points
- garbage: 2000 points
Each team reckons its total score for the hand, as detailed in 1 to 6 above. This amount is added to its cumulative total. It is possible for a team to have a negative score for a hand - this will be the case, for example, if they fail to complete a canasta, and in that case their cumulative score will be reduced. It is possible for a team to have a negative cumulative score.
The overall object of the game is to have a cumulative score of 8500 or more points. When one or both teams achieve this, the game is over and the team with the higher score has won. The difference between the teams' scores is the margin of victory.
American Canasta: Table Rules / Variations
As the game evolves, inevitably many playing groups develop their own table rules, and some groups continue to play by older rules that have been superseded in other places. So far as I know there is no single set of rules that is generally accepted as 'correct'. When joining an unknown group of players it is therefore advisable to find out what set of table rules are in force. Below I list some of the alternative rules that may be encountered: there are probably many others.
Initial meld
Some players have more strict conditions for an initial meld, requiring it always to include a pure meld of three or more cards, even if it also includes a wild card meld.
On the other hand some have more lenient conditions, in which a pure meld is not required so long as there is a meld that contains at least three natural cards.
Formerly, some groups did not impose the requirement for a meld of three natural cards at all: any collection of melds that was worth enough points was sufficient.
Some players do not allow the player making the initial meld for their team to take the discard pile, even if they have an additional pair with which to take it. The pile can only be taken if your side has already made its initial meld before your turn.
Canasta Card Game
I have been told that some players allow the discard pile to be taken when making the initial meld for your team, except that if your initial meld includes mixed aces, you cannot use those aces to take a discard pile topped by an ace.
Melding during the game
The 'rule of five' is a fairly recent development. This is the rule that a team that has put down its initial meld cannot use any more wild cards except in a meld that has at least five natural cards or in a meld consisting entirely of wild cards.
Probably many players still play by the older rule that after the initial meld wild cards can be used freely, the only restrictions being that
- no meld (other than a wild card meld) can contain more than two wild cards;
- ace melds can only contain wild cards if they were begun as dirty (mixed) ace melds in the initial meld;
- wild cards can never be used in melds of sevens.
Even with this older rule, it is still the case that the pile can only be taken if the player has in hand two natural cards matching its top card.
Special hands
There is considerable variation in the special hands that are allowed and how they are scored:
- Some players allow the pairs hand with wilds, sevens and aces to use a pair of jokers or a pair of twos as the wilds.
- Some players allow the pairs hand to include sevens or aces but never threes or wild cards.
- Some players require for the garbage hand four natural sets of three equal cards plus two matching wild cards (two twos or two jokers).
- Some players award a higher score of 3500 points for pairs and garbage hands.
- Some play that a special hand can be completed by taking its 14th card from the discard pile, but only if the discard pile has just one card in it - in other words the previous player took the pile and discarded a card to the empty pile, and this discard was exactly the card that the following player needed to complete their special hand.
Threes
Some groups allow players to keep as many threes in their hand as they wish rather than putting them face up on the table and drawing replacements. Threes in hand count 5 points each against the team when scoring. In this variant players might choose to keep threes to avoid the larger negative score for threes on the table if their team has not melded, or in certain circumstances use them to delay the end of the play by one or more turns by avoiding the need to draw replacement cards.
Some groups score threes remaining in the hand of a player at the end of the game as though they had been placed on the table, so for a team that has not melded they bring a penalty of 100 points or more, rather than just 5.
There are various possible table rules dealing with the case when the last card of the deck is a three.
- Some play that if a three is drawn as the last card of the deck, the play ends immediately and the three counts 5 points against the team that drew it (this is the rule given above).
- Some play that if a three is drawn as the last card of the deck the player has the option to meld the three. Since no replacement card can be drawn the play ends at that point.
- Some play that if a three is drawn as the last card of the deck the player must meld it (even if the team has completed no canastas and therefore incurs a penalty of 100 or more points for the three). The play then ends as there is no replacement card available.
- Some play that a three drawn as the last card of the deck can be discarded if the player is thereby able to go out. (Of course if there were any cards left in the deck the player would instead meld the three for an extra bonus and discard the replacement card instead.)
Safe and dead cards
Some players do allow a team to start a meld of the same rank as a canasta completed by the opponents. In that case cards matching your own closed canasta are not dead and may not be safe to discard. Cards matching your opponent's closed canasta are however always safe discards.
Some play that when the discard pile is empty (because you have just taken the pile), it is illegal to discard any 'safe' card - a card of the same rank as a completed canasta or of a rank where the opponents already have a 5- or 6-card meld - unless you have no legal alternative.
Going out
Some play that a team cannot go out if they have an incomplete canasta of sevens or pure aces. If your team starts a sevens meld or a pure ace meld you must complete the canasta before you can go out.
