------------------------------------------------------------------------ Canasta This description was originally based on a page by Katie Sutton. John McLeod has added more details and variations. •Players and Cards •Object of the Game; Melds •The Deal •The Play •Drawing and Melding •Threes •Initial Meld •Frozen Discard Pile •Going Out •Scoring •End of the Game •Variations •Canasta Software Players and cards 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. Object of the game; Melds To score points for melds, which are sets of cards of equal rank (such as four kings, six fives, etc.) played face up on the table. All jokers and 2's are wild cards which can be used to subsititute for other cards in melds. Cards which are not wild are called natural. To end the game you need one canasta, which is seven or more cards of the same rank, including at least four natural (i.e. not wild) cards, and to form all your other cards into melds, consisting of at least three cards of the same rank, of which at least two must be natural. Threes cannot be melded in the usual way - they are used for special purposes. Jokers and twos can only be used as substitutes - you cannot for example have a meld of five twos. A natural meld is one with no wild cards. A natural canasta is a natural meld of seven or more cards. A meld including wild cards is called mixed. If you add a wild card to a natural canasta, this degrades it to a mixed canasta. It is not allowed for one team to have two separate melds of the same rank. Any further cards melded which are the same rank as an existing meld are automatically merged into that meld. The Deal The first dealer is chosen at random, and thereafter the turn to deal rotates clockwise after each hand. Each player is dealt 11 cards, and the rest of the cards are put face down in a pile. The top card is taken off, and placed face up next to the pile. This is the start of the discard pile. If it is wild or a three, turn up another card and place it on top, continuing until a card which is not a wild card or three is turned up. 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. The Play The player to the left of the dealer plays first, and then the turn to play rotates clockwise. Each turn is begun by drawing the top card from the face-down pile or taking the whole of the discard pile. The player may then meld some cards (and must do so if the discard pile was taken). Each turn is ended by discarding one card face-up on top of the discard pile. One member of each side keeps the melds belonging to that side face up in front of them. Drawing and Melding A player may always opt to take the top card of the face down pile. Alternatively, the player may take the whole discard pile, subject to the following conditions: 1.The discard pile can never be taken if it has a black three or a wild card on top; 2.When taking the pile, the player must immediately use the top card of it in a meld, and that meld must be valid without needing to use other cards from the discard pile (though other cards from the pile can be added to it); 3.If it is the first meld by their team in that deal, the player must play from hand at least two natural cards matching the top card of the discard pile, and the meld must score at least the required minimum points; 4.If the discard pile is frozen (contains a wild card or red three), the player must play from hand at least two natural cards matching the top card of the discard pile; 5.If their team has already melded and the discard pile is not frozen, it may be taken provided that either •the player plays two cards from hand matching the top card of the dicard pile, of which at least one is natural, or •the top card of the discard pile matches one of the partnership's existing melds. When making a meld using the discard pile you should first put down any cards from your hand needed to make the meld valid; then add the top card of the discard pile to create the meld, and only then take the whole of the rest of the discard pile into your hand. Note that the top card may not be used to make a meld with other cards in the discard pile. For example if there is a 5 on top of pile, you may not use any other fives from the pile to complete the meld, but you may add any fives from the pile, after you have made the meld with the top five. It is also permissible to meld having drawn a card from the stock, by playing the necessary cards from hand, either creating new melds or adding to the team's existing melds. If the team has not yet melded, the minimum points condition for initial melds still applies. Threes Red threes are bonus cards. When a red 3 is drawn, the card must immediately be put face-up on the player's side with their melds, and the player draws a replacement card from the face-down stock. Although red threes score bonus points they do not count as meld - independently of any red threes a side still needs to satisfy the minimum point requirement for their first meld. The only way a red 3 can get into the discard pile is if it was turned up at the end of the deal and covered. If this happens, then when the discard pile is taken, the player puts the red three face-up, 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. Black threes cannot be melded, except that a player who is going out may meld three or four black threes as part of that last turn. Such a meld of black threes cannot contain wild cards. Initial Meld To achieve the needed canasta, one must first make a meld. A meld is 3 or more cards of the same rank, with at least two natural cards. Further wild and natural cards may be added to the meld later. The first meld made by a partnership must be worth at least a certain minimum number of points. The value of a meld for this purpose is obtained by adding up the values of the cards in it. The card values are as follows: Jokers 50 points each Aces and 2s 20 points each K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 10 points each 7, 6, 5, 4, and black 3 5 points each The minimum value of a side's initial meld depends on their score accumulated in previous rounds as follows: Previous score Minimum initial meld negative 15 points (i.e. no minimum) 0 - 1495 50 points 1500 - 2995 90 points 3000 or more 120 points A player may put down a meld of more than three cards, or more than one combination at once to meet the minimum. Bonuses for red threes, canastas, etc. cannot be counted towards meeting the minimum. Frozen Discard Pile If the discard pile contains a wild card or a red three it is said to be frozen. To show that it is frozen, the relevant card is placed at right angles in the pile, so that it is still visible after other cards are discarded on top of it. A frozen discard pile can only be taken by a player who holds in hand two natural cards matching the top card of the discard pile, and uses these to make a meld. This meld can either be a new one, or could be the same rank as an existing meld, in which case the melds are merged. For example, suppose the pile is frozen 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 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. Going Out Once a player's side has a canasta, the player may go out by melding all their cards, or by melding all but one, and discarding the last card. You are not allowed to get rid of all you cards in this way if your side does not yet have a canasta - you must play in such a way as to keep at least one card after discarding. Note that it may not be an advantage to go out, just because one is able to. Before drawing, a player may ask their partner "may I go out?". The partner must answer yes or no, and the answer is binding. Once a player goes out, play stops and the round is scored. The other way play can end is if 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, the play ends and the round is scored: both teams score their melds and subtract the value of cards left in their hand; no one scores the 100 point bonus for going out. 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. Scoring The partners' points are added together. The base score is •100 points for being the one to meld out; •an extra 100 points for going out (making 200) if the player went out concealed - that is, the player's whole hand is melded in one turn, and includes at least one canasta. The player must not have previously melded or added any cards to partner's melds; •500 points for each natural canasta - that is a canasta with no wild cards (jokers or 2's); •300 points for each mixed canasta - that is a canasta including wild cards. •100 for each red 3 you have, only if you made at least one meld; •an extra 400 points (making 800) if the partnership has all four red threes. To this base score, add the total value of all the cards melded, and subtract the value of any cards left in the players' hands. If a partnership did not manage to meld at all, then each of their red threes counts minus 100 instead of plus - and if they are unlucky enough to have all four red threes they score minus 800. End of the game When one or both teams have 5,000 or more points at the end of a hand, the side with the higher total score wins, and the margin of victory is the difference between the scores of the two teams. Variations Many people play a more restrictive rule on when it is allowed to take an unfrozen discard pile. In this variation the pile can never be taken with one matching card and a wild card, or to add to a completed canasta. The discard pile can still be taken (if not frozen) to add the top card to a meld of 6 cards or fewer. Here is another variation, Albany Canasta, described by Duane Bristow. Hand and Foot is a variation in which each player is dealt two sets of cards: a "hand" and a "foot". Canasta Five is a three pack Canasta variation with a following in Australia and New Zealand. Canasta Software Mark-Jan Harte has published a Canasta program. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return to General Index of Card Games site ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This page is maintained by John McLeod (john@pagat.demon.co.uk). Last updated 1st April 1998