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If you’re looking for a classic card game to try out the next time you’re hanging out with friends, Canasta is the perfect one to play. Players work together in teams to play card combos and earn points, and whoever reaches 5,000 points first is the winner. While there are a few rules to learn, we’ll walk you through everything there is to know about Canasta so you can start playing right away!
Canasta Game Overview
- Play Canasta with 4 people split into teams of 2. Teammates sit across from each other on opposite ends of a table.
- Shuffle 2 decks of cards together, including the jokers, and deal 11 cards to each player each round.
- Play melds (3 or more cards of the same rank) or canastas (a meld of 7 or more cards) to earn points. The first team to 5,000 points wins.
Steps
Setup
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Split into teams of 2 players for a standard game. Canasta is usually a 4-player game, so find a few friends to play with. Shuffle a deck of cards and take turns picking one at random. The players with the 2 highest-ranked cards form one team and the other players form the second team. Sit across from your partner. [1] X Research source- Aces are considered the highest rank.
- If 2 cards have the same rank, compare the suits. When you’re setting up the game, spades are the highest, followed by hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
- If you’re playing with 2 or 3 people, each person plays the game individually.
- While you can play Canasta with 5 or 6 players, one player has to sit out of each round.
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Shuffle and deal 11 cards to each player. Shuffle 2 standard decks of cards together including the jokers. Choose a player to be the first dealer and deal them face-down to each player one at a time. Set the rest of the cards in a facedown deck, or “stock,” in the middle of the table. [2] X Research source- You can look at the cards in your hand, but keep them secret from the other players, including your partner!
- For a 2-player game, give 15 cards to each player. For 3-player games, deal out 13 cards to each person.
- You may also use a commercial Canasta set that has the cards’ point values printed on them and comes with score sheets.
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Flip the top card of the deck to set up the discard pile. Turn over the top card of the deck and set it face-up right next to it. If the card is a joker, 2, or a red 3, keep flipping cards from the deck until it’s a 4 or higher. [3] X Research source- When jokers, 2s, or 3s are discarded, they “freeze” the discard pile. Turn these cards sideways. We’ll cover what that means and how to unfreeze the discard pile a little further down.
Gameplay
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Draw a card from the deck or take the discard pile. The player to the dealer’s left takes the first turn. At the start of your turn, choose to either draw the top card of the deck or take all of the cards in the discard pile. While you’re always able to draw a card on your turn, there are some restrictions for taking the discard pile. [6] X Research source- You can only take the discard pile when it’s frozen if you have 2 natural cards in your hand matching the top card’s rank. This immediately unfreezes the discard pile.
- When the discard pile is unfrozen, you may take all the cards if you’re able to use the top card immediately in any meld.
- If you have a red 3 in your hand, play it face-up in front of you and draw a replacement card before choosing the next cards to take. If you draw a red 3, play it right away in front of you and draw a new card.
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Play cards face-up into melds. After taking cards, the player can put down any groups of cards to form melds. Lay out the cards so it’s easy to see how many there are in each meld. If a player already has melds from past turns, they can add wilds or natural cards of the same rank to them. [7] X Research source- Teammates share melds, and can never have 2 separate melds of the same rank.
- You may only meld black 3s if they cause you to play all the cards in your hand.
- The first melds each team plays must be worth a set number of points based on the team’s current score. At the start of the game, the total for the melds played must be worth 50 points.
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Discard a card at the end of the turn. The current player picks one card from their hand that they don’t want to keep and places it on top of the discard pile. If the card is a joker, 2, or 3, the discard pile is considered frozen. [8] X Research source -
End the round when someone plays or discards their last card. If their team has at least one canasta, a player can use the last card in their hand in a meld or discard it to end the round. If a player only has one card in their hand but their team doesn’t have a canasta, they cannot discard their last card.- If a player can go out but isn’t sure if their teammate wants to score more points, they can ask “May I go out?” Their teammate can either say yes or no, and the player must do what they’re told.
- Alternatively, the game can end when the stock runs out of cards. Because players can’t draw cards at the start of their turn, they must take the discard pile and meld it immediately. If they’re not able to play the card, then the game ends.