Bonus cards, wings and talons
Formerly, the 'bonus cards' for the players making the initial meld for each team were set aside during the deal. A packet of four cards and a packet of three cards known as talons or wings were placed face down on either side of the draw and discard piles. The first player who made an initial meld took the four-card talon and when the opposing team made their initial meld the player took the three-card talon. Probably some groups still play by this older rule.
Canasta for two players
It is possible to for two players to play a version of Classic Canasta. The modifications to the rules are as follows.
- 15 cards are dealt to each player (rather than 11 each).
- When drawing from the stock you draw the top two cards. At the end of a player's turn only one card is discarded as usual.
- A player needs two canastas to go out.
All other rules are the same as in four-player Classic Canasta. The target score is 5000 points; when one or both players reach or exceed this, the player with the higher score wins.
One-card Draw
In two-player canasta, a situation can be reached where there is only one card remaining in the stock. In this case, the player who draws it is considered to have made a complete draw and must complete that turn as though two cards had been drawn.
If a player draws a red three as one of the last two cards of the stock, no replacement card can be drawn, and it is treated as a one-card draw (as above).
A player who draws a red three alone as the last card of the stock may neither meld nor discard, and the hand ends immediately. The same happens in the unusual case where a player draws two red threes as the last two cards of the stock.
Variation
Paul Edwards has invented Manzana Canasta, a version of Canasta for two players using a single deck (54 cards).
Canasta for three players
It is possible to for three players to play a version of Classic Canasta.
13 cards are dealt to each player (but some play with 11 cards each as in the four-handed game). When drawing from the stock you take the top two cards, but in all cases you discard only one card at the end of your turn.
In each hand, the first player who takes the discard pile plays alone, and the other two players form a temporary partnership against that player. If a player goes out before anyone has taken the discard pile, the player who goes out is the lone player. If the play ends because the stock runs out, and no one has taken the discard pile by then, each player scores separately for that hand.
Each player keeps a separate cumulative score. The partners combine their melds, but not their red threes, and at the end of the hand the amount scored by the partnership for cards and canastas is added to both partners' cumulative scores, but each partner scores their own red threes. The lone player's score for the hand is added to that player's cumulative score.
Since each player has a different cumulative score, it sometimes happens that the two members of the partnership have different opening meld requirements. In this case the partner who melds first must satisfy the initial meld requirement corresponding to their own personal score, and the other partner is then free to add to these melds and start new ones as usual.
Other rules are the same as in Classic Canasta. When one or more players reach 7500 or more points, the player with the highest score wins.
Canasta for Six Players
There are several ways for six people to play canasta. The versions given in most of the books follows the rules of Classic Canasta with the following modifications:
- Three 52-card packs with six jokers are used.
- There can be three teams of two players, partners sitting opposite, or two teams of three players, each player sitting between two opponents.
- 13 cards are dealt to each player.
- Four red threes count 400 points only, five count 1,000, six count 1,200.
- A team must complete two canastas before they are allowed to go out.
- When three teams of two play, the game ends when one or more teams achieve a score of 7,500 or more.
- When two teams of three play, the game ends when one or both teams reach or exceed 10,000 points; a team that has 7,000 or more points requires at least 150 points for their initial meld.
Shirley Miller reports the following variation of the 6-player game between two teams of three:
- Melds of three or more wild cards (any mixture of twos and jokers) are allowed; a wild card canasta gives a 2,000 point bonus, but a team that starts a wild card meld but fails to complete the canasta before the game ends incurs a 2000 point penalty.
- To go out, a team must have at least three canastas, at least two of which must be 'clean' (containing no wild cards).
Other Canasta Variations
There are numerous variations of Canasta, many of which are intermediate between the versions described above. Other rules sometimes encountered are:
- The possibility of melding a sequence of 3 or more cards in suit (as in Samba).
- A limit on the number of cards taken from the discard pile, such as only taking the top five cards, or only taking cards as far as the next wild card.
- The non-dealing team gets a bonus if the player who cuts the cards takes exactly the right number of cards from the top of the pack to perform the deal.
- An extra hand is dealt to each player (or to each team). This extra hand is sometimes called the 'foot' (as in Hand and Foot). These cards are picked up and played when you have used all the cards in your original hand, or satisfied some other condition.
Randy Rasa's Rummy-Games.com describes Canasta with several variations including , Bolivia, Cuban Canasta, The Sevens, Mexicana, Uruguay Canasta and versions for two, three, five and six players.
Here is an archive copy of the former Card Games Galore site describes several canasta variations: Canasta, Bolivian Canasta, Cuban Canasta, Joker Canasta, Mexican Canasta, Two-Player Canasta and Uruguay Canasta.
The following Canadian four-player variation was described to me by Barb Dejesus.
