I've been playing various card games since I was in grade school. In 2017, I learned to play the game of Canasta from the Hutto family. When I play with the Hutto's, I play by the Hutto rules (see the Variations section). Otherwise, I play by the rules listed on this page. I have created this page to give new players a better understanding of the rules of Canasta. There are many variations of Canasta. These rules and the variations listed on this page are what I use when playing with family and friends. Included are the rules for 4 players, 3 players and 2 players. — Steve
1. Game Equipment
This game requires 108 cards made up of two 52 card decks plus 4 jokers. You may purchase cards made specifically for Canasta that have the point values printed on the cards.
2. Object
To score the most points by making melds and earning bonuses. A game is made up of a sequences of deals. Players try to be the first to go out in a deal by using all their cards. Going out ends a deal. Game score is 5,000 or more points.
3. Point Value of Cards
| Each Joker | 50 Points | |
| Each Two or Ace | 20 Points | |
| Each King, Queen, Jack, 8-10 | 10 Points | |
| Each 4-7 and black threes | 5 Points | |
| Each red three | 100 Points |
4. Wild Cards
Jokers and twos of all suits are wild. All other cards are called natural cards.
5. Partnerships
In the standard 4 player game, players form partnerships, with two players on each team. Partners must sit opposite each other.
6. Dealing the cards
Shuffling
The dealer must shuffle the cards prior to dealing. The deck must be shuffled a minimum of 7 times. The pack is (optionally) cut by the player to the dealer's right.
Dealing
The cards are dealt clockwise, one at a time, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer. Each player receives 11 cards. After each round of play, the deal passes to the player on the dealer's left. See Variations for the number of cards to deal for 2 and 3 player games.
The remaining cards are placed, face down, in the center of the table and are called the stock. The top card of the stock is turned face up beside the stock and is called the upcard. The upcard begins the discard pile.
Cards discarded in play are laid face up on top of the upcard, or next to the stock if the upcard has been drawn. During the deal, If the upcard is a joker, two, or three (red or black), a card (or cards) from the deck must be turned up until a natural card appears. A wild card or a red three which is either on or in the pile, freezes the pile. See the section Frozen Pile for additional rules.
7. Red Threes
In their first turn, players must place all red threes in their hand face up on the table. Next, players draw new card(s) from the deck to restore their hands to 11 cards.
Players who draw a red three from the stock during play, must also place the card face up and draw again. Players who take up a discard pile containing a red three, place the card face up but do not draw a new card.
Players receive a bonus of 100 points for each red three. If one partnership holds all red threes, the cards have a value of 200 points each. The value of the cards are added to the score of the partnership if it has made a meld.
If a side makes no melds by the end of play, the point value is subtracted from their score.
Failure to declare receipt of a red three, by deal or draw, before play ends results in a 500 point penalty for the side. This penalty is assessed as long as the player holding the card has played one turn. See Taking the Discard Pile for additional restrictions on the use of red threes.
8. Melds
Melds are made up of three or more cards of the same rank, including wild cards. Sequences are not valid melds. To be valid, a meld must contain at least two natural cards and not more than three wild cards. Wild cards may never be melded without natural cards. A meld must always contain more natural cards than wild cards. Black threes may only be melded at the time a player goes out.
To be legal, a meld must be placed face up on the table during a players turn. If cards not included in the meld are exposed during play, the cards must be left on the table. Then, the exposed cards must be discarded one in each subsequent turn, unless the exposed cards form or are part of a valid meld.
The cards a player uses to make the first meld of a deal must equal a certain point value, called the minimum count. This is done by adding up the point value of each card in the potential meld and matching the sum to the total score point schedule.
The minimum count may include the value of a card taken in a draw from either the stock or discard pile. See rules under The Play. The required minimum count depends upon the total score of each side prior to the current deal.
| Total Score | Minimum Count | |
|---|---|---|
| Minus Score | 15 | |
| 0-1495 | 50 | |
| 1500-2995 | 90 | |
| 3000 or more | 120 |
All melds and red threes are placed near one member of the partnership, usually the player who makes the first meld. After making all melds in a turn, the player must discard one card if the discard may be made legally. See the rules for discards under the heading The Play.