Round Scoring
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Count the points from red 3s and melds. Add up the point values of all the cards played into melds for each team, and write it down on a piece of paper. As a reminder, the card values are: [9] X Research source- Natural canasta: 500 points
- Dirty canasta (with wild cards): 300 points
- Red 3s: 100 points
- Jokers: 50 points
- Aces and 2s (deuces): 20 points
- Kings, Queens, Jacks, 10s, 9s, and 8s: 10 points
- 7s, 6s, 5s, 4s, and black 3s: 5 points
- If your team is able to collect all 4 of the red 3s, then they are worth a total of 800 points instead.
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Earn 100 bonus points for going out. When a team goes out for the round, they get extra points for being the first to play all their cards. If they make a canasta and go out on the first time they meld cards, it’s considered “concealed” and is worth 200 points instead. [10] X Research source -
Subtract points for the cards left in players’ hands. Count the total points still left in players’ hands. Subtract those points from the team’s score. [11] X Research source- It’s possible to have a negative score if you had more points in your hand than in melds.
- If you collected red 3s but your team doesn’t have any melds, then each one subtracts 100 points from your team’s score.
Continuing the Game & Winning
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Shuffle and deal the cards to start the next round. Collect all of the cards and shuffle them together into a new stock. The person to the left of the first dealer becomes the new one and passes out 11 cards to each player. [12] X Research source -
Meet the minimum points for your initial meld based on your score. All rounds of Canasta are played the same, but teams must reach a minimum number of points the first time they play melds. The number of points depends on the team’s current score. [13] X Research source- Negative: 15 points
- 0–1,495: 50 points
- 1,500–2,995: 90 points
- 3,000 or more: 120 points
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Play the game until a team reaches 5,000 total points. Continue playing rounds and counting scores. Whenever a team earns at least 5,000 points, they win the game! [14] X Research source- If multiple people get there in the same round, then whoever has the most points wins.
Strategies
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Keep an eye on what cards your opponent plays and discards. Watch what each player gets rid of from their hand, and check if those cards would work well in your hand. That way, you can take the discard pile to make large melds. Also, pay attention to what your opponents play to see what cards they’re interested in picking up.- For example, you know there are only 8 Jacks. If your opponent lays down 3 of them in a meld, you know there are only 5 left in the other hands or the draw pile.
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Save melds in your hand to throw off your opponent. Laying down your cards right away shows your opponents your hand. Your opponent could hold onto cards of that rank so you’re unable to score them. Hold onto your melds until you have a majority of the cards of that rank.- Remember that as long as you have 2 cards of the same rank in your hand, you can pick up the discard pile if the top card matches.
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Pick up the discard pile when it is full of high cards. Wait until the discard pile has cards that have higher point values to take them. Keep your eye on what cards have been discarded, and take the pile if you’re able to use the cards in your melds. [15] X Research source- Having more cards in your hand gives you more opportunities to play, but it can be risky if other players are close to going out. Watch what other players are doing to see if taking a big discard pile is worth it.
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Discard cards to trick your opponent. If you suspect your opponent is holding onto something you need, try throwing down one of your cards to see what your opponent does. This works best when the discard pile is frozen so nobody can pick it up unless they can make a meld. Your opponent might put down a card you need.- Keep 2 cards of the same rank in your hand so you can pick up the discard pile when it’s your turn again.
- Another option is to put down a card that you think your opponent needs to force them to pick up a large discard pile of subpar cards. Go out after that to leave them high and dry with a lot of cards.
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Play your wildcards when you're able to. The 2s and Jokers are worth a lot of points, so play them into melds as soon as you can so they don’t get stuck in your hand. Don’t risk putting them in the discard pile to freeze it because you could give your opponent more points.- If your opponent is about to go out, play your valuable wildcards as soon as possible.
- Remember that you can add wild cards to an existing meld your team already played.
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End the game as the draw or discard pile runs low. When the draw pile is low or when an opponent takes a large discard pile, make your melds and try going out as soon as possible. Even if you don’t have a lot of points on the table, you could force your opponent to take a lot of negative points. -
Play black 3s to block the next player in turn from taking the discard pile. Since black 3s have to be melded last, an opponent can’t take the discard pile after you get rid of one. That gives your partner a chance to pick up the discard pile on their turn. [16] X Research source
Community Q&A
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QuestionIs there such a thing as freezing the pile when I discard a wild card?Community AnswerYes, there is. When you discard a wild card, you are freezing it. This means that after doing that the pile cannot be taken by anybody, only those having a pair of cards similar to the one that will be shown at the pile.
