Canasta is not as commonly known as other popular card games, and it is a shame because Canasta is a fun and entertaining way to spend time. Usually played in a group of four people divided into two teams, Canasta also has various other versions.
At a glance, Canasta rules may seem too complicated, but if you give it a bit of time and effort, you can easily learn how to play Canasta. To help you with this, we created a detailed and easy to follow manual.
Invented in Uruguay in 1939 by attorney Segundo Sánchez Santos and architect Alberto Serrato, Canasta is quite different in its rules from popular games like poker, blackjack, or baccarat.
Belonging to the rummy family of games, the main aim of Canasta is to match cards of the same rank to create melds. The team that reaches 5,000 points first wins.
After it received favourable feedback at Santos and Serrato’s bridge club, Canasta quickly spread around South America, where it continued refining its rules and developing an infinite number of variations.
A decade later, in the 1950s, the game conquered the United States. It was named “the most recent card game to have achieved worldwide status as a classic”.
So if it is a team game, how many players do you need to play Canasta? The classic version is designed for four players that are grouped into two partnerships. Members of the same team sit opposite each other at the table. If you are wondering how to play Canasta with 3 people or more than four, we will also briefly take a look at different variations.
For example, if you want to know how to play Canasta with 2 players, the main difference would be the number of cards dealt to each player at the beginning of each round. Another thing is that each player will play on their own.
Interestingly, teams in the classic Canasta are not formed randomly. Players take turns to draw one card from a shuffled deck. Two people with the highest ranking cards go into one team, while the other two go into the other.
For this purpose, Aces are ranked the highest. If two people have cards of the same rank, they have to draw again. Same goes for the Jokers that have no value in the draw. For the purpose of the draw, suits are ranked in the following descending order: spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. For the rest of the game suits don’t matter.
Alongside with the traditional four player Canasta, there are numerous versions, usually played in specific countries, with some variations in rules. However, there are also universal versions that accommodate either a different number of players or a different number of decks.
Do you want to know how to play Canasta with 6 players? This is where another popular version comes in. Called Hand and Foot Canasta, it even had special decks available for purchase. It allows anywhere between two to four teams, each consisting of two persons. The number of decks in the game also varies depending on how many people play. The rule of thumb is that there should be one deck more than there are players.
The main difference in the rules is that each player gets two sets of 11 cards each. One is referred to as “hand” and the other one as “foot”. Each player has to finish their hand, then proceed to play with the foot.
Hand and Foot Canasta is considered to be an easier version because it has a larger pool of cards, making creation of canastas simpler.
While all the variations are exciting in their own right, in this manual we will focus on the classic partnership Canasta. Once you have mastered its rules and gameflow, it won’t take lots of time to get the hang of other Canasta games.
Counting points is an important aspect in Canasta, so here is how much value each card carries.
| Cards | Points |
| Red 3s | 100 points |
| Black 3s | 5 points |
| Deuces (2s) and Aces | 20 points |
| 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s | 5 points |
| 8s, 9s, 10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings | 10 points |
| Jockers | 50 points |
The classic version of Canasta is usually played with two French suited decks that consist of 52 playing cards each, including the Jokers.
The person who sits next to the player with the highest ranking card deals first. Then dealers are changed clockwise after every round. Anyone who wants can shuffle the cards but the dealer retains the right to shuffle them again before the beginning of the round. After the shuffle is complete, the player to the left of the dealer cuts the deck.
The dealer distributes cards one at a time in clockwise direction starting from the player to their left and ending with themselves. All players must receive eleven cards.
The remaining deck is placed in the centre with cards facing down. This pile is called the stock. The top card must be turned face up and placed next to the stock to create a discard pile. If the top card turns out to be a deuce, three, or a joker, the next card must be turned face up, until a four or a higher card (known as the “natural” cards) comes on top. They are turned sideways to “freeze” the pile. We will discuss what this implies later.
If any of the players is dealt a red 3, they must put it on the side and draw a replacement. If at any point in the game anyone draws a red 3 from the stock, they must also put it aside in the same fashion and get a replacement. We will discuss the value and role of the red threes later in the manual too.
Now that the setup is complete, players can start the game. For those who want to learn how to play Canasta, rules might seem rather confusing, but all you have to do is practice a couple of times to get things right.
The player to the left of the dealer starts the round. They can either draw one card from the stock or take the discard pile (except when it is frozen, which we will discuss later). After that they can start forming melds with the cards in their hand.