Players may add one or more cards (same rank or wild) to melds made by their partners, or themselves, as long as the melds are already on the table. Players may add only three wild cards to a meld, unless the meld is a completed canasta, which may have more than 3 wild cards added to it. Players may make as many melds as desired during a turn. This includes additions to, or the combining of, the partnership's melds. Players may never add cards to an opponent's meld or remove cards from their own or their opponent's melds.
9. Canastas
Canastas are melds made up of seven or more cards. A partnership must have at least one canasta to go out, and bonus points are made for each canasta made. A natural canasta is made up of seven natural cards and is worth 500 points. Mixed canastas include one to three wild cards and are worth 300 points. A canasta with more than seven cards does not receive an additional bonus. When a canasta is completed and placed on the table, wild cards may be added to it, over the limit of three. However, a wild card added to a natural canasta reduces it's point value from 500 to 300 points. A complete canasta is laid in a pile, with a red card on top if it is natural and a black card on top if it is mixed.
The point count of a cards left in a player's hand at the end of deal are subtracted from the partnership score, even if the cards could have been melded.
10. Meld Restrictions
Insufficient Melds
If a player puts down fewer cards than needed for the minimum count, the player may correct the error by melding additional cards during the same turn. A player may rearrange the cards already melded but only to correct the minimum count.
A player may also retract all cards in the meld. The partnership is then penalized during the deal by an increase of 10 points in the minimum count requirement. If a player retracts only some of the cards, the partnership is penalized by having 100 points subtracted from their score.
Illegal Melds
Cards melded illegally (in any play situation), or excess wild cards in a meld, must be retracted. The partnership is penalized 100 points.
11. The Play
The opponent to the dealer's left plays first. All play moves clockwise. A player's turn is made up of a draw, an optional meld and a discard. Discards are turned face up next to the stock. The play continues until a player goes out by using all cards in hand, or a player is unable to legally discard.
12. The Draw
A player, in turn, is entitled to draw only the top card from the stock. If a player draws more than one card, the player must discard, without drawing cards, in each turn until the hand holds 11 cards.
A player also has the option of drawing the top card of the discard pile, if the card can be used in a meld. The player must then take the rest of the discard pile in hand. This is called taking the pile. Taking the pile is subject to restrictions (see taking the pile below).
13. Taking the Pile
A side may not take the discard pile unless they have made their first meld of the deal. A side may use the top card of the discard pile for the first meld. To take the pile, a player must lay down two cards from the hand (naturals if the initial meld), which form a valid meld with the upcard of the pile. Then, the player places the upcard with the cards from the hand. If it is required to meet the minimum count, a player must make additional melds. The cards used to make the additional melds are separate from the first meld and any other cards in the discard pile.
When the pile is not frozen, the top card of the discard may be melded with a natural card and wild card to create a new meld or be added to a meld already on the table. The top card of the discard pile may not be directly added to a completed canasta. Next, the player must take up the rest of the discard pile, making any other melds desired. These additional melds are not included in the minimum count.
When the pile is frozen, a player must have two natural cards in their hand that match the up card before they can take the pile.
14. Frozen Pile
The discard pile is frozen any time it contains a red three turned as an upcard, a wild card, or a black three. Wild cards or black threes may appear as either an upcard or as discards.
The discard pile is also frozen against a partnership (or an individual player if not playing partners) until one of its players has successfully made their initial meld.
When the discard pile is topped by a wild card or a black three, other cards must be discarded on top before the pile may be taken. When there is more than one freezing card in a pile, the lowermost freezing card is turned sideways until a hand holding a matching pair takes it. For example - The pile is frozen with a jack as the topcard. The frozen pile is taken in turn by the player who shows a pair of jacks. Unlike a wild card, a black three freezes the pile only until the black three is covered with the next discard.
The discard pile formed after a freeze is broken is available to any player who can meet the taking up requirements. The pile can be frozen again by discarding a wild card or black three. When the discard pile is reduced to one card and the next player in turn has only one card, the player may not take the discard and go out.
15. Exhausting the Stock
If a player draws the last card of the stock and it is a red three, they must reveal it. The player may not then meld or discard, and play ends.
