Canasta
Canasta is a matching card game in which the object is to create melds of cards of the same rank called canastas and then go out by playing or discarding all the cards in your hand.
It is believed that Canasta was invented in Montevideo, Uruguay in the early twentieth century. It then spread to the United States and the rest of the world. There are variations of the game for two to six players, but the original version is played by four.
Rules for Canasta
The Cards and Deal
For Two, Three or Five Player games, it is each player for themselves. For Four or Six player games, players must choose a partner. Partners sit opposite each other. Canasta uses a pack made of two complete decks of 52 cards plus four Jokers (108 cards total). All the deuces (twos) and jokers are wild cards.
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| 3♦, 3♥ | Special |
| 3♣, 3♠, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 5 |
| 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K | 10 |
| A, 2 | 20 |
| Joker | 50 |
The initial dealer is chosen at random, and the deal then rotates clockwise after every hand. The dealer shuffles the pack, the player to the dealer's right cuts, and the dealer deals out 11 cards to each player.
The remaining cards are left in a stock in the center of the table. The top card from the stock is turned over to form the discard pile. If this first card is a red three or a wild card, the discard pile is frozen (explained in Picking up the discard pile, below). Additional cards from the stock are turned over to the top of the discard pile until the top card of the discard pile is neither a red three nor a wild card.
Any player who received a red three in their initial hand must immediately play it to the table for their team and draw a new card to their hand.
The Play
The player to the dealer's left has the first turn, and play then proceeds clockwise. A turn begins either by drawing the first card from the stock into the player's hand or by picking up the entire discard pile. However, there are restrictions on when you can pick up the discard pile. (See Picking up the discard pile, below.) If the card drawn from the stock is a red three, the player must play it immediately and draw another card.
The player may then make as many legal melds as they wish from the cards in their hand. A turn ends when the player discards one card from their hand to the top of the discard pile.
Melds and Canastas
Each team keeps separate melds of the various ranks of cards. A player may never play to an opponent's meld. A legal meld consists of at least three cards of the same rank. Suits are not considered except that black threes are treated differently than red threes. Wild cards can be used as any rank except for threes. Red threes may never be melded. Black threes may only be melded as a player's last meld before going out.
A meld must consist of at least two natural cards, and can never have more than three wild cards. Examples: 5-5-2 and 9-9-9-2-2-Joker are legal melds. 5-2-2 is not a legal meld as it contains only one natural card. 9-9-2-2-2-Joker is not legal as it contains more than three wild cards.
A canasta is a meld of at least seven cards, whether natural or wild. A natural canasta (or clean canasta or red canasta) is one which comprises only natural cards. In many regions, such a canasta is gathered into a single face-up pile and set aside, with a red card on top, thus the red canasta terminology. A mixed canasta (or dirty canasta or black canasta) is one which comprises both natural and wild cards. Again, it is common practice to set such a meld aside in a single face-up pile, with a natural black card on top (if possible - note that it is mathematically possible, though rare, to have a black canasta with no natural black cards). Natural canastas score more points than mixed canastas.
Initial melds
When a player's team has not yet made any melds in a hand, that player must meet an additional point score requirement to make their first meld(s). The sum of the values of the cards played in the player's turn must exceed the minimum initial meld requirement according to the team's total score:
| Team score | Minimum initial meld |
|---|---|
| Less than 0 | 15 |
| 0 - 1499 | 50 |
| 1500 - 2999 | 90 |
| 3000 and above | 120 |
Example: If a player's team had a score of 1600 and had not yet made any melds in a hand, an initial meld of 6-6-6, K-K-K-2 could not be made as it scores only 65 points and the requirement is 90. A meld of 6-6-6, A-A-A-2 would score 95 points and could be played. Note that both initial melds could be played if the team's total score were below 1500, and that neither could be played if the team's total score were 3000 or higher.
Picking up the discard pile
At the beginning of their turn, a player may pick up the entire discard pile instead of drawing a card from the stock. They may only pick up the discard pile if they can use the top card either in an existing meld or by making a new meld along with two other cards from their hand.
If a wild card has previously been discarded to the pile, the discard pile is frozen. When the discard pile is frozen, it may only be picked up if the player can meld the top card with two natural cards of the same rank in the player's hand.