To end their turn, the player discards one card from their hand. You can’t discard a card that has already been placed in the meld.
If you are left with one last card and your team has formed at least one canasta (a meld with at least seven cards), you can either add your remaining card to the existing meld or discard it. However, if your team has no canastas, you have to keep your last card.
The round ends when one player is left without any cards in their hand. Otherwise, it will end if the stock runs out. At this point the players must pick up the discard pile and immediately form a meld. If that is impossible, the game ends.
A legal meld is three cards or more, with at least two of them being natural cards. The size of the meld is unlimited, however at no point may it contain more than three wild cards.
Melds are formed by placing the cards face up in front of the player. They are laid out to make it easier to count the number of cards in them.
Jockers and deuces, which are considered wild cards, can’t form melds of their own but only support melds with natural cards. Black threes can be melded only without wild cards and only if that means you will be left with no cards in your hand (going out).
Each player can create one or multiple melds of different ranks. No player or team is allowed to create two different melds of the same rank. Instead, you should add cards to the pre-existing meld. Partners can add cards to each other’s melds. However, playing on your opponents’ melds is prohibited.
The first meld each partnership forms at the beginning of the round must be worth a specific number of points, depending on how much they have accumulated so far. The requirement for the very first round that starts the game is 50 points. The rest goes like this:
| Team score | Minimum initial meld |
| Negative | 15 |
| 0–1495 | 50 |
| 1500–2995 | 90 |
| 3000 and above | 120 |
You may make multiple melds in one turn to fill the quota, but canasta bonuses and red threes do not count towards the requirement. If a player can’t meet the requirement, they have to wait for their turn until they have the necessary cards. After the initial meld is formed, they may form more regardless of points.
If at the end of the game you still have cards in your hand, their value will be distracted from your points, whether they form a meld or not (more on this later).
Canasta is a meld that consists of seven or more cards. At least four of them, called “the base”, must be natural. Canastas are divided into “pure”, i.e. having no wild cards, and “mixed” or “dirty”, i.e. formed with the help of wild cards.
Each canasta adds to the point count. Not only is every card counted at its usual value, pure canastas add 500 points, while mixed canastas add 300 points to your count.
You can add as many cards to a canasta as you want to increase its total value, but the bonus will remain the same. Also be careful when you add a wild card to a previously pure canasta, as it will immediately turn it into a dirty one and reduce the bonus.
When canastas are formed, they are squared to be distinguishable from ordinary melds. If a canasta is pure, a red card goes on top. If a canasta is mixed, a black card goes on top.
Putting a card from your hand on top of the discard pile indicates the end of your turn. While you may discard any card, if it happens to be a wild card, a black three, or a red three, that will freeze the pile. Players may not take cards from the pile when it is frozen.
None of the players from a single partnership can take cards from the discard pile before they have formed the initial meld. When one of the partners completes the initial meld, both players can use the discard pile.
If the discard pile is frozen with any of the three cards mentioned above, in order to unfreeze it, a natural card must be discarded on top. After that you can pick up the discard pile only if you have two natural cards matching the unfreezing card on top. When a player picks up the discard pile, they must meld the top most card immediately.
When a player uses their last card in the hand by either adding it to a meld or discarding it, they end the round. This is called going out. After this, both teams count their score and start a new round if no one has reached the 5,000 point mark.
However, there are certain conditions a player has to fulfill to be able to go out.
A player is only allowed to use their last card in a meld or put it in a discard pile if their partnership has formed at least one canasta until now. Another possibility is when their last card can form a canasta.
If the team has not formed any natural or mixed canastas so far, its players may not get rid of the last card and must keep it.
While a player must discard one card at the end of each turn, this is different when they go out. If a player can legally go out (the team has a canasta) and can use all the cards they have in their hands to add to existing melds or form new ones, they are not required to discard a card.
Finally, if you can legally go out but have three or more black threes in your hand, this is the only time when you can meld them. You may not add any wild cards to the black threes meld.
If you are considering going out, you can ask for your partner’s permission. While you are not obliged to do so, once you get their answer, you must abide by it. If they gave you a negative answer, you have to keep at least one card in your hand this turn. If they said “yes”, you can’t change your mind and must carry through with going out.
If a player hasn’t made any melds or added to any existing melds made by their partner before, but can now meld their entire hand in one turn, this is called a concealed going out. Besides this having to be their first meld, there are three other conditions that must be met.