- Three decks of 52 cards plus six jokers are used.
- 15 cards are dealt to each player
- After the deal, the top five cards of the stock are placed alongside it to start the discard pile, known as the 'prize pile' - four cards face down and one face up on top of it.
- The non-dealing team gets a bonus of 100 points if the player who cuts takes exactly the 60 cards required for the deal from the top of the pack.
- A player drawing from the stock takes the top two cards.
- You always end your turn by discarding one card; wild cards cannot be discarded.
- The initial meld requirements are:
0 - 1495 ........ 50 points 1500 - 2995 ........ 90 points 3000 - 6995 ........ 120 points 7000 or more ........ 150 points - After your team has put down its initial meld, you can take the prize pile (discard pile) as an alternative to drawing two cards from the stock if you have in your hand two natural cards matching the top card of the pile and you immediately meld these three cards.
- Wild card melds, consisting of any mixture of twos and jokers, are allowed.
- Apart from wild card melds, every meld must contain at least as many natural cards as wild cards. Melds can grow to any size, and the same wild card limit applies to melds of more than seven cards.
- You cannot go out until your team has completed two red (pure) canastas and one canasta of wild cards.
- The target score for winning the game is 10,000 points.
- Red threes are placed with your team's melds as soon as you acquire them, and replaced by drawing from the stock. They are worth 200 points each.
- Black threes can be discarded, and block the next player from taking the pile. They can only be melded by a player who has all six of them, and only on the turn in which that player goes out. When melded like this they score +5 points each. Any black threes in a player's hand at when play ends count minus 100 points.
- Canasta bonuses are lower than in other versions: 300 for a wild card canasta or a natural canasta; 200 for a mixed canasta.
Hand and Foot is a variation in which each player is dealt two sets of cards: a 'hand' and a 'foot'.
Pennies from Heaven is a variation related to Hand and Foot, in which to go out you need a natural canasta, a mixed canasta, a wild card canasta and a canasta of sevens. Railroad Canasta is a similar variation.
Albany Canasta, as described by Duane Bristow (archive copy), is an unusual variation in which it is possible to take a part of the discard pile if you can meld the bottom card of those you take (as in 500 Rum).
Jonola, formerly known as Canasta Five, is a three pack canasta variation originating in New Zealand. Two cards are drawn from the stock, and the advantage of taking the discard pile is lessened by only allowing the top five cards to be taken.
Samba is a variation in which it is possible to meld cards in sequence in a suit as well as sets of equal cards.
Ronald Magazzu's book Royal Canasta describes a three-pack variation of classic Canasta incorporating wild card melds ('Bolivias'), sequence melds ('Sambas') and melds of seven threes ('Royal Canastas').
Jim Westergren has published a description of his own version of Classic Canasta for Two or Three Players, in which black Threes, which can as usual be melded when going out, have a value of 50 rather than 5.
Canasta Software and Online Games
Free Canasis.com is a popular online and offline canasta site that offers a large number of styles of canasta including styles not found anywhere else, with the ability to customize rules.
Malcolm Bain's shareware classic Canasta program for Windows is available from Card Games Galore.
The collection HOYLE Card Games for Windows or Mac OS X includes a program that plays classic Canasta, along with many other popular card games.
Game Colony offers two-player Canasta games and multi-player tournaments, which can be played free or for cash prizes.
Special K Software has developed software to play the card game of Canasta. This software is available at www.specialksoftware.com.
A shareware two-player Canasta program which plays both the Classic and the Modern American game is available from Meggiesoft Games.
Gaming Safari offers a free online 2-player or 4-player Canasta game against a human or computer opponent.
Hans Hochreiter has written a Canasta Score Keeper app for iPhone or iPad which can be used to calculate scores and save records of past games.
Randy Rasa's Rummy-Games.com has reviews of several canasta software packages.
Classic Canasta can be played on-line at
- PlayOK Online Games (formerly known as Kurnik)
- AOL games (formerly games.com / Masque publishing)
- TrapApps (2-player game)
Other Canasta Related Web Sites
The canasta pages of Randy Rasa's Rummy-Games.com site have rules for several canasta variants.
Rules of classic Canasta are available on the Card Games Heaven web site.
Antonin Jaun's German language site canasta.ch has rules and information for canasta and several of its variants.
The International Canasta Meetup Day web site organises meetings of canasta players in various cities.
These are the Canasta rules as defined by 'Hoyle's Rules of Games'. Overview
Rules
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Scoring: Card Values and BonusesThe cards have the following point values:
The following bonuses are awarded:
Total ScoreAt the end of a hand, the total score is calculated as follows:
MinimumThe first time in a hand that a player melds cards the sum of their values must be at least a certain minimum. This minimum depends on your current score in the following way:
Notes
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