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Canasta Rules
Canasta Rules
The game of Canasta is played by 2-6 players and can be played in pairs. Each game had 108 cards, made up of 2 standard decks of cards including 4 jokers. Each card has a different value in the game of Canasta
All the cards, except 2's, 3's and jokers are called "Natural cards". 2's and jokers are wild cards that can take the place of natural cards while 3's have a different purpose and function to the game depending on the situation.
| The four suits |
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| The cards and their values |
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20 points variable 5 points 5 points 5 points
5 points 10 points 10 points 10 points 10 points
10 points 10 points 20 points 50 points
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Canasta's play is similar to Rummy and made up of 2 basic moves; drawing a card and discarding a card. The point of the game is to get rid of all of your card by forming melds.
The game ends when one of the players melds all of the cards in their hand or when the stock pile has run out. In this case the game ends and all the players receive points according to the remaining cards in their hand.
If a player can form a meld by using the last card discarded, they can take the card and use it to form a valid meld.
When drawing a card from the discard pile, you draw the entire pile. You can use the cards drawn from the discard pile to help build on existing melds.
To end your turn you discard a card from your hand.
There are 2 types of sequences in the game:
- Set - a group of 3 or more card of the same value and different suits. This sequence of cards can have 2's and jokers taking the place of the natural cards.
- Canasta - set of 7 cards. There is a pure Canasta - a set containing only natural cards, and a mixed Canasta that combines natural and wild cards.
Basic Rules of Canasta
The game of Canasta can be played in pairs or singles. For the purpose of this explanation the Canasta rules appearing on this page are rules for pairs, according to the original American Cansata rules - the most popular Canasta version.
We will describe a 4 player game with two sets of pairs. Each pair sits across from each other at the table. The winning pair is the first pair to reach 8500 points or more. In the case that both pairs have more than 8500 points, the pair with the highet number of points is declared the winner.
Each player is dealt 13 cards. Furthermore, 2 sets of cards are placed on the table, one containing 3 cards and one pile containing 4 cards. These cards are bonus cards. The remaining cards are placed face down to form the stock pile.
*Note that in this Rummy game you do not start the discard pile with an upturned card.
Once the cards are set up on the table in the correct piles, the game begins. The cards between 4-Ace are called Natural cards and the 2's and jokers are called wild cards. In a valid meld you can use no more than 3 wild cards, ie: if you have 8888 you can use 3 different wild cards to form a Canasta. Here are some more examples:
* Regular meld - a set of 3-7 cards of the same value. In this type of set you can use up to 3 wild cards.
*Canasta - a meld of 7 cards of the same value. In this type of set you can use up to 3 wild cards.
Set of 7's - a set of 3 or more 7's and can not contain wild cards.
Set of A's - a set made up of 3 or more Ace's. This type of set can not contain wild cards unless they are part of the initial meld. In this type of meld you can not use more than 2 wild cards.
Wild Meld - a set containing 3 or more wild cards. If a pair melds wild cards, they can not add any wild cards to existing melds until the wild card meld is finished.
Each of the sets can not contain more than 7 cards. You can not form 2 sets of melds with the same number.
Game Play
The player sitting to the left of the dealer starts the game and the rest of the players take their turn clockwise. If a player has any 3's when their cards are dealt they lay them down together and takes cards from the stock pile to make sure they have 13 cards. Only when the player has no more 3's in their hand can they start their turn (this can happen a few times during the game, each time a player picks up a 3 from the pile unless they choose to hold the 3's in their hand.
Each turn a player takes a card and at the end discards a card. The card can be drawn from the stock pile or from the discard pile. In the latter case the player must use the card they chose from the discard pile to form a valid meld, and must also take the rest of the cards in the discard pile. The player can use the cards from the discard pile to build on melds.
If the player wishes to draw a card from the discard pile and meld it to their partners melds, they must meld at least 2 cards in addition. If the meld already has 5 or more cards this is not possible as a meld can not have more than 7 cards.
A pair that has not yet melded their initial melds can not pick up a card from the discard pile even if the card can be of use to them.
