Canasta Card Game
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1. INTRODUCTION:
Canasta is a unique South American card game of melds and strategy, and a member of the Rummy card family. It was introduced to the United States in 1949, having started in Uruguay. Within a few months, Canasta became an overnight sensation. For the next several years it was the #1 card game in America. Bridge players, in particular, were enthralled with this new game. The United States Playing Card Company (Bicycle) manufactured special edition decks. All kinds of thematic souvenir products were distributed–including coffee mugs, ash trays, place mats, key chains and other trinkets. Variations on the rules and structure of the game then followed. After a 10-year run, the interest gradually waned and traditional games such as Hearts, Spades, Bridge and Poker regained popularity. Canasta (which means “basket”) still has a loyal following. A similar game called “Hand and Foot” (see separate article) has attracted attention. Canasta is also played online at various sites. Here is the way to play this Classic game.
Canasta is a card game from Uruguay. In the 1950’s, it spread to the United States and became one of the most popular card games in the world. The game can be played with 2 or 4 players. Canasta in Spanish means ’shopping basket’ - which metaphorically refers to the object of the game, which is to collect cards of the same rank. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators.
2. PAIRS: This is the most popular variation. Four players in two partnerships are required to play the basic game. Variations for 2 to 5 players are also popular. Two regular decks of cards and four jokers are combined into one deck. Partnerships may be determined by drawing cards or by prearrangement. The deck is shuffled and cut and 11 cards, face down, are dealt to each player. The undealt deck (called the “stock”) is then placed face down in the middle of the table and the top card is turned over. If the top card is a Joker, Deuce or Three, it must be returned to the stock and a new upcard drawn until a “Natural” card appears. The opponent to the left of dealer plays first and draws a card.
POINT VALUE OF THE CARDS
Each Joker=50 Points
Each Deuce or Ace=20 Points
Each King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9 and 8=10 Points
Each 7, 6, 5 and 4=5 Points
Each Black Three=5 Points
Each Red Three=100 Points
Note: Jokers and Deuces (of all suits) are “Wild.” All other cards are designated as “NATURAL” cards.
3. RED THREES
Red Threes are “bonus” cards. If a players is dealt any red Threes, he must place these cards face down on the table before the hand commences and replace them from the stock. Subsequently, any player who draws a red Three from the stock (or by picking up the “pile”) must place the red Three on the table. If a team makes no melds when the hand is over, the point value of the red Three is deducted from their score. If any player does not drop a red Three at first opportunity, he is penalized 500 points!
4. OBJECT OF THE GAME
Points are scored by completing Melds and collecting Bonus cards. The typical game will have several deals. The point limit is determined prior to the start of the game. The standard limit is 5,000 points; this may be changed by mutual agreement.
5. MELDS
Melds (or “sets”) are made up of three or more cards of the same RANK, including wild cards. Sequences, as in Rummy, do not count in the standard game. A Meld must have AT LEAST TWO NATURAL cards and NEVER more than three wild cards. Black Threes are melded only when a player is going out of the hand. Finally, melds are counted ONLY if they are on the table (exposed).
6. MINIMUM COUNT
The initial meld of the hand must equal the designated point requirement for that hand. Remember, the individual cards have their own point VALUES. These are added together. The minimum count required for each team depends on their score prior to the deal in progress.
Here is the table:
TOTAL SCORE (POINTS)–MINIMUM COUNT
Negative or Minus Score=0 Points
0 to 1499=50 Points
1500 to 2999=90 Points
3000 (or more)=120 Points
The partnership plays as a Team. All melds and red Threes are placed in front of one member of each team. After making melds during a turn, a player then discards one card on to the discard pile. Players may drop cards onto their partner’s melds as long as said melds are on the table. Player MAY NOT drop cards onto their opponents’ melds.
7. CANASTAS
Canastas are melds with seven or more cards of the same rank. A partnership must have at least ONE Canasta in order to go out. There is Bonus for each Canasta. Natural Canastas (no wild cards) are worth 500 points and mixed Canastas (with wild cards) are worth 300 points.
8. MORE ON MELDS
Any cards left in a player’s hand are subtracted from their side’s score. A player must always meet the minimum point requirement for his side’s first meld. Illegally melded cards will result in a 100-point penalty. A side may not pick up or take the discard pile until they have completed their first meld.
