INTRODUCTION
The game of Canasta originated in Uruguay in 1939. After WWII it came to the United States. It was extremely popular in the 1950's; in recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the game. The Classic Canasta rules were standardized in North America around 1950. Many people now play a different version, called Modern American Canasta. There are four players in fixed partnerships; partners sit opposite one another.
GENERAL RULES AND TERMINOLOGY
The Cards
Two 52 card standard decks plus 4 jokers are shuffled together = 108 cards. A card tray may be used to hold the draw and discard piles but this is not required.
Twos and jokers are wild cards
A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 are natural cards.
Threes have special functions and are never used to make a canasta
Melds that are made entirely of natural cards are called clean (or pure or natural)
Melds of natural cards that include at least one wild card are called dirty (or mixed)
Wild Cards
With some restrictions, wild cards can be used during the game in the place of a natural card. These wild cards can only be used:
when the meld is put down as part of the team's initial meld (opening), provided the meld contains at least two natural cards, or;
after opening, provided that the meld already contains at least five natural cards; and
no more than two wild cards may be used in any meld.
A meld of only wild cards consists of anywhere from three to seven twos and/or jokers in any combination. If a team starts a meld of wild cards, one cannot add any wild cards to any of the other melds until the wild card canasta is complete. If a wild card meld has fewer than seven cards when the round ends, the team incurs a penalty and cannot go out.
Threes
On your turn any threes in your hand are laid down on the table. A player immediately draws an equal number of replacement cards from the top of the stockpile, and if any of these are threes they get laid out and replaced.
At the end of the hand bonus points are given to each team, depending on the number of threes the team has, and if certain conditions are met.
Melds and Canastas
A valid meld consists of three or more cards of the same natural rank.
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. Players can add further cards of the same rank to any of their side's melds, whether begun by self or by partner.
Melds consisting entirely of wild cards also are allowed (wild card canasta).
To complete a canasta seven cards of the same number must be melded. The goal is to complete as many canastas as possible during the game in order to accumulate points. 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.
If all of the cards in a completed canasta are natural, it is called clean (or pure or natural) canasta.
If a completed canasta includes one or more wild cards it is called a dirty (or mixed or unnatural) canasta.
A completed canasta is squared up with a red card on top for a clean canasta, and a black card on top for a dirty canasta. The canasta is placed at a 45-degree angle across the team’s threes. Subsequent canastas are placed at 45-degree angles, creating a snaking line.
Sevens and Aces
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 one starts a meld of sevens but fails to complete a canasta, a penalty is incurred at the end of the hand.
A meld of aces must be clean unless it is part of the team's initial opening, and includes at least one wild card from the outset. A dirty meld of aces must initially contain at least two natural aces, and not more than two wild cards.
A meld of aces begun after a team has put down its initial meld for opening cannot include any wild cards. If an ace meld is begun clean (whether as part of the team's opening or later), no wild cards can be added to it. A clean meld of fewer than seven aces incurs a penalty at the end of the round.
The Deal
The player to the right of the dealer cuts the deck and places eight cards from the bottom of the stock face down. The ninth card from the bottom is turned at a right angle to the pile. This is known as the turn card, which alerts players that they have only two turns left. 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.”
The dealer deals 13 cards to each player. The remaining cards are placed face down in the center of the table to form a draw pile (the stock). Deal passes to the left after each hand.
Opening/Initial Meld
For each partnership, the first turn during a hand when one of them lays down one or more melds is called the team’s opening. A certain minimum point count requirement needs to be met. One is allowed to count several separate melds laid down at the same time in order to meet this requirement. The opening melds must be made entirely from one’s hand.
The opening requirement applies to a partnership, not to an individual player. Therefore, after either player of the partnership has opened, both can meld freely for the rest of that hand. The opponents also must meet the requirement in order to begin melding.
One can open for the team by melding cards from one’s hand whose total value is at least the minimum count. The minimum count depends on the team's cumulative score at the start of that hand:
Cumulative Score Initial Meld Requirement
<3000 125 points
3000-49999 155 points
5000+ 180 points
Notes:
*A team that has a negative score is still subject to the 125-point minimum count.