Going out concealed gives you an additional 100 points on top of the usual going out bonus.
Once a player goes out or the stock runs out, the round stops. Both sides count their points. If neither side has reached 5,000 points, the game continues to the next round. For Canasta, it is recommended to keep a score sheet for convenience.
The main formula for counting points is:
We will take a more detailed look at the counting process, as well as bonuses and subtractions below.
Melds are counted as the value of cards used to form them. Cards used in canastas are counted the same way, plus every mixed canasta earns you a bonus of 300 points, while every pure canasta earns you additional 500 points.
For each red three your side has, you earn an additional 100 points. If you have collected all four of them, they are counted at 200 points each, so you get a total of 800 points.
If it was you or your partner that went out, you earn a 100 point bonus. If the going out was concealed, you get another 100 on top of that.
Here is a full table of bonuses you can get:
| Bonus | Points |
| Natural (clean) canasta | +500 |
| Mixed (mixed) canasta | +300 |
| Each Red 3 | +100 |
| All four Red 3s | +400 extra |
| Going out | +100 |
| Going out concealed | +100 (additional) |
All the cards that are left in players’ hands at the end of the round are subtracted from their score at their usual value. If the cards in the hand form a meld that hasn’t been used yet, it doesn’t bring any bonuses and is subtracted in the same way.
Here you have to remember the high value of wild cards, especially jokers, so try not to be left with them in your hands at the end of the round.
Several other penalties apply in the following cases:
It is possible to have a negative score at the end of the round.
Learning how to play Canasta with 4 players is the beginning of the journey. As Canasta is a game of skill rather than luck, strategy and planning play a very important role in the process. Once you feel comfortable with the basic rules, it is highly advisable to follow some strategies to enhance your game.
Pay attention to the cards your opponents play and discard. This way you know what cards are in the discard pile and whether you can work with them if you pick it up. When you watch their melds, you understand what cards they are interested in, so you will think twice before discarding them.
Save melds in your hand. If you lay out a meld right away, your opponent will know what cards you need to grow it (and earn more points), so they might hold on to these cards so that you can’t score. Collecting melds in your hand before laying them out throws your opponent off. Timing here is essential. If you hold on to the meld for too long, you are risking reaching the end of the round with additional cards in your hand that will be counted against your score.
Pick up the discard pile when it has a lot of high cards. Another reason to keep an eye on what goes into the discard pile is that you can pick it up when it has many high value cards. More cards give you more opportunities to form melds and canastas. But be careful if you are picking up a large discard pile while your opponents are close to going out.
Use the discard pile against your opponents. If you think your opponent has a card in their hand that you need, throwing a card into the discard pile may make them put down the card you are after. This method is the best for situations when the discard pile is frozen and no one can pick it up if they can’t form a meld. Another possibility is to put down a card you think your opponent needs and force them to pick up a large discard pile with low value cards in it.
Play your wildcards when you can. Wild cards are worth a lot of points if they are counted in your favour, but they can just as well be subtracted from your score if you are stuck with them at the end of the round. Play them whenever you get the opportunity, especially if your opponent is about to go out. However, be aware that adding a joker or a deuce to a pure canasta will significantly reduce its bonus, so think which course of action will be the best.
Canasta has its own terminology that you might not be familiar with even if you play other card games. Below you will find the most common terms essential for the game. We provide a short explanation for each of them.
Learning how to play Canasta may take a bit of time and effort, as it has extensive rules. But once you get the hang of things with a bit of practice, you will find the game very entertaining. Canasta is based on your skills and strategic thinking rather than luck, that’s why it is even more rewarding to win it against your opponents.
If you are playing Canasta for money, remember that responsible gambling must be your first priority. Stay within your budget and time limits, and always treat gambling as a form of entertainment, not means for fast financial gain.
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While the classic version of Canasta is designed for four people divided into two teams, there are variations accommodating any number of people from two to six. When playing with an odd number of players, each one can either play individually, or rules can be adapted to allow teams with an odd number of people.
As Canasta is more a game of skill rather than chance, it is not as common in online casinos as blackjack or poker. Still, you will find some online casinos that do offer Canasta games.
Strictly speaking, any game played with money is considered gambling. However, as Canasta relies more on skill, strategic thinking, and planning rather than luck, it is not inherently counted as a gambling game.
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