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QuestionCan I add matching cards to a canasta?Community AnswerYes. You can add as many you have on your hand, as long you have completed a canasta.
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QuestionCan I play off of other people's cards on the table?Community AnswerNo. You cannot play off of an opponent’s melds, but you can play off of your partner's melds.
Video
Tips
- Hand and Foot is similar to basic Canasta but you deal a second set of 11 cards to each player. Once a player melds all the cards in their hand, they must meld the face-down “foot” cards.Thanks
- There are multiple versions of Canasta and they all have slight variations in the rules. Check that everyone you’re playing with knows what rules you’re playing with.Thanks
References
- ↑ https://youtu.be/7g4c_BU-vc8?t=20
- ↑ https://winning-moves.com/images/Canastarules.pdf
- ↑ http://www.raggyspelk.co.uk/other_pages/canasta2015.pdf
- ↑ http://www.raggyspelk.co.uk/other_pages/canasta2015.pdf
- ↑ https://www.abbeyglen.org/pdf/canasta%20rules.pdf
- ↑ http://www.raggyspelk.co.uk/other_pages/canasta2015.pdf
- ↑ http://www.raggyspelk.co.uk/other_pages/canasta2015.pdf
- ↑ http://www.raggyspelk.co.uk/other_pages/canasta2015.pdf
- ↑ https://youtu.be/7g4c_BU-vc8?t=246
- ↑ http://www.raggyspelk.co.uk/other_pages/canasta2015.pdf
- ↑ https://winning-moves.com/images/Canastarules.pdf
- ↑ https://winning-moves.com/images/Canastarules.pdf
- ↑ http://www.raggyspelk.co.uk/other_pages/canasta2015.pdf
- ↑ https://fgbradleys.com/wp-content/uploads/rules/Canasta_Rules.pdf
- ↑ https://www.abbeyglen.org/pdf/canasta%20rules.pdf
- ↑ https://canasta101.com/canasta-rules/
About This Article
Canasta is a fun card game for 4 people where players try to make melds out of cards of the same rank until they "go out" by playing all the cards in their hand. To set up the game, pair into partners and shuffle 2 decks of cards together (jokers included). Pick 1 player to be the dealer and, starting with the person to their left, deal each player 11 cards facedown. Then, everyone can pick up their cards and look at them. Stack the remaining cards in the middle of the table to form the draw pile and turn the top card in the stack over to create the discard pile. If you turn over a bonus card (a joker, 2, or a red 3), keep pulling from the stack until the discard pile starts with a “natural” card (any non-bonus card). Gameplay starts with the player on the dealer’s left and goes clockwise around the table. Every player’s turn begins by picking a card from either the draw pile or the discard pile. To pull from the discard pile, you have to use the top card right away to form a meld. You also have to take the entire discard pile (not just the top card). If the player doesn’t want to pick up the discard pile, they pick up the top card from the draw pile, add it their hand, and look for possible scoring opportunities. If they draw a red 3, they place it face up on the table to score an automatic 100 points, then pick another card from the draw pile. To make melds, search your hand for at least 3 cards of the same rank and lay them face up in front of you. Each meld must have at least 2 natural cards in it. Wild cards can be any rank you want, so use those to make melds if you have them. Your first meld must be worth at least 50 points before you can play it. Jokers are worth 50 points, aces and 2s are worth 20 points, any card from an 8 to a King is worth 10 points, cards from 4 to 7 are worth 5 points, and black 3s are worth 5 points. After the first meld, you can play any combinations you want. End each turn by getting rid of one of your cards and placing it face up on the discard pile. As the game continues, players can add to their own existing melds on the table and to their partner's existing melds, too. A meld of 7 cards is a canasta. The goal of the game is to make as many canastas as you can before the game ends. A natural canasta (no wildcards) is worth 500 points. A dirty or mixed canasta (with at least 1 wildcard) is worth 300 points. Once you meld all of your remaining cards, you “go out” while the rest of the players continue taking turns. The round ends when the draw pile stock is exhausted or when all the players have gone out. Each player adds up their own points and combines their total with their partner’s total for their official score. Write this score down on a notepad and add to it after each round ends. The first team to earn 5,000 points wins the game! If you want to learn specific strategies, keep reading the article!
Reader Success Stories
- "The cheatsheet is a great hack to print and insert into your box of cards as a reference."