9. THE PILE
A side may use the top card of the discard pile to make their first meld. The pile is said to be “FROZEN” if it is topped by a black Three or a wild card. Other cards are then discarded on top of the pile. The pile remains frozen until a player holding a natural matching pair takes it. The pile can always be refrozen by dropping a black Three or another wild card.
10. GOING OUT
When a player discards his last card by melding or dropping a card onto the pile, he “goes out,” meaning the hand ends and the deal is scored. His side must have at least one Canasta on the table.
There are Bonuses that apply here:
Going out=100 points
Each red Three=100 points
Each natural Canasta=500 points
Each mixed Canasta=300 points
Points which remain in the partner’s hand are subtracted from the points claimed for melds and bonus cards. It is possible for a team to have a minus score. There is a lot of strategy in this game. The idea is to create as many different melds as possible. Taking the pile is usually good technique; however, it may backfire if you get stranded with a fistful of penalty points for cards in your hand!
This article is only a primer on this fascinating and complex game. I suggest that you reference one of many published books on the game. As stated above, Variations for 2 to 5 players are popular and worth exploring. Check out these (related) games at your convenience:
Pennies From Heaven
Hand and Foot
Mexicana Canasta
CANASTA Rules – 10 EASY STEPS
Written By Joseph Andrews, Spnosored and Copyright Newt’s Games & Playing Cards
No unauthorized reproduction.
You can order canasta equipment
from amazon.com.
Bicycle Canasta Playing Cards
A range of Card Trays is also available.
*General Terminology: Cards; Deal and Play; Melds and Canastas
*Classic Canasta: Deal; Melds; Initial Meld; Play; Threes; Frozen Discard Pile; End of the hand; Scoring; Strategy; Variations
*Modern American Canasta: Deal; Melds; Play; Threes; Initial Meld; End of the Play; Special Hands; Scoring; Variations / Table RulesIntroduction
The game of Canasta is said to have originated in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1939 (see for example this archive copy of Philip E Orbanes’ article The Canasta Story). From there it spread to Argentina, the USA and throughout the world. It was extremely fashionable in the 1950’s, threatening for a while to displace Contract Bridge as the premier card game.
The rules were standardised in North America around 1950, and it was this version of the game, which will be called Classic Canasta on this page, that gained worldwide popularity. In many countries, Classic Canasta is still played in more or less its original form, sometimes alongside a number of variations. In North America, however, some players have continued to develop the game, and these groups now favour a different version, called Modern American Canasta on this page.
Canasta is generally agreed to be best for four players, playing in partnerships. However, there are playable versions for two and three players, which are given later on this page.General Rules and Terminology
To avoid repetition, this section describes the terms and processes that are common to most or all versions of Canasta.The Cards
Canasta is normally played with two standard 52 card packs plus four jokers (two from each pack), making 108 cards in all. They have standard point values as follows:Jokers . . . 50 points eachA, 2 . . . 20 points eachK, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 . . . 10 points each7, 6, 5, 4 . . . 5 points each
The cards A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 are called natural cards. All of the deuces (twos) and jokers are wild cards. With some restrictions, wild cards can be used during the game as substitutes for a natural card of any rank.
The threes have special functions and values, depending on which variation of Canasta is being played.The Deal and Play
Each player is dealt a hand of cards, and in the centre of the table is a face-down pile of cards called the stock and a face-up pile of cards called the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer plays first, and then the turn to play passes clockwise. A basic turn consists of drawing the top card of the stock, adding it to your hand without showing it to the other players, and discarding one card from your hand face up on top of the discard pile.
After drawing, but before discarding, you may sometimes be able to play some cards from your hand face up on the table. To play cards to the table in this way is known as melding, and the sets of cards so played are melds. These melded cards remain face up on the table until the end of the play.
The play ends when a player goes out, i.e. disposes of all the cards in his or her hand. You are only allowed to go out after your team has fulfilled certain conditions, which vary according to the type of canasta played but always include completing at least one seven-card meld or ’canasta’ (see below). Having achieved this, you can go out by melding all but one of the cards in your hand and discarding this last card. In many versions of Canasta you can also go out by melding your whole hand, leaving no discard. The game can also end if the stock pile runs out of cards: if a player who wishes to draw from the stock is unable to do so, because there are no cards left there, the play ends immediately and the hand is scored.