**Add 10 points to the initial meld requirement if a player lays down cards for the initial meld but does not have sufficient points. The player must return the cards to their hand.
The initial opening from one’s hand must include either: a clean meld of at least three matching natural cards (no wild cards), or a wild card meld (at least three wild cards) that meets the minimum number of points for opening.
When opening one may take the discard pile if one holds three natural cards that can be melded with the top card of the discard pile. The minimum count and the required three card natural or wild meld must already be present and complete in one’s hand, and must be laid down before one is allowed to take any card from the discard pile.
The first person to open draws four bonus cards (known as talons or wings) from the stock. When the person from the second partnership opens, a bonus of three cards is drawn. If the opening occurs after the turn card has been drawn, the bonus cards are not awarded.
A 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 canasta is completed (closed), neither team is allowed to begin or add to a meld of that rank. Cards that match the rank of a closed canasta are known as dead cards.
The Play
The player to the dealer's left begins and the turn to play passes clockwise. The player’s turn starts by drawing the top card from the stock and placing it in one’s hand. Each turn ends by discarding one card face-up on top of the discard pile
After drawing, but before discarding, a player may sometimes be able to play some cards from his/her hand face up on the table.
Under certain conditions, instead of drawing from the stock, a player is permitted to take the discard pile. In order to do this, the player must be able to meld the top discard, without needing any of the other cards in the discard pile to make a meld.
One can only take the discard pile if a pair of natural cards are in one’s hand that are of the same rank as the top card of the discard pile. One must show the pair and meld these cards with the top discard before taking the rest of the pile into one’s hand. After picking up the pile, further melds are allowed to be made. If a team has not yet opened, the discard pile may not be picked.
The procedure for taking the discard pile:
Place the necessary cards from one’s hand face up on the table, and add the top card of the discard pile to them to form a valid meld.
Take the remaining cards of the discard pile and add them to your hand.
If the player wishes, make further melds from the cards now in your hand.
Discard one card face up on the discard pile to end one’s turn.
It is not necessary to take the discard pile in order to meld. A player can meld after drawing from the stock.
If the top discard matches the rank of one of the partner’s existing melds, you can take the discard pile if a pair of cards of the same rank is in your hand and the existing meld has no more than three or four cards. The new meld of three cards is immediately combined with the existing meld of that rank.
If a team has a meld of five or more cards matching the rank of the top discard, a player may not 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 are also safe to discard.
One may not lay down a meld if it leaves only one card in one’s hand unless the conditions for going out are satisfied.
If not going out, one must have at least two cards in one’s hand after melding: one to discard and one to continue play.
One may never discard a wild card, except when the wild card is the final discard, when going out.
In rare cases, a situation may arise when a hand consists entirely of wild cards. Then a wild card may be discarded. The next player is not allowed to take the pile. If requested by an opponent, one must show his/her hand to prove that only wild cards remain.
When the discard pile is empty one may not discard an ace, a seven, or a dead card unless these are the only natural cards one has.
End of the Play
The hand 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.
One can go out when both of the following are met:
A team has completed two canastas; and
All cards in one’s hand are able to be melded and there is a discard.
A team cannot go out if they have an incomplete canasta of wild cards, sevens or clean aces.
The final discard is played face down on the discard pile.
When you are in a position to go out, it is good practice to ask your partner's permission. If you opt to ask, this must be done before laying any cards down on the table. Each teammate can only ask permission to go out once per round. After that, if conditions for going out are satisfied, you can go out on any turn without consulting your partner. It’s safe to go out when your partner has discarded something other than an Ace or 7.
The player who draws the turn card must announce it, saying "turn card,” 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 stockpile, 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 stockpile, the play immediately ends and the hand is scored.
If the last card drawn from the stock is a three the round ends immediately. The player who drew the three cannot meld or discard and the three will count 5 points against that player's team. *Some groups play with different table rules*
At the end of each round, each team calculates their score for the round and adds it to the cumulative total.