If the player's team has not yet made any melds, the discard pile is frozen for that team. In addition, the player must meet the initial meld requirement using the top card of the discard pile in order to pick up the pile. Only the top card may be used in meeting the requirement before the player may pick up the rest of the discard pile.
If a wild card or a black three is on top of the discard pile, it may not be picked up.
Going out
A player may go out by using all the cards in their hand only if that player's team has made one or more canastas. The player may go out either by melding all cards in their hand or by melding all cards but one and discarding the final card. If the player's team has not yet made any canastas, the player may not make a play which would leave them with no cards in their hand at the end of their turn.
Black threes may be melded only as the last play before a player goes out, and wild cards may not be used in a meld of black threes. The hand ends immediately when a player goes out.
When considering going out, a player may ask their partner for permission to go out; however, the player must abide by the partner's answer. If the partner refuses permission, the player may not go out this turn. If the partner responds "yes", the player must go out this turn. Note that it is not necessary to ask permission before going out.
If the stock is completely depleted when a player is required to draw a card, the hand ends immediately with no player having gone out. This includes the case where a player is required to draw an additional card as a result of drawing a red three. The player may not meld any cards before the hand ends. If the player can legally pick up the discard pile when there are no cards remaining in the stock, they must do so.
The Scoring
At the end of each hand, the score for each team is calculated as follows:
The total value of all cards melded by that team, including cards in canastas minus the total value of all cards remaining in the team's hands plus any bonuses:
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | additional 100 |
| Concealed canasta (see Miscellaneous Variants) | additional 100 |
| Each mixed canasta | 300 |
| Each natural canasta | 500 |
| Each red three, up to three | 100 |
| The fourth red three | 500 (total of 800 for all four red threes) |
A player goes out concealed when the player makes their team's initial meld and goes out legally in the same turn.
The bonuses for red threes are subtracted from a team's score rather than added if the hand ends without that team having made any melds. That is, if a team has three red threes but has not made any melds at the end of a hand, the team will suffer a penalty of 300 points rather than gaining a 300 point bonus.
Scoring Example: At the end of a hand in which the North player has gone out (not concealed), the cards in each team's melds and in each player's hand are:
| N-S | E-W |
|---|---|
| 3♦ 3♦ | 3♥ |
| 3♣ 3♠ 3♠ | 4 4 2 |
| 6 6 6 6 6 6 2 | 7 7 7 7 7 2 Joker |
| 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 | 10 10 Joker |
| 10 10 10 | A A A A A |
| J J J J 2 2 Joker |
| North | None |
| South | 4 5 5 Q K A A |
| East | 2 5 6 10 J J |
| West | 4 4 10 Q Q K K |
| Description | N-S | E-W |
|---|---|---|
| Melds | 305 | 295 |
| Hands | -75 | -120 |
| Mixed Canastas | 600 | 300 |
| Natural Canastas | 500 | 0 |
| Red Threes | 200 | 100 |
| Going out | 100 | 0 |
| Total | 1630 | 575 |
The game ends when a team's total score reaches 5000 or above. The team with the highest total score at this point wins.
Variations in Play
Canasta for Two or Three Players
Canasta can be played with less than four players with some variations in the rules. The most significant changes are in the number of cards dealt at the beginning of the hand and the fact that each person plays individually. In a game with three players, each person receives 13 cards, and in a two player game both people get 15 cards.
Scoring Variations
- Games can be extended beyond 5,000 points, with higher initial meld requirements after reaching certain point totals (e.g. 150 points or even an initial canasta).
- The third red three can be made worth 200 points and the fourth worth 400 to create cumulative totals of 100, 200, 400, and 800.
- A meld of all four black threes can be made worth 100 points, but the cards are not counted for 5 points each in the total count.
Miscellaneous Variations
- To make picking up the discard pile more challenging, always require that a natural pair matching the top card be played on the same turn that the pile is picked up (i.e., the pile is always frozen).
- A concealed canasta occurs when a canasta is revealed out of a players hand
- Some players use a slight variant on the rule for melding wild cards; any given meld must always have more natural than wild cards. The two natural card minimum and the three wild card maximum follow from this, but this creates slightly more restrictions on the intermediate melds that can legally be made; for example, the 9-9-9-2-2-Joker meld discussed above would not be legal under this rule.
