Canasta card game variations

A player may always opt to draw the top card of the face down stock. If you draw a three you should normally place it face up among your team's melds and immediately draw a replacement card from the stock. You then continue your turn by melding if you can and wish to and discarding.

It is permissible to a retain threes in your hand rather than melding them. Usually it is not advisable to do this: you would rather have the replacement card. However, you may wish to keep one three if your team has not yet melded and you trying to collect a straight - see special hands.

Later, you may wish to meld a three that you had been keeping in your hand, for example if your partner melds, making the special hand impossible. You may meld this three at the start of your turn, before drawing from the stock, and as usual you must draw a replacement card for the three. You then draw another card from the stock or take the pile to begin your regular turn for example, if the replacement card for your three makes a natural pair in your hand that matches the top card of the pile, you may use this pair to take the pile.

You can only take the discard pile if you have a pair of natural cards in your hand which are of the same rank as the top card of the discard pile. You must show your pair and meld these cards with the top discard before taking the rest of the pile into your hand.

If your team has not yet melded, you cannot take the discard pile until you have met the initial meld requirement. If the top discard matches the rank of one of your partnership's existing melds, you can take the pile if you have a pair of cards of the same rank in your hand, and your existing meld has three or four cards.

The new meld of three cards is immediately combined with your existing meld of that rank. If your team has a meld of five or more cards matching the rank of the top discard, you cannot take the pile in any circumstances, since you would thereby create a meld of more than seven cards, which is not allowed.

It is not necessary to take the discard pile in order to meld. It is illegal to meld in such a way as to leave yourself with only one card, unless you have satisfied the conditions for going out. If you are not going out, you must have at least two cards in your hand after melding: one to discard and one to continue play.

The first meld made by each team during a hand is subject to some conditions. There are three possible ways to make a valid initial meld.

If you make the initial meld for your team, but do not go out on that turn, then after discarding at the end of your turn, you take one of the talons or wings and place it face down in front of you.

If your team is the first to meld you take the four-card talon, and the player who makes the initial meld for your opponents will get the three-card talon. You are not allowed to use the talon cards in the turn in which you make the initial meld. At the start of your next turn to play you add the cards of your talon to your hand, place any threes that you find in it face up with your team's melds and replace them by drawing an equal number of cards from the stock.

Then you begin your normal turn by drawing a card from the stock or possibly taking the discard pile. The play ends if a player goes out or if the stock becomes depleted so that a player who needs to draw a card cannot do so.

It is not legal in this version of Canasta to go out by melding all your cards - you must have a card to discard at the end of your turn. This final discard is made face-down, and this is the only case in which a wild card can be discarded. When you are in a position to go out you may, if you wish, first ask your partner's permission. If you ask, and partner says yes, you must go out; if partner says no you cannot go out on that turn, and therefore you must keep at least one card in your hand after discarding.

You may ask permission to go out only once in each hand. If you satisfy the conditions for going out, you are free to go out on any turn without consulting your partner. If you do not satisfy the conditions for going out, you are not allowed to leave yourself without any cards at the end of your turn: you must play in such a way as to keep at least one card after discarding.

It often happens that the end of the stock is reached before anyone has gone out. When there are no cards left in the stock, play can continue as long as each player is able and willing to take the previous player's discard. As soon as someone needs or wishes to draw from the stock - either at the start of their turn or to replace a three, the play immediately ends and the hand is scored.

A special hand is a combination of 14 cards which entitles you to go out by exposing your entire hand after drawing from the deck, without discarding. You are only allowed to put down a special hand if your team has not yet melded any cards.

Three types of special hand are widely recognised: straight, pairs and garbage. At the end of the play, each team reckons its score for the hand. There are six possible elements to this score, and the way they are combined depends on how many canastas the team has completed. Note that if a team has at least one completed canasta, the values of their melded cards item 4 are always added to their score, even if these cards form part of an incomplete canasta of aces, sevens or wild cards item 2 for which the team is to be penalised.

Note that if one team goes out with a special hand, the other team scores in the normal way, depending on how many canastas they managed to complete. Each team reckons its total score for the hand, as detailed in 1 to 6 above. This amount is added to its cumulative total. It is possible for a team to have a negative score for a hand - this will be the case, for example, if they fail to complete a canasta, and in that case their cumulative score will be reduced. It is possible for a team to have a negative cumulative score.

The overall object of the game is to have a cumulative score of or more points. When one or both teams achieve this, the game is over and the team with the higher score has won.

The difference between the teams' scores is the margin of victory. Some play that a team cannot go out if they have an incomplete canasta of sevens or pure aces. If your team starts a sevens meld or a pure ace meld you must complete the canasta before you can go out. Some play that when the discard pile is empty, it is illegal to discard a 'safe' card - a card of the same rank as a completed canasta or of a rank where the opponents already have a 5- or 6-card meld, unless you have no legal alternative.

Some players relax the rules for the initial meld, by not requiring it to include a meld of three matching natural cards. On the other hand, some favour a stricter rule, and do not allow an initial meld of wild cards alone, but require a wild card meld to be accompanied by a natural three of a kind.

Some players do not allow the player making the initial meld for their team to take the discard pile, even if they have an additional pair with which to take it. The pile can only be taken if your side has already made its initial meld before your turn.

I have been told that some players allow the discard pile to be taken when making the initial meld for your team, except that if your initial meld includes mixed aces , you cannot use those aces to take a discard pile topped by an ace. Some players do not allow a team to start a meld of the same rank as a canasta completed by the opponents.

However, cards of the same rank as the opponents' complete canasta can still be used in a special hand straight, pairs or garbage , provided that your team has not yet melded. It is possible to for two players to play a version of Classic Canasta. The modifications to the rules are as follows. All other rules are the same as in four-player Classic Canasta.

