It is believed that Canasta was invented in Montevideo, Uruguay in the early twentieth century. It then spread to the United States and the rest of the world. There are variations of the game for two to six players, but the original version is played by four.
| Table of contents |
|
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| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| 3♦, 3♥ | Special |
| 3♣, 3♠, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 5 |
| 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K | 10 |
| A, 2 | 20 |
| Joker | 50 |
The initial dealer is chosen at random, and the deal then rotates clockwise after every hand. The dealer shuffles the pack, the player to the dealer's right cuts, and the dealer deals out 11 cards to each player.
The remaining cards are left in a stock in the center of the table. The top card from the stock is turned over to form the discard pile. If this first card is a red three or a wild card, the discard pile is frozen (explained in Picking up the discard pile, below). Additional cards from the stock are turned over to the top of the discard pile until the top card of the discard pile is neither a red three or a wild card.
Any player who received a red three in their initial hand must immediately play it to the table for their team and draw a new card to their hand.
The player may then make as many legal melds as they wish from the cards
in their hand. A turn ends when the player discards one card from
their hand to the top of the discard pile.The Play
The player to the dealer's left has the first turn, and play then proceeds
clockwise. A turn begins either by drawing the first card from the
stock into the player's hand or by picking up the entire discard pile.
However, there are restrictions on when you can pick up the discard pile.
(See Picking up the discard pile, below.) If the card drawn from
the stock is a red three, the player must play it immediately and draw
another card.
| Team score | Minimum initial meld |
|---|---|
| Less than 0 | 15 |
| 0 - 1499 | 50 |
| 1500 - 2999 | 90 |
| 3000 and above | 120 |
Example: If a player's team had a score of 1600 and had not yet made any melds in a hand, an initial meld of 6-6-6, K-K-K-2 could not be made as it scores only 65 points and the requirement is 90. A meld of 6-6-6, A-A-A-2 would score 95 points and could be played. Note that both initial melds could be played if the team's total score were below 1500, and that neither could be played if the team's total score were 3000 or higher.
If a wild card has previously been discarded to the pile, the discard
pile is frozen. When the discard pile is frozen, it may only be
picked up if the player can meld the top card with two natural cards of
the same rank in the player's hand.
If the player's team has not yet made any melds, the discard pile is
frozen for that team. In addition, the player must meet the initial
meld requirement using the top card of the discard pile in order to
pick up the pile. Only the top card may be used in meeting the requirement
before the player may pick up the rest of the discard pile.
If a wild card or a black three is on top of the discard pile, it
may not be picked up.Picking up the discard pile
At the beginning of their turn, a player may pick up the entire discard
pile instead of drawing a card from the stock. They may only pick up
the discard pile if they can use the top card either in an existing
meld or by making a new meld along with two other cards from their hand.
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | additional 100 |
| Each mixed canasta | 300 |
| Each natural canasta | 500 |
| Each red three, up to three | 100 |
| The fourth red three | 500 (total of 800 for all four red threes) |
A player goes out concealed when the player makes their team's initial meld and goes out legally in the same turn.
The bonuses for red threes are subtracted from a team's score rather than added if the hand ends without that team having made any melds. That is, if a team has three red threes but has not made any melds at the end of a hand, the team will suffer a penalty of 300 points rather than gaining a 300 point bonus.
Scoring Example: At the end of a hand in which the North player has gone out (not concealed), the cards in each team's melds and in each player's hand are:
| N-S | E-W |
|---|---|
| 3♦ 3♦ | 3♥ |
| 3♣ 3♠ 3&spades | 4 4 2 |
| 6 6 6 6 6 6 2 | 7 7 7 7 7 2 Joker |
| 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 | 10 10 Joker |
| 10 10 10 | A A A A A |
| J J J J 2 2 Joker |
| North | None |
| South | 4 5 5 Q K A A |
| East | 2 5 6 10 J J |
| West | 4 4 10 Q Q K K |
| Description | N-S | E-W |
|---|---|---|
| Melds | 305 | 295 |
| Hands | -75 | -120 |
| Mixed Canastas | 600 | 300 |
| Natural Canastas | 500 | 0 |
| Red Threes | 200 | 100 |
| Going out | 100 | 0 |
| Total | 1630 | 575 |
The game ends when a team's total score reaches 5000 or above. The team with the highest total score at this point wins.