Objective
Lay down melds of three or more cards of the same rank and grow them into canastas, which are melds of seven or more cards. Canastas earn big bonuses, red threes earn bonuses of their own, and every card you meld adds to your score. Runs do not count in Canasta: every meld is cards of one rank.
A hand ends when someone goes out, and your side needs at least one canasta before either partner can go out. Scores carry over from hand to hand until a team reaches 5,000.
Setup
Partners sit opposite each other. Shuffle both decks and the jokers together and deal 11 cards to each player, one at a time. Place the rest face down as the stock and turn the top card face up to start the discard pile. If that card is a joker, a two or a three, turn another card on top of it until a natural four or higher shows.
Jokers and twos are wild. Threes are special. A red three goes face up on the table as soon as you get it, and you draw a replacement from the stock (on your first turn if it was dealt to you). Black threes are mainly used as discards, because they block the pile for the next player.
How to play
On your turn, draw the top card of the stock or take the whole discard pile. Then lay down any melds you can, or add cards to your side’s melds, and finish by discarding one card face up.
A meld needs at least two natural cards and may contain no more than three wild cards. Your side shares its melds, so either partner can add to them, but you may never add to the other team’s melds. Black threes can be melded only when you are going out, and never with wild cards.
Your side’s first meld of each hand must reach a minimum count, based on the team’s score at the start of the hand: 15 points if the score is below zero, 50 from 0 to 1,495, 90 from 1,500 to 2,995, and 120 at 3,000 or more. You may use more than one meld to reach it.
Taking the discard pile is the big play. You must use its top card right away, either with a natural pair of the same rank from your hand, with one natural card and one wild card, or by adding it to a meld your side already has. Then you pick up the rest of the pile. The pile is frozen against your side until you make your first meld, and frozen for everyone once a wild card is discarded onto it. A frozen pile can only be taken with a natural pair that matches the top card. Nobody may take the pile while a black three or a wild card is on top.
You go out by melding or discarding your last card, as long as your side has a canasta. Before going out you may ask, “Partner, may I go out?” The answer is binding.
- 1Draw from the stock, or take the pile with its top card
- 2Lay down red threes and draw replacements
- 3Meld, or add to your side’s melds
- 4Discard one card
- 5Go out only once your side has a canasta
Scoring
When a hand ends, each side adds up its bonuses (canastas, red threes and going out) and the value of every card it has melded, then subtracts the value of the cards left in both partners’ hands.
| Card or bonus | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| Ace or 2 | 20 each |
| K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 | 10 each |
| 7, 6, 5, 4, black 3 | 5 each |
| Natural canasta (no wild cards) | 500 bonus |
| Mixed canasta (one to three wild cards) | 300 bonus |
| Each red three | 100 (all four: 800) |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | 100 more |
Going out concealed means melding your whole hand in one turn, including a canasta, without having melded anything earlier in the hand. Red threes count against a side that has made no meld at all by the end of the hand. The first side to reach 5,000 wins the game.
Variations
Two players: deal 15 cards each. On each turn you draw two cards from the stock but discard only one, and you need two canastas to go out.
Three players: deal 13 cards each and everyone plays alone.
Six players: two teams of three, seated alternately. Many tables add a third deck and more jokers so the stock lasts.
Relatives: Samba and Bolivia allow runs in one suit as well as same-rank melds, and Hand and Foot gives each player a second hand to play once the first is used up.
Tips from the table
Early in a hand, the discard pile is where the points are. Hold natural pairs so you can grab it, and avoid discarding ranks your opponents have already melded.
Discard a wild card to freeze the pile when the other side is about to take a big one. Just remember that a wild card thrown away is one you will never meld.
Save black threes for the moment the pile is large and the next player is watching it. Nothing else stops them as cleanly.
Build with your partner. Adding to a rank tells your partner what to keep, and a sixth card turned sideways shows the table you need one more for a canasta.
Video Guides Are on the Way
We’re filming Game Guides that walk through full hands at the table, from the deal to the score.
Frequently asked
Can you meld runs in Canasta?
No. Classic Canasta allows only melds of the same rank. Runs belong to relatives such as Samba and Bolivia.
How many wild cards can a meld have?
No more than three, and it must always have at least two natural cards. A canasta must include at least four natural cards.
What does it mean when the pile is frozen?
You can only take it with a natural pair matching the top card. It is frozen for your side until you make your first meld, and for everyone once a wild card has been discarded.
What happens to red threes?
Lay them face up right away and draw a replacement. Each is worth 100 points, or 800 for all four, but they count against you if your side never melds.
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