Canasta rules and score keeper
Canasta is a partnership rummy game played with two decks and four jokers. You and your partner build melds of the same rank, aiming for seven-card canastas, while red threes add bonus points and black threes block the pile. Scoring has many parts, so the keeper below does the sums: it adds the bonuses, flips red threes to minus when a side never melded, and tells each side its opening meld for the next hand.
- Quick rules
- Score keeper
- How to play
- Scoring
- Modern American
- 2, 3 or 6 players
- Where sources differ
- Tips
- FAQ
Canasta in 30 seconds
- Four players in two partnerships, partners opposite. Two decks plus four jokers (108 cards), 11 cards each.
- Jokers and twos are wild. Red threes are bonus cards you lay out at once; black threes block the pile.
- On your turn, draw one card from the stock or take the whole discard pile, meld if you can, then discard one card.
- A meld is three or more cards of one rank, with at least two natural cards and no more than three wild cards. Seven cards make a canasta.
- Your side may go out once it has a canasta. Score each hand, and the game ends when a side reaches 5,000.
Canasta score keeper
| Side | Total | Opening meld next hand |
|---|
Hand by hand
| # | A | B | Opening meld needed |
|---|
How to play Canasta
The deal
Shuffle two standard decks with four jokers. The dealer gives 11 cards to each player, one at a time. The rest form a face-down stock, and the top card is turned up to start the discard pile. Pagat and Wikipedia say that if that card is wild or a red three, it is turned sideways and another card goes on top until a plain card shows. Anyone dealt a red three puts it face up and draws a replacement.
Your turn
- Draw the top card of the stock, or take the whole discard pile if you are allowed to (see below).
- Meld if you want to: lay down new melds or add cards to your side's melds. You can never add to the other side's melds.
- Discard one card face up. That ends your turn.
Draw a red three and it goes face up with your side's melds at once, and you draw again. Melds belong to the partnership, so either partner can add to them. A side may not have two separate melds of the same rank; extra cards of that rank join the meld you already have.
Melds and canastas
A meld is three or more cards of the same rank, from fours up to aces. It needs at least two natural cards, and it can hold no more than three wild cards. Seven or more cards make a canasta: natural if it has no wild cards, mixed if it has one to three. Square a finished canasta into one pile with a red card on top for natural, black for mixed. You can keep adding natural cards to it, but a wild card added to a natural canasta makes it mixed.
The opening meld
Each hand, your side's first meld must add up to a minimum count of card points, based on your side's total before the hand. You may lay down several melds at once to reach it. Bonuses do not count toward it, and when taking the pile only its top card counts. Partners share one opening meld: once either of you makes it, you both meld freely. The keeper shows the number for each side.
Taking the discard pile
You may take the whole pile only if you can meld its top card. Usually that means a natural pair of the top card's rank from your hand, or one natural card and a wild card, or adding the top card to a meld your side already has. The pile is frozen against your side before you have melded, and against everyone once a wild card is in it. When it is frozen, only a natural pair from your hand takes it. You can never take the pile when a wild card or a black three is on top.
Going out
You may go out once your side has at least one canasta. Meld all your cards, or all but one and discard the last. Going out concealed means melding your whole hand in one turn, canasta included, when you had not melded before. You may ask your partner "May I go out?" and must follow the answer. If the stock runs out, play continues only while each player takes the discard and melds it.
Canasta scoring
Each side scores its bonuses, plus the card points of everything it melded, minus the card points still in both partners' hands. The card points inside a canasta count on top of its bonus. Seven kings, for example, are worth 570 in all: 500 for the canasta and 70 for the cards.
Card values
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| Two, Ace | 20 |
| K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 | 10 |
| 7, 6, 5, 4, black 3 | 5 |
Bonuses (classic)
| Bonus | Points |
|---|---|
| Each natural canasta | 500 |
| Each mixed canasta | 300 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | 200 in all |
| Each red three | 100 |
| All four red threes | 800 |
Red threes count minus for a side that made no meld at all in the hand: -290 for two red threes and 90 points left in hand, for example. All four red threes with no meld cost 800.
Opening meld minimum (classic)
| Your side's total before the hand | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Below zero | 15 |
| 0 to 1,495 | 50 |
| 1,500 to 2,995 | 90 |
| 3,000 or more | 120 |
A worked hand
Side A goes out with a natural canasta, a mixed canasta, one red three and 230 card points melded: 500 + 300 + 100 + 100 + 230 = 1230. Side B has a mixed canasta, a red three, 120 points melded and 65 left in hand: 300 + 100 + 120 − 65 = 455. The game ends after the hand in which one or both sides reach 5,000, and the higher total wins.
Modern American Canasta
Pagat describes a newer version played in parts of the United States, with stricter rules and much bigger numbers. The keeper has it as a separate rule set. The main changes, all from Pagat:
- Deal and target: 13 cards each, and the game is to 8,500.
- Opening meld: 125 below 3,000 (a negative score included), 155 from 3,000 to 4,995, 180 from 5,000. It must include a pure meld of three natural cards or a meld of three wild cards.