- Require that two canastas be played in order to go out.
- Variation on the above: Require one or both to be natural canastas.
- Note on the above: In most cases this prevents a 'concealed hand' from being played, but it is still possible if a player picks up the discard pile and is able to use all or all but one of the cards and meld two canastas. Consider increasing the concealed canasta bonus to 250 or 500 points to reflect the increased difficulty of such a play.
- When the stock is depleted, consider flipping over the discard pile and turning it into a new stock to extend play. If the stock and discard pile are both depleted, continue as if the stock were depleted under normal rules.
- Play with a modified deck, such as six, two, or zero jokers, or only 7 of each meldable card.
- For a faster-paced game that de-emphasizes the importance of picking up the discard pile, draw two cards rather than one each turn.
Samba and Bolivia
Samba is a Canasta variant involving three decks rather than two. In Samba, sequences (such as 4-5-6 or 10-J-Q) of matching suit may be melded as well as matching sets. A sequence of seven cards, known as a samba or escalara, is worth 1500 points and counts as a canasta for purposes of going out. Other important rule changes for this version include:
- A canasta may only contain two wild cards at most rather than three (and a samba is generally not allowed to contain wild cards at all). One slight variant on this is to require that there always be at least twice as many natural cards as wild cards in a meld.
- The two-canasta and draw-two-cards rules mentioned above are always used; moreover, one of the two canastas must be either a samba or a natural canasta.
- The discard pile is always frozen. One common variant does not allow picking up the pile to add the top card to a sequence, only a group of matching rank; in this version, it is legal to take the top card to add to an already-melded sequence, but you do not take the rest of the discard pile if you do this.
- Play is to 10000 rather than 5000.
- Scoring for red 3s varies considerably. In one version, the fourth red three remains worth 500; fifth and sixth ones are worth 200 each. In another, red threes are worth 100 each unless all six are collected, in which case they are collectively worth 1000.
Bolivia is similar to Samba, with the most important difference being that canastas formed entirely of wild cards are also legal; this combination, called a wild canasta or a Bolivia, is worth 2500. Sequence canastas (always called escalaras, never sambas) are sometimes valued at 1000 rather than 1500. Play is usually to 15000.
- Common variants of Bolivia, sometimes named after other South American locations, involve varying the scoring for wild canastas according to their composition; one consisting entirely of 2s might be worth more than one with jokers in the mix, or a bonus might be given for having all six jokers in the same Bolivia.
Hand & Foot
Hand & Foot is a Canasta variant involving four to six decks rather than two and is played by teams of two players (usually two teams, but it also works with three or four teams). Some players feel this version is more enjoyable for beginners. Several other important rule changes for this version include:
- Each player is dealt two hands of ten cards each, sometimes referred to as the "hand" and the "foot". The hand with the lowest bottom card is played first. Once a player plays all cards from his first hand he picks up the second and continues normal play. A team may not go out until each member has played one card from the second hand.
- On each turn, players draw either two cards from the stock or the top card from the discard pile. Each player discards one card on each turn.
- The two-canasta and draw-two-cards rules mentioned above are always used; moreover, each team must have at least one black and one red canasta to go out.
- Only the top card from the discard pile may be picked up.
- Black threes do not count any points and are thus useful only as discards. The same is true of red threes; in fact these are even worse. Red threes count 100 points each against you if you hold any in your hand (or foot) when a team goes out.
American Canasta
Though found in few books, another version of Canasta is widespread, especially in the United States, and was the official tournament version used by the (possibly defunct) American Canasta Association. This version is only meant to be played by exactly four players, in two two-person partnerships. Important differences between this version and the "classic" version include:
Setup and play
- 13 cards are dealt to each player, then two face down groups of cards are dealt on either side of the draw pile and discard pile, one with four cards and one with three. The latter are referred to as the talons or wings. The discard pile itself starts out empty. The wings are never revealed, scored or otherwise permitted to affect the game in any way; their purpose seems to be to make the game less predictable by creating some uncertainty about the composition of the deck.
