Canasta Rules

January 27, 2010

Canasta Rules Explained

Canasta is a card game, more specifically, a variation of rummy that originated in the South American country of Uruguay.
The game took roots in the United States in 1949 and became such a rage that it threatened the Number 1 position of Contract Bridge, a card game that was hugely popular in America back then. Canasta became such a sensation that card manufacturing companies began producing special edition decks and thematic souvenirs like ash trays, coffee mugs, key chains and place mats.
Due to the popularity of the game, more and more people began to play rummy and the structure and rules of Canasta also began going through changes.
Interest in the game of Canasta gradually waned in a span of ten years and other card games like Bridge and Poker began to rule the roost.
However, Canasta still has a loyal following and fans who play online rummy have kept up the interest in the game.
Even today, many sites offer the online version of Canasta and there are thousands of players who enjoy playing this game of Rummy Online.

Here, we explain some of the rules to play the Classic Canasta Game.
The main aim of this game is to make ‘Canastas’.
Canasta is described as a meld of at least seven cards of the same rank.
Players can “go out” by playing all the cards in hand and discarding.
The ideal number of players is four, forming two teams and playing with two standard card decks with 4 Jokers making a total of 108 cards.
There are other variations of Canasta meant for 2 or 5 players which are equally popular. Partnerships are pre-determined or can be decided by drawing cards.
The deck is shuffled, cut and each player is dealt eleven cards, face down.
The stock is kept face down in the center of the table and the first card is turned face up.
If a Joker, Two or Three appears, this process has to be repeated till a ‘natural’ card appears.

The point value of the cards in Canasta is as follows:

Joker equals 50 points

Each Deuce or an Ace equals 20 Points

Cards from 8 to 10 as well as King, Queen and Jack equal 10 points

4, 5, 6 and 7 equals 5 points each

Each Black 3 equals 5 points and

Each Red 3 equals 100 points.

Jokers and Twos of all suits are ‘Wild’ cards whereas all the others are considered as ‘Natural’ cards.

Canasta accords a special status to the Red 3 – these are bonus cards.
If any player has been dealt the Red 3, he must place the card face down on the table and replace it with a card from the stock, before the play begins.
So also, if a player draws the Red Three from the stock or the pile, he must place it on the table. There is a penalty of 500 points if the player does not drop the Red 3 at the first opportunity. When the hand is over and the team makes no melds, the point value of the Red 3 is deducted from their score.

In Canasta, scoring of points is possible by completing melds and accumulating bonus cards. Although the normal limit is 5000 points, players could mutually agree to change it.
When you play traditional rummy or rummy online, the melds can be formed with three or more cards of the same rank or you can form sequences.
However, in case of Canasta, sequences are not considered in the game.
A meld in Canasta should have at least seven cards of the same rank.
Another important point to note is that there should be no more than three wild cards and there must be at least a couple of natural cards to form a meld in Canasta.
A natural canasta has all natural cards while a mixed canasta contains both, wild and natural cards. Black 3’s can be melded only when the player goes out of the hand.
Most importantly, to have your meld considered in the game, you have to expose them on the table.

If the player has failed to make a meld during a hand, he must meet additional point score requirement as detailed below, in order to make the first meld.
The total point values of the cards played by him during his turn must satisfy or exceed the initial meld requirement as per the total score of the team.

Player score	Initial meld
Between 0 and 1495	50
Between 1500 and 2995	90
Over 3000	120

The players play as a team and all the melds as well as the Red 3s are placed before one member of the team.
After making the melds, the player will discard a single card on to the pile.
He could drop a card on his partner’s meld, if the meld is on the table.
The team should have at least one Canasta to go out.
A natural Canasta will earn 500 bonus points while the mixed Canastas will earn 300 points. Illegally melded Canastas (i.e. those having the wrong number of wild or natural cards) will attract a penalty of 100 points.
The team is not allowed to pick up the discard pile unless they complete the first meld.

In Canasta, the top card of the discard pile can be used by the player to make the first meld.
If however the discard pile has a black 3 or wild top card, it is deemed to be ‘frozen’ and it remains frozen until it is taken by a player having a natural matching pair.

The Canasta hand will end when the player ‘goes out.’
This means that the player has discarded the last card either by melding it or dropping it on to the discard pile.
Bonuses are earned for going out.
Each Red 3 will yield 100 points, going out is 100 points, a natural canasta and mixed canasta will earn 500 and 300 points respectively.
Points remaining in the partners hand are deducted from the points earned for melds and bonus cards. Sometimes, the team could also have a negative score.

Canasta is a complex game that requires you to adopt numerous strategies to create as many melds as possible.
To become an expert at Canasta, you can play on this site or on sites which offer the option of free online Canasta.
Reading up some of the books on the game will also help you understand the game better.

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