- Melds: no more than seven cards. Sevens may never use wild cards. All-wild melds are allowed.
- Pile: you always need a natural pair matching the top card.
- Going out: your team needs two canastas, and you must finish with a discard.
- Threes: red and black threes are both laid out. With no canasta they count against you, with one they count nothing, and with two or more they count for you.
| Modern American item | Points |
|---|---|
| Mixed canasta | 300 |
| Pure canasta (not sevens or aces) | 500 |
| Pure canasta of sevens or aces | 2,500 |
| Canasta of twos | 3,000 |
| Joker canasta (four jokers, three twos) | 2,500 |
| Other wild card canasta | 2,000 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Threes of one colour: 1, 2, 3, 4 | 100, 300, 500, 1,000 |
| Unfinished pure aces or sevens meld | −2,500 |
| Unfinished wild meld (all four jokers) | −2,000 (−2,500) |
| Three or more sevens, or aces, left in one hand | −1,500 |
A team with no canasta loses its melded card points instead of scoring them, and gets no canasta or going-out bonus. A team that goes out with a special hand before melding scores only that hand: straight 3,000, seven pairs 2,500, pairs with twos, sevens and aces 2,000, garbage 2,000. Pagat lists many table rules for this version, so agree on them before you start.
Canasta for 2, 3 or 6 players
- Two players (Pagat): 15 cards each, draw two cards from the stock each turn but discard one, and you need two canastas to go out. Scoring is classic, to 5,000. The keeper has this rule set.
- Three players (Pagat): 13 cards each (some deal 11), draw two, discard one. The first player to take the discard pile plays alone that hand, and the other two play as partners. Each player keeps a separate total, and the game is to 7,500. Score these hands on paper, since the partnerships change.
- Six players (Pagat): three decks with six jokers, 13 cards each, two canastas to go out. Four red threes count 400, five count 1,000, six count 1,200. Three teams of two play to 7,500. Two teams of three play to 10,000, and a team on 7,000 or more needs 150 to open.
Where the sources differ
- Black threes and the pile. Bicycle says a black three turned up or discarded freezes the pile. Pagat says a black three only stops the next player, and the pile can be taken normally once another card covers it.
- Who wins at 5,000. Bicycle says the side that first reaches 5,000 wins, and the last hand is played out. Pagat and Wikipedia add that if both sides pass 5,000, the higher total wins. The keeper follows Pagat. If both finish level, it asks for another hand: that is our reading, since no source covers a tie.
- Penalties. Wikipedia adds 100 points off for asking to go out and then being unable to, and 50 off for taking the upcard and not using it legally. Pagat and Bicycle do not list them. Write them in as a house rule if you use them.
- Taking the pile. Pagat lists common variations: no taking the pile to add to a finished canasta, or always needing a natural pair (the pile is "always frozen"). Agree before the first deal.
- Modern American rules vary from club to club. Pagat says there is no single accepted set and lists older options, such as allowing wild cards freely after the opening meld. The keeper uses Pagat's main description.
The opening meld of 15 for a side below zero is the same in all three sources. An opening of 150 is not part of the four-player classic table; Pagat gives it for six players in two teams of three.
Tips for better Canasta
- Watch the pile size. A big discard pile can win a hand. Hold natural pairs so you can take it when it is frozen.
- Use black threes late. A black three stops the next player from taking the pile, which matters most when the pile is large.
- Do not rush out. Your partner's cards count against you when you go out. Pagat notes you can ask "May I go out?" instead of guessing.
- Spend wild cards with care. Each one turns a natural canasta into a mixed one worth 200 less.
Play Canasta online or at home
Play at home: two standard decks with four jokers, four players in two partnerships, and the score keeper above.
Canasta questions
How many cards do you deal in Canasta?
Eleven each in the classic four-player game, from two decks with four jokers (108 cards). Pagat deals 15 each for two players and 13 for three. Modern American Canasta deals 13 each to four players.
What is the minimum to meld in Canasta?
In classic Canasta it depends on your side's total at the start of the hand: 50 points from 0 to 1,495, 90 from 1,500 to 2,995 and 120 from 3,000 up. A side below zero needs only 15, which any meld meets. Modern American Canasta asks for 125, 155 or 180.
What are red threes worth in Canasta?
In the classic game each red three is worth 100 and all four together are worth 800. If your side has not melded anything when the hand ends, the same amount counts against you instead.
Do you need a canasta to go out?
Yes. Classic four-player Canasta needs one canasta for your side. The two-player game and Modern American Canasta need two.
What score do you play Canasta to?
Classic Canasta ends when one or both sides reach 5,000 after a hand, and the higher total wins. Modern American Canasta plays to 8,500. Pagat's three-player game plays to 7,500.
Can Canasta be played with two or three people?
Yes. For two, Pagat deals 15 cards each, you draw two cards a turn and need two canastas to go out. For three, the first player to take the discard pile plays alone against the other two for that hand.