Under certain conditions, instead of drawing from the stock, you are permitted to take the whole of the discard pile. In order to do this, you must be able to meld the top discard, without needing any of the other cards in the discard pile to make your meld valid. The procedure in this case is:
*Place the necessary cards from your hand face up on the table, and add the top card of the discard pile to them to form a valid meld or melds.
*Take all the remaining cards of the discard pile and add them to your hand.
*If you wish, make further melds from the cards you now have in your hand.
*Discard one card face up on the discard pile to end your turn.Melds and Canastas
The object of the game is to score points by melding cards. A valid meld consists of three or more cards of the same natural rank (any rank from four up to ace), such as three kings, six fives, etc. 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. Typically, a partnership will have several melds, each of a different rank. You can add further cards of the appropriate rank to any of your side’s melds, whether begun by yourself or by your partner, but you can never add cards to an opponent’s meld.
Wild cards (jokers and twos) can normally be used in melds as substitutes for cards of the appropriate rank. For example Q-Q-Q-2 or 8-8-8-8-8-2-joker would be valid melds. There are, however, restrictions on using wild cards, which vary according to the type of Canasta being played.
Threes cannot be melded in the normal way. They have special functions, which are different depending on whether you play classic or modern American canasta.
A meld of seven cards is called a canasta. If all of the cards in it are natural, it is called a natural or pure or clean or red canasta; the cards are squared up and a red card is placed on top. If it includes one or more wild cards it is called a mixed or dirty or black canasta; it is squared up with a natural black card on top, or one of the wild cards in it is placed at right-angles, to show that it is mixed.
In some versions of Canasta you may create a meld of more than seven cards, simply by continuing to add more cards of the same rank to an already complete canasta. If it is allowed, a meld of eight or more cards is still regarded as a canasta. If any wild cards are added to a previously pure (red) canasta, it thereby becomes mixed (black).
For each partnership, the first turn during a hand when they put down one or more melds is called their initial meld. When making the initial meld for your partnership, you must meet a certain minimum count requirement, in terms of the total value of cards that you put down. You are allowed to count several separate melds laid down at the same time in order to meet this requirement. In some versions (including Modern American), the initial meld must be made entirely from your hand; in others (including Classic) you are allowed to use the top card of the discard pile along with cards from your hand to satisfy the minimum count, before picking up the remainder of the pile.
The initial meld requirement applies to a partnership, not to an individual player. Therefore, after either you or your partner have made a meld that meets the requirement, both of you can meld freely for the rest of that hand. However, if the opponents have not yet melded, they must still meet the requirement in order to begin melding.Classic Canasta
Canasta was standardised in the late 1940’s and is still played in more or less this classic form in many parts of the world, including some parts of America. However, those who prefer the ’Modern American’ game may prefer to skip this section, since many of the Classic rules are not relevant in that game.
As usual, 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.The Deal
The first dealer is chosen at random, and thereafter the turn to deal rotates clockwise after each hand. The dealer shuffles and the player to dealer’s right cuts. Each player is dealt 11 cards, and the rest of the cards are placed in a face-down stock pile in the centre of the table. The top card of the stock is taken off and placed face up next to the stock pile, to start the discard pile. If this first face-up card is wild or a red three, another card is turned and places on top of it, continuing until a card which is not a wild card or red three is turned up; the wild card or red three should be stacked at right angles to the rest of the pile, to indicate that it is frozen (see below).
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.Melds in Classic Canasta
Every meld must contain at least two natural cards. The smallest meld, as usual, consists of three cards, which could be three natural cards (such as 8-8-8) or two natural cards and a wild card (such as Q-Q-2).
Melds can grow as large as you wish. A meld of seven or more cards counts as a canasta. No meld can contain more than three wild cards - so a six card meld must include at least three natural cards, and a canasta must contain at least four natural cards. There is no limit on the number of natural cards that can be added to a complete canasta. A wild card added to a pure canasta of course makes it mixed. Once a canasta contains three wild cards, no further wild cards can be added.