- The draw-two-cards rule is not used. Two canastas are required to go out. Play is to 8500.
- Initial meld requirements are higher - 125 for teams with less than 3000 points, 155 for teams with 3000 or more but less than 5000, 180 thereafter. Moreover, somewhere in your initial meld must be a matching set of three natural cards, though you are allowed to have wild cards in this meld in addition to the natural cards.
- Melding a complete canasta, however, is always considered to meet the initial meld requirement, regardless of the point values of the cards involved. (There is no other bonus for such a play.)
- The discard pile is always frozen. Many groups do not allow taking the pile and making your team's initial meld on the same turn; those that do allow this, require you to make the initial meld first, then take the pile. (The latter was the "official" tournament rule). This can be done on the strength of a pair of natural cards that were already melded that turn, or by producing such a pair from your hand after having met the initial meld requirement without it.
- There are some limitations on legal discards. Threes can't be discarded, except as your final discard when going out; the same is true of wild cards. If the discard pile is empty, aces and sevens can't be discarded. It is possible (though very unlikely), however, to be in a situation where you have only wild cards, or only aces, sevens and wild cards with an empty discard pile. In this case you may make such a discard (aces or sevens if possible, wild cards only if there is no other choice - never a three under any circumstances). However, an opponent may challenge the legality of such a play, in which case you must show the opponent your hand to verify that the play was in fact legal.
- Both red and black threes may be played to the table as red threes can in "classic" canasta. Unlike in other versions of canasta, this is optional. As in other versions, a player who plays a three draws a replacement card.
Melding rules
- Melds that do not include sevens or aces work as in "classic" canasta, except that such melds can include at most two wild cards rather than three.
- Sequences (such as those that define Samba, described above) are not legal melds and play no role in the normal play of American Canasta. The closest thing to sequences that is normally allowed is one of the Special Hands, described below.
- Melds of sevens cannot include wild cards. A canasta of sevens is worth 2500 points rather than the usual 500. However, if the hand ends without your team completing this canasta, your team loses 2500 points. Retaining three or more sevens in your hand is nearly as bad, carrying a penalty of 1500.
- Aces are treated the same way as sevens, with one exception. If your team's initial meld includes aces, wild cards may be added at that time; if this is done, the aces are treated like any other meld rather than being treated in the special way sevens are. Otherwise, all the same rules, including the potential penalties, apply to aces as to sevens.
- Melds consisting entirely of wild cards are legal, much like in the aforementioned Bolivia variant. A canasta consisting of wild cards is worth 3000 points if it consists entirely of twos, 2500 points if it contains all four jokers, or 2000 points for any other combination. However, failing to complete a canasta once such a meld is made carries a 2000 point penalty.
- It is legal to meld certain special hands as your team's first and only meld. These are hands of exactly 14 cards which you can concievably have after drawing your card for the turn. If a team plays a special hand, the play ends immediately; the team scores only the points for the special hand (there are no penalties for the cards in the other partner's hand). This is also the only time a player is allowed to not discard a card; even when going out, a player must otherwise have something to discard. There is considerable variation in what special hands are allowed and how they are scored. Among the most commonly accepted special hands are the following (these are the ones that were legal in the tournament version):
- Straight - one card of every rank, including a three (the reason you are allowed to retain threes in your hand), plus a joker. This is worth 3000.
- Pairs - seven pairs, which either do not include wild cards (worth 2500), or include twos, sevens and aces (all three must be present - this combination is worth 2000).
- Garbage - Two sets of four of a kind and two sets of three of a kind, which do not include any wild cards or threes. For example, 4-4-4-4-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-J-J-J would be considered a Garbage hand. This is worth 2000.
Other scoring rules
- Yet another variation on scoring threes is used. Scoring is 100 for one three of a particular colour, 300 for two, 500 for three or 1000 for four; red threes and black threes are counted seperately. This is a penalty if your team has no canastas at the end of the hand (and for this purpose threes in your hand count as though they were on the table), ignored entirely if your team has exactly one canasta, and a bonus if your team has two or more canastas.
- If your team has no complete canastas when the play ends, any cards that have been melded count against that team, in addition to any of the above penalties that may apply. A team with at least one canasta gets positive points for these cards as usual.