Scoring
Both teams score for any canastas they have managed to complete as follows:
Natural Canasta: 500 points
Mixed Canasta: 300 points
Clean canasta of aces or sevens: 2500 points
Wild Card Canasta (twos and some jokers): 2000 points
Wild Card Canasta with all 4 jokers: 2500 points
Wild Card Canasta with only twos: 3000 points
If any player succeeded in going out, their team scores an extra bonus of 100 points. Note that going out is a specific term meaning a player got rid of all cards in their card and had a final discard. In order to go out, that team must have two canastas and no incomplete natural seven, natural ace, or wild card melds on the table.
Penalties for incomplete canastas, and for unmelded aces and sevens
If a team has melded pure aces, sevens or wild cards but not completed a canasta of that type, it is penalized as follows:
Aces: -2500 points
Sevens: -2500 points
Wild card canasta: -2000 points, but -2500 points if it contains all four jokers
If a player's hand contains three or more aces or three or more sevens at the end of the hand, that player's team is penalized as follows:
Aces: -1500 points
Sevens: -1500 points
Because of this, near the end of the play it isn’t safe to retain three aces or three sevens in one’s hand. If one is confident that their team can complete an aces or sevens canasta one should meld them; otherwise one should normally discard to keep not more than two aces and two sevens.
Bonuses or penalties for threes
All threes melded by a team are counted as follows:
1 of a color 100 POINTS
2 of a color 300 POINTS
3 of a color 500 POINTS
4 of a color 1000 POINTS
If a team has no canastas, the total score for their melded red and black threes (calculated from the above) 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) is a bonus, to be added to their score.
Score for melded cards (The Count)
If a team has completed at least one canasta, the total value of all the cards (other than threes) melded by the team, whether forming part of a canasta or smaller combinations, is added to the team's score. The standard values of the cards are used.
If a team has not completed any canastas, then the value of all their melded cards is subtracted from their score, along with the value of the cards remaining in their hands.
Penalty for cards remaining in hand
The total value of all the cards remaining in the hands of the players is subtracted from the team's score. The standard values of the cards are used.
Each team calculates its total score for the hand. 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.
The overall object of the game is to have a cumulative score of 8500 or more points. When one team achieves this, the game is over and the team with the higher score has won.
* Please note: There are many variations of the rules of Modern American Canasta. The rules on this handout were created by us by referencing online materials, conferring with other teachers of the game, gathering information from players who play Modern American Canasta, and from our own experiences as lifelong Canasta players.
SPECIAL HANDS RULES AND SCORING
With a special hand there is no base or count score.
No bonus points for going out
No points or penalties for 3's, 7’s, or Aces (in either hand)
Opponents score in the usual way
To achieve a special hand you may not pick from the discard pile; the last card must come from the draw pile
After your partner opens, you have one turn to declare a special hand.
A special hand is a combination of 14 cards. After drawing a card from the stock pile, if you get a special hand, expose your entire hand, without discarding. This immediately ends the round for all players. Once you open you are no longer able to go for a special hand. If your partner opens, you have one opportunity (your next turn) to try to get a special hand. This is known as a courtesy special. Note that a special hand may include dead cards.
Straight
One card of every rank* A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-joker 3000 pts
Pairs
1. No Wilds; Seven pairs AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF-GG 2500 pts
2. Four pairs + matching wilds + pair sevens + pair aces AA-BB-CC-DD-77-AA-WW 2000 pts
3. Three pairs + pair 2s + jokers + aces + 7s (Boca/Miami Pairs) AA-BB-CC-77-AA-22-JokJok 2500 pts
Garbage: 3x3x4x4
Two sets triple + two sets quad (no wilds) AAA-BBB-CCCC-DDDD 3000 pts
Zip code: 2x2x3x3x4
Two sets of pairs, two sets triples, one set quad; (with or w/o wilds) AA-BB-CCC-DDD-EEEE 2500 pts
3x3x3x3xW
Four triples + pair matching wilds AAA-BBB-CCC-DDD-WW 3500 pts
4x4x4xW
Three quads + pair matching wildcards AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-WW 3500 pts
Blast Off-5x4x3x2
Five of a kind, four of a kind, three of a kind, two of a kind (with or w/o wilds) 3000 pts
The Canasta Connection House Rules