Note that in this version of Canasta, melds consisting entirely of wild cards are not allowed.
It is not allowed for one partnership to have two separate melds of the same rank. Any cards melded by a partnership which are the same rank as one of their existing melds are automatically merged into that meld, provided that the limit of three wild cards is not exceeded. It is however quite possible and not unusual have a meld of the same rank as one of your opponents’ melds.The Play in Classic Canasta
As usual, each turn is begun by either drawing the top card from the face-down stock or taking the whole of the discard pile. The player may meld some cards (and must do so if taking the discard pile). Each turn must be ended by discarding one card face-up on top of the discard pile.
A player may always opt to draw the top card of the face down pile. You can only take the discard pile if you can meld its top card, combined with cards from your hand if necessary. There are additional restrictions on taking the discard pile if it is frozen against your partnership (see below).
But first let us consider the case where the discard pile is not frozen against you. In that case, if the top card of the pile is a natural card (from four up to ace), you can take the pile if either:
*you play two cards from your hand that make a valid meld with the top discard: these could be either two natural cards of the same rank as the top discard, or one such natural card and one wild card, or
*the top discard matches the rank of one of your partnerships existing melds, and you add it to that meld.
The procedure for taking the pile was described in the general rules. You must show that you can use the top card in a valid meld before you are allowed to pick up the rest of the pile. After picking up the pile, you can then make further melds. For example, if there is a five on top of the pile and another five buried, you cannot use a single five in your hand to take the pile and meld the three fives. But if you have two fives in your hand you can meld these with the five on top of the pile, take the pile, and then add the other five to this meld.
Note that you can never take the discard pile if its top card is a wild card or a black three.
Note also that it is not necessary to take the discard pile in order to meld. If you wish, you can meld after drawing from the stock.Frozen Discard Pile
There are three ways that the discard pile can be frozen against your partnership.
*The discard pile is frozen against all players if it contains a wild card. To show that it is frozen, the wild card is placed at right angles in the pile, so that it is still visible after other cards are discarded on top of it.
*In the unusual case where a red three is turned up to start the discard pile after the deal, the discard pile is frozen against all players, and the red three is placed at a right an
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1. INTRODUCTION:
Canasta is a unique South American card game of melds and strategy, and a member of the Rummy card family. It was introduced to the United States in 1949, having started in Uruguay. Within a few months, Canasta became an overnight sensation. For the next several years it was the #1 card game in America. Bridge players, in particular, were enthralled with this new game. The United States Playing Card Company (Bicycle) manufactured special edition decks. All kinds of thematic souvenir products were distributed–including coffee mugs, ash trays, place mats, key chains and other trinkets. Variations on the rules and structure of the game then followed. After a 10-year run, the interest gradually waned and traditional games such as Hearts, Spades, Bridge and Poker regained popularity. Canasta (which means “basket”) still has a loyal following. A similar game called “Hand and Foot” (see separate article) has attracted attention. Canasta is also played online at various sites. Here is the way to play this Classic game.
Canasta is a card game from Uruguay. In the 1950’s, it spread to the United States and became one of the most popular card games in the world. The game can be played with 2 or 4 players. Canasta in Spanish means ’shopping basket’ - which metaphorically refers to the object of the game, which is to collect cards of the same rank. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators.
2. PAIRS: This is the most popular variation. Four players in two partnerships are required to play the basic game. Variations for 2 to 5 players are also popular. Two regular decks of cards and four jokers are combined into one deck. Partnerships may be determined by drawing cards or by prearrangement. The deck is shuffled and cut and 11 cards, face down, are dealt to each player. The undealt deck (called the “stock”) is then placed face down in the middle of the table and the top card is turned over. If the top card is a Joker, Deuce or Three, it must be returned to the stock and a new upcard drawn until a “Natural” card appears. The opponent to the left of dealer plays first and draws a card.
POINT VALUE OF THE CARDS
Each Joker=50 Points
Each Deuce or Ace=20 Points
Each King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9 and 8=10 Points
Each 7, 6, 5 and 4=5 Points
Each Black Three=5 Points
Each Red Three=100 Points
Note: Jokers and Deuces (of all suits) are “Wild.” All other cards are designated as “NATURAL” cards.