After melding a player must have at least 2 cards remaining in their hand. One card is used to discard and the remaining cards is to continue the game. In the case that melding cards has left a player with only 1 card in their hand, they must draw a card from the stock pile in order for the game to continue.
In order for a pair to make an initial meld they must have the following:
- Points are accumulated for the pair. The value of the cards in the initial meld must meet the minimum requirement for the accumulated points scored
Accumulated points
Minimum points for initial meld
up to 3000 points
125 points
3000-4995 points
155 point
5000 and more points
180 point
- The Splash - If a player has a natural canasta or a full wild card Canasta, that player can make their initial meld without considering the minimum points requirement.
- Special hand - This refers to a hand of 14 cards that form a special set. A player drew a card and all of the cards in their hand form a special set.
There are a few limitation as to the cards you can discard:
You can not discard 3's unless the discard pile is empty (at the beginning of the game or after a player has taken the pile) you can not discard a 7 or an ace. The only cases that you can throw those cards is if a player does not have any other natural cards left in their hand. If a player demands to see that their opponents only have aces, 7's or wild cards their opponent must reveal their cards.
*You can not discard wild card unless one of the following exceptions apply: (1) discarding the card will win the game. (2) If a player has only wild cards in their hand and they draw a wild card from the stock pile, they can discard a wild card. The player following them can not draw a card from the discard pile.
Ending the game
The game comes to an official end in one of the following situations - the stock pile is finished or one of the players at the tables has melded all of their cards except for the last discard card
A player can end the game in one of the following situations:
- His team has melded 2 Canastas (with 7 cards) and the remaining cards in their hand can be used to build onto available meld (except for the last discard card).
- The players partner has told them to end the game.
Scoring
At the end of the game each pair receives points according to the Canasta's that they were able to finish:
Scoring item | Team that has completed 1 Canasta | Team that has completed 2 Canastas |
Bonus for Canastas and going out | Bonus is added to the score | Bonus is added to the score |
Penalty for incomplete Canastas | Points deducted from score (penalty | Points deducted from score (penalty |
Bonus/ Penalty for 3's | Not counted | Bonus is added to the score |
Points for melded cards | Points added to the score | Points added to the score |
Penalty points for remaining cards in players' hand | Points deducted from score | Points deducted from score |
- Bonus for Canastas and going out - the points division for all Canastas is as follows: Mixed Canasta - 300 points, Natural Canasta - 500 points, Natural Canasta of 7's or aces - 2500 points, Natural Canasta of 2's - 3000 points, Wild Canasta (four jokers and three 2's) - 2500, Wild Canasta with any other set of wild cards - 2000. The player to go out first receives an additional 100 points.
- Penalty for incomplete Canasta's - A complete Canasta contains 7 cards. In the event that there is a meld containing 7's and aces that is not complete, the player receives a penalty of 2500 points. In the event that a Wild canasta is not complete, the player receives 2000 points. In addition, a player caught with three or more 7's or aces at the end of the game will receive a penalty of 100 points.
- Bonus / Penalty for 3's - during the game the teams form a pile of the 3's in their hand. At the end of the game the 3's are tallied and each team receives points accordingly:
100 Points
Red three
100 Points
Black three
300 Points
Two Red 3's
300 Points
Two Black 3's
500 points
Three red 3's
500 points
Three black 3's
1000 points
Four red 3's
1000 points
Four black 3's
In the case that a team has no full Canasta's at the end of the game, they will be penalized for all of the 3's in their hand.
In the case that a team has one Canasta they will not receive any points or penalties for the 3's in their hand.
In the case that a team has two or more full Canastas they will receive positive points and a bonus for the 3's in their hand. - Points for Canastas - In the event that a team has completed at least one Canasta they will receive points for all of the cards that made up the meld. A team that has not completed a Canasta will receive penalty points for the remaining cards in their hand.
- Penalty for remaining cards - At the end of the hand every player receives penalty points for the remaining cards in their hand.
The game of Canasta has many versions, however, these are the basic Canasta rules for most of the variations.
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