If the last card of the stock is not a red three, play continues as long as each player in turn takes the discard, and they must do so if it matches a meld on their side and the pack is not frozen. (The only exception is that a one-card hand may not take a one-card discard pile). A player does not have to take the discard to form a new meld. The play ends when a player cannot take the discard or legally refuses to take it.
16. Play Information
Players may get information in four areas during their legal turn:
- A player may examine the discard pile before discarding in the first turn.
- A player may remind a partner of the minimum count if the partner is making the initial meld.
- A player may remind a partner to lay red threes on the table or draw a replacement.
- A player may turn the sixth card of a meld crosswise to show that only one card is needed to make a canasta.
17. Going Out
When a player gets rid of the last card in hand, by a legal meld or discard, the player goes out. Going out ends play and the deal is scored. A player may go out only if the partnership has at least one canasta on the table or if the player melds a canasta in going out. If this requirement is not met, the player must hold at least one card in hand.
A player holding only one card may not take a discard pile of only one card. A player does not have to discard in going out if a meld is made with all cards in hand.
If able to go out, a player may ask, "Partner, may I go out?" A player may ask permission to go out before drawing from stock or after drawing from stock. Players may not ask for permission after melding or after showing an intention to take the discard pile
When asked for permission to go out, a partner must answer "Yes" or "No". The answer is binding. However, before a partner answers, three specific questions may be asked:
- The minimum count requirement for score of each partnership.
- The number of cards held by any player.
- The number of cards remaining in stock.
Players may also ask these questions during their turn.
Players do not have to ask permission to go out.
18. Scoring the Deal
The following bonus points may be awarded to each partnership:
| For Going Out | 100 Points | |
| For each red three | 100 Points | |
| For all red threes | 800 Points | |
| For each natural canasta | 500 Points | |
| For each mixed canasta | 300 Points |
Add the total point values of all melded cards for the partnership, then subtract the point value of all cards left in the partnership's hand. Add this to the value of any bonus points for a side's net score. Partnerships may have a minus score.
19. Scoring the Game
The score should be recorded on paper, with one column for each side. Each entry should show the scores of the previous deal, together with the accumulated totals (which determine the initial meld requirement). Appropriate web applications may also be used for scoring.
The side that first reaches a total of 5,000 points wins the game. The final deal is played out, even though one or both sides have surely reached 5,000 points. There is no bonus for winning the game.
20. Strategies
You will win more games if you make several canastas in each deal. To increase your chances of creating multiple canastas, lay out a variety of melds on the table. This will also give your partner the greatest opportunity to add cards.
However, don't make an initial meld if it will reduce your hand to fewer than six cards. Try to make your first meld with the minimum number of cards. By holding more cards, you can make more additions to your partner's melds. You are also in the best position for taking the discard pile.
Taking the discard pile is very helpful. Canastas require a lot of cards and the best way to get cards is by repeatedly taking the discard pile.
Try to keep both a wild and black three in your hand. They may be used to block your opponent's move on the discard pile and clear the way for your partner to take it. However, don't freeze the pile if your side is behind in melds as you may block yourself from the advantage of taking the pile.
Take advantage of the rules allowing you to get information. Concentrate first on your left opponents discards, then the pile and lastly on your partner's and right opponent's discards.
21. Variations
All regular rules are in play with the following exceptions.
Two-Handed Canasta
- There are two players playing as individuals instead of four players playing as partners.
- Players are dealt 15 cards.
- Two cards are drawn from the stock and one card is discarded in a legal turn.
- A player must have two canastas to go out.
- There are no penalties for exposed cards or insufficient melds.
Three-Handed Canasta
- There are three players playing as individuals instead of four players playing as partners.
- Players are dealt 13 cards.
- Two cards are drawn from the stock and one card is discarded in a legal turn.
- A player must have two canastas to go out.
- This is not the same as three-handed cutthroat canasta. Rules are different for cutthroat.
Hutto family rules
- Red threes are shown immediately after the deal and replacements for red threes are also drawn before the first person takes a turn and before the dealer turns a card face up. Players replace their red threes in order, starting to the left of the dealer.
- Jokers cannot be used for the initial meld to meet the minimum count.
- Two cards are drawn from the stock and one card is discarded in a legal turn.
- A team must have two canastas to go out.
- At one time a player had to discard when going out. By mutual agreement, this is no longer the case.