3. RED THREES
Red Threes are “bonus” cards. If a players is dealt any red Threes, he must place these cards face down on the table before the hand commences and replace them from the stock. Subsequently, any player who draws a red Three from the stock (or by picking up the “pile”) must place the red Three on the table. If a team makes no melds when the hand is over, the point value of the red Three is deducted from their score. If any player does not drop a red Three at first opportunity, he is penalized 500 points!
4. OBJECT OF THE GAME
Points are scored by completing Melds and collecting Bonus cards. The typical game will have several deals. The point limit is determined prior to the start of the game. The standard limit is 5,000 points; this may be changed by mutual agreement.
5. MELDS
Melds (or “sets”) are made up of three or more cards of the same RANK, including wild cards. Sequences, as in Rummy, do not count in the standard game. A Meld must have AT LEAST TWO NATURAL cards and NEVER more than three wild cards. Black Threes are melded only when a player is going out of the hand. Finally, melds are counted ONLY if they are on the table (exposed).
6. MINIMUM COUNT
The initial meld of the hand must equal the designated point requirement for that hand. Remember, the individual cards have their own point VALUES. These are added together. The minimum count required for each team depends on their score prior to the deal in progress.
Here is the table:
TOTAL SCORE (POINTS)–MINIMUM COUNT
Negative or Minus Score=0 Points
0 to 1499=50 Points
1500 to 2999=90 Points
3000 (or more)=120 Points
The partnership plays as a Team. All melds and red Threes are placed in front of one member of each team. After making melds during a turn, a player then discards one card on to the discard pile. Players may drop cards onto their partner’s melds as long as said melds are on the table. Player MAY NOT drop cards onto their opponents’ melds.
7. CANASTAS
Canastas are melds with seven or more cards of the same rank. A partnership must have at least ONE Canasta in order to go out. There is Bonus for each Canasta. Natural Canastas (no wild cards) are worth 500 points and mixed Canastas (with wild cards) are worth 300 points.
8. MORE ON MELDS
Any cards left in a player’s hand are subtracted from their side’s score. A player must always meet the minimum point requirement for his side’s first meld. Illegally melded cards will result in a 100-point penalty. A side may not pick up or take the discard pile until they have completed their first meld.
9. THE PILE
A side may use the top card of the discard pile to make their first meld. The pile is said to be “FROZEN” if it is topped by a black Three or a wild card. Other cards are then discarded on top of the pile. The pile remains frozen until a player holding a natural matching pair takes it. The pile can always be refrozen by dropping a black Three or another wild card.
10. GOING OUT
When a player discards his last card by melding or dropping a card onto the pile, he “goes out,” meaning the hand ends and the deal is scored. His side must have at least one Canasta on the table.
There are Bonuses that apply here:
Going out=100 points
Each red Three=100 points
Each natural Canasta=500 points
Each mixed Canasta=300 points
Points which remain in the partner’s hand are subtracted from the points claimed for melds and bonus cards. It is possible for a team to have a minus score. There is a lot of strategy in this game. The idea is to create as many different melds as possible. Taking the pile is usually good technique; however, it may backfire if you get stranded with a fistful of penalty points for cards in your hand!
This article is only a primer on this fascinating and complex game. I suggest that you reference one of many published books on the game. As stated above, Variations for 2 to 5 players are popular and worth exploring. Check out these (related) games at your convenience:
Pennies From Heaven
Hand and Foot
Mexicana Canasta
CANASTA Rules – 10 EASY STEPS
Written By Joseph Andrews, Spnosored and Copyright Newt’s Games & Playing Cards
No unauthorized reproduction.
You can order canasta equipment
from amazon.com.
Bicycle Canasta Playing Cards
A range of Card Trays is also available.
*General Terminology: Cards; Deal and Play; Melds and Canastas
*Classic Canasta: Deal; Melds; Initial Meld; Play; Threes; Frozen Discard Pile; End of the hand; Scoring; Strategy; Variations
*Modern American Canasta: Deal; Melds; Play; Threes; Initial Meld; End of the Play; Special Hands; Scoring; Variations / Table RulesIntroduction
The game of Canasta is said to have originated in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1939 (see for example this archive copy of Philip E Orbanes’ article The Canasta Story). From there it spread to Argentina, the USA and throughout the world. It was extremely fashionable in the 1950’s, threatening for a while to displace Contract Bridge as the premier card game.