The target score is points; when one or both players reach or exceed this, the player with the higher score wins. In two-player canasta, a situation can be reached where there is only one card remaining in the stock. In this case, the player who draws it is considered to have made a complete draw and must complete that turn as though two cards had been drawn.

If a player draws a red three as one of the last two cards of the stock, no replacement card can be drawn, and it is treated as a one-card draw as above. A player who draws a red three alone as the last card of the stock may neither meld nor discard, and the hand ends immediately. The same happens in the unusual case where a player draws two red threes as the last two cards of the stock. Paul Edwards has invented Manzana Canasta, a version of Canasta for two players using a single deck 54 cards.

When drawing from the stock you take the top two cards, but in all cases you discard only one card at the end of your turn. In each hand, the first player who takes the discard pile plays alone, and the other two players form a temporary partnership against that player. Anyone can shuffle, but the dealer has the right to shuffle last. The player to dealer left cuts the deck after the last shuffle. The dealer then passes 11 cards face down to each player, one at a time, dealing clockwise.

The remaining cards are placed in the center of the table to serve as the stock. The top card of the stock deck should be turned over for all players to see. If a player is dealt a red three, he must place it face up on the table and replace it with another card.

If a player draws a red three from the stock pile they must also place the card face up on the table in front of them and draw another card. Lastly, if a player picks up the red three from the discard pile he must table the card as well but is not required to pick up a replacement for the card.

Red threes are valued at points a piece but if one team collects all four red threes then the value of the card raises to points a piece. A team can only receive the value of the red threes if they have made a successful meld, if game pay ends and the team has made no meld, then the red threes are debited against their score.

A player begins by drawing a card from the stockpile or picking up from the discard pile. The player then has the opportunity to lay down a meld if applicable and then discard one card to the discard pile to end their turn.

If the player chooses to take the the top card of the discard pile to form a meld, then he is required to pick up the entirety of the discard pile. A meld is a combination of three or more cards of the same rank.

A set of black threes may only be melded when a player is going out. Only the melds that have been placed on the table count as plus. Opposing team can create melds of the same rank, and players can add on to existing melds as long as the meld remains valid no more than three wild cards. Players cannot add to their opponents melds. A canasta is a run of 7 cards of the same rank. To make a natural canasta a player must obtain 7 cards of the same rank with out the use of wildcards.

A natural canasta is signified when the player lays the seven cards on the table, in a stack, and showing the value of the top card in red. A natural canasta earns points in addition to the point values of the cards in the canasta An unnatural canasta is made when a run of 7 cards of the same rank is created with the use of wildcards jokers, deuces.

This canasta is displayed by stacking the card and placing the black rank of the card on top of the pile. After the first round of play, and before the start of each round thereafter, players are to look at their current score and their score at that time will dictate how many points are needed for their first meld of the coming round.

The values are as follows:. Accumulated Score at beginning of the deal Minimum Count. The count of a meld is the total point value of the cards in it.

To meet the minimum, a player may make two or more different melds. If he takes the discard pile, the top card but no other may count toward the requirement. Bonuses for red threes and canastas do not count toward the minimum. Teams are not allowed to pick up from the discard pile until they have created their first meld. Once the initial meld is created, the discard pile is open to both partners.

If a red three only possible if turned up as an upcard , black three, or wildcard is placed atop the discard pile, the pile is effectively frozen. To indicated the state of the frozen pile, the freezing card is placed at a perpendicular angle on the discard pile. To unfreeze the pile, a natural card must be discarded atop the frozen pile and the pile must then be taken. Only by taking the pile will the pile unfreeze.

If the discard pile is not frozen a player may take from the discard pile as long as:. A player can then take the remaining cards from the pile into his hand to form other melds and discards one card to end his turn. The dealer shuffles the pack, the player to the dealer's right cuts, and the dealer deals out 2 hands of 11 cards to each player. The remaining cards are left in a stack in the center of the table. 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. If the card drawn from the stock is a red three, the player must play it immediately and draw another card. A player "goes out" when no cards are left after a meld or discard. A player is not permitted to go out, however, unless there's at least one canasta.

In the game of canasta a meld comprising seven or more cards, including at least four natural cards called a "base" , is a canasta. The side that first reaches a total of 5, wins a game. Download Canasta for Free today! You're gonna love it!! Stay informed about special deals, the latest products, events, and more from Microsoft Store. Available to United States residents. By clicking sign up, I agree that I would like information, tips, and offers about Microsoft Store and other Microsoft products and services.

Privacy Statement. Countless books were written on the game then, specialty decks were sold and Canasta overtook Bridge aa the popular pastime. While the exact origins of Hand and Foot Canasta are unknown, the game first came about in the s, with its own specialty decks arriving in the s. For more information on the history of Canasta, check out game developer Philip E.

Orbanes' article here. Because Hand and Foot is in itself a variation of Canasta, the following games are also variations of Canasta. In Two Player Canasta, 15 cards are initially dealt.

If a player draws from the stock, they must draw 2 cards instead of the normal one. Additionally, a player needs to complete two canastas in order to go out and end the round. All other rules of Classic Canasta apply including the point objective.

Samba is practically Classic Canasta but, with increased values for everything. Three 52 card decks are in play, totaling cards. Instead of a point objective, teams have to reach points. Melds can be made by cards of a kind and cards in sequence. Melds can only have two wildcards in them. For teams with points or more, the first meld of a player must be least points. About the author: John Taylor is a content writer and freelancer through the company Upwork. You may view his freelancing profile here.

He has a B. You may view his previous articles about card games here and his LinkedIn profile here. We do not play that wildcards can be melded. I have always played you can never discard a wildcard.