The rules were standardised in North America around 1950, and it was this version of the game, which will be called Classic Canasta on this page, that gained worldwide popularity. In many countries, Classic Canasta is still played in more or less its original form, sometimes alongside a number of variations. In North America, however, some players have continued to develop the game, and these groups now favour a different version, called Modern American Canasta on this page.
Canasta is generally agreed to be best for four players, playing in partnerships. However, there are playable versions for two and three players, which are given later on this page.General Rules and Terminology
To avoid repetition, this section describes the terms and processes that are common to most or all versions of Canasta.The Cards
Canasta is normally played with two standard 52 card packs plus four jokers (two from each pack), making 108 cards in all. They have standard point values as follows:Jokers . . . 50 points eachA, 2 . . . 20 points eachK, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 . . . 10 points each7, 6, 5, 4 . . . 5 points each
The cards A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 are called natural cards. All of the deuces (twos) and jokers are wild cards. With some restrictions, wild cards can be used during the game as substitutes for a natural card of any rank.
The threes have special functions and values, depending on which variation of Canasta is being played.The Deal and Play
Each player is dealt a hand of cards, and in the centre of the table is a face-down pile of cards called the stock and a face-up pile of cards called the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer plays first, and then the turn to play passes clockwise. A basic turn consists of drawing the top card of the stock, adding it to your hand without showing it to the other players, and discarding one card from your hand face up on top of the discard pile.
After drawing, but before discarding, you may sometimes be able to play some cards from your hand face up on the table. To play cards to the table in this way is known as melding, and the sets of cards so played are melds. These melded cards remain face up on the table until the end of the play.
The play ends when a player goes out, i.e. disposes of all the cards in his or her hand. You are only allowed to go out after your team has fulfilled certain conditions, which vary according to the type of canasta played but always include completing at least one seven-card meld or ’canasta’ (see below). Having achieved this, you can go out by melding all but one of the cards in your hand and discarding this last card. In many versions of Canasta you can also go out by melding your whole hand, leaving no discard. The game can also end if the stock pile runs out of cards: if a player who wishes to draw from the stock is unable to do so, because there are no cards left there, the play ends immediately and the hand is scored.
Under certain conditions, instead of drawing from the stock, you are permitted to take the whole of the discard pile. In order to do this, you must be able to meld the top discard, without needing any of the other cards in the discard pile to make your meld valid. The procedure in this case is:
*Place the necessary cards from your hand face up on the table, and add the top card of the discard pile to them to form a valid meld or melds.
*Take all the remaining cards of the discard pile and add them to your hand.
*If you wish, make further melds from the cards you now have in your hand.
*Discard one card face up on the discard pile to end your turn.Melds and Canastas
The object of the game is to score points by melding cards. A valid meld consists of three or more cards of the same natural rank (any rank from four up to ace), such as three kings, six fives, etc. 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. Typically, a partnership will have several melds, each of a different rank. You can add further cards of the appropriate rank to any of your side’s melds, whether begun by yourself or by your partner, but you can never add cards to an opponent’s meld.
Wild cards (jokers and twos) can normally be used in melds as substitutes for cards of the appropriate rank. For example Q-Q-Q-2 or 8-8-8-8-8-2-joker would be valid melds. There are, however, restrictions on using wild cards, which vary according to the type of Canasta being played.
Threes cannot be melded in the normal way. They have special functions, which are different depending on whether you play classic or modern American canasta.
A meld of seven cards is called a canasta. If all of the cards in it are natural, it is called a natural or pure or clean or red canasta; the cards are squared up and a red card is placed on top. If it includes one or more wild cards it is called a mixed or dirty or black canasta; it is squared up with a natural black card on top, or one of the wild cards in it is placed at right-angles, to show that it is mixed.
In some versions of Canasta you may create a meld of more than seven cards, simply by continuing to add more cards of the same rank to an already complete canasta. If it is allowed, a meld of eight or more cards is still regarded as a canasta. If any wild cards are added to a previously pure (red) canasta, it thereby becomes mixed (black).
For each partnership, the first turn during a hand when they put down one or more melds is called their initial meld. When making the initial meld for your partnership, you must meet a certain minimum count requirement, in terms of the total value of cards that you put down. You are allowed to count several separate melds laid down at the same time in order to meet this requirement. In some versions (including Modern American), the initial meld must be made entirely from your hand; in others (including Classic) you are allowed to use the top card of the discard pile along with cards from your hand to satisfy the minimum count, before picking up the remainder of the pile.
The initial meld requirement applies to a partnership, not to an individual player. Therefore, after either you or your partner have made a meld that meets the requirement, both of you can meld freely for the rest of that hand. However, if the opponents have not yet melded, they must still meet the requirement in order to begin melding.Classic Canasta
Canasta was standardised in the late 1940’s and is still played in more or less this classic form in many parts of the world, including some parts of America. However, those who prefer the ’Modern American’ game may prefer to skip this section, since many of the Classic rules are not relevant in that game.
As usual, 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.The Deal
The first dealer is chosen at random, and thereafter the turn to deal rotates clockwise after each hand. The dealer shuffles and the player to dealer’s right cuts. Each player is dealt 11 cards, and the rest of the cards are placed in a face-down stock pile in the centre of the table. The top card of the stock is taken off and placed face up next to the stock pile, to start the discard pile. If this first face-up card is wild or a red three, another card is turned and places on top of it, continuing until a card which is not a wild card or red three is turned up; the wild card or red three should be stacked at right angles to the rest of the pile, to indicate that it is frozen (see below).
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.Melds in Classic Canasta
Every meld must contain at least two natural cards. The smallest meld, as usual, consists of three cards, which could be three natural cards (such as 8-8-8) or two natural cards and a wild card (such as Q-Q-2).
Melds can grow as large as you wish. A meld of seven or more cards counts as a canasta. No meld can contain more than three wild cards - so a six card meld must include at least three natural cards, and a canasta must contain at least four natural cards. There is no limit on the number of natural cards that can be added to a complete canasta. A wild card added to a pure canasta of course makes it mixed. Once a canasta contains three wild cards, no further wild cards can be added.
Note that in this version of Canasta, melds consisting entirely of wild cards are not allowed.
It is not allowed for one partnership to have two separate melds of the same rank. Any cards melded by a partnership which are the same rank as one of their existing melds are automatically merged into that meld, provided that the limit of three wild cards is not exceeded. It is however quite possible and not unusual have a meld of the same rank as one of your opponents’ melds.The Play in Classic Canasta
As usual, each turn is begun by either drawing the top card from the face-down stock or taking the whole of the discard pile. The player may meld some cards (and must do so if taking the discard pile). Each turn must be ended by discarding one card face-up on top of the discard pile.
A player may always opt to draw the top card of the face down pile. You can only take the discard pile if you can meld its top card, combined with cards from your hand if necessary. There are additional restrictions on taking the discard pile if it is frozen against your partnership (see below).
But first let us consider the case where the discard pile is not frozen against you. In that case, if the top card of the pile is a natural card (from four up to ace), you can take the pile if either:
*you play two cards from your hand that make a valid meld with the top discard: these could be either two natural cards of the same rank as the top discard, or one such natural card and one wild card, or
*the top discard matches the rank of one of your partnerships existing melds, and you add it to that meld.
The procedure for taking the pile was described in the general rules. You must show that you can use the top card in a valid meld before you are allowed to pick up the rest of the pile. After picking up the pile, you can then make further melds. For example, if there is a five on top of the pile and another five buried, you cannot use a single five in your hand to take the pile and meld the three fives. But if you have two fives in your hand you can meld these with the five on top of the pile, take the pile, and then add the other five to this meld.
Note that you can never take the discard pile if its top card is a wild card or a black three.
Note also that it is not necessary to take the discard pile in order to meld. If you wish, you can meld after drawing from the stock.Frozen Discard Pile
There are three ways that the discard pile can be frozen against your partnership.
*The discard pile is frozen against all players if it contains a wild card. To show that it is frozen, the wild card is placed at right angles in the pile, so that it is still visible after other cards are discarded on top of it.
*In the unusual case where a red three is turned up to start the discard pile after the deal, the discard pile is frozen against all players, and the red three is placed at a right an
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