Classic Canasta rules
The original partnership game, standardized around 1950 and still played around the world.
Players, cards and the deal
Four players in two partnerships, two decks plus four jokers (108 cards). Deal 11 cards each; turn the next card face up to start the discard pile (if it is a wild card or a red three, the pile starts frozen). Each turn: draw one card or take the pile, meld if you like, discard one. Game to 5,000.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| Two (wild) | 20 |
| Ace | 20 |
| King, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8 | 10 |
| 7, 6, 5, 4 | 5 |
| Three left in a hand (Modern American); black three (Classic) | 5 |
A red three has no card value: it scores only as a bonus (or penalty). Twos and jokers are wild.
Melds and canastas
- A meld is three or more cards of one rank, fours up to aces. There is no upper limit: an eighth or ninth card just joins the canasta.
- At least two natural cards, and at most three wild cards, at any point in the hand. No rule of five.
- A meld of wild cards only is not allowed. One meld per rank per team.
- Seven or more cards make a canasta: natural (500) with no wild card, mixed (300) otherwise. Adding a wild card to a natural canasta makes it mixed.
The initial meld
| Team's score before the hand | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Below 0 | 15 |
| 0 to 1,495 | 50 |
| 1,500 to 2,995 | 90 |
| 3,000 or more | 120 |
Add up the card values laid down. Bonuses never count. If you take the pile for your initial meld, the top card counts (taken with a natural pair from your hand) but the rest of the pile does not.
Example: king on top, K‑K and Q‑Q‑2 in hand. K‑K‑K and Q‑Q‑2 make 70: enough below 1,500, 20 short at 1,500 to 2,995. Check your own meld.
The discard pile and freezing
- The pile is frozen against your team until it has melded, and against everyone once a wild card (or a turned-up red three) is in it; the wild card is placed crosswise.
- A frozen pile can be taken only with a natural pair matching the top card.
- An unfrozen pile can also be taken with one natural card and a wild card, or by adding the top card to your team's meld of that rank.
- A wild card or black three on top can never be taken.
Red and black threes
Red threes are laid out at once and replaced. They score 100 each, 800 for all four, but count the same amount against a team that melded nothing by the end of the hand.
Black threes are stop cards: discarding one stops the next player taking the pile. They can be melded only by a player going out, three or four of them with no wild cards, at 5 each.
Going out
Your team needs at least one canasta. You may go out by melding every card, with or without a final discard. Going out scores 100. Going out concealed, melding your whole hand in one turn, including a canasta, having melded nothing earlier, scores 100 more (200 in all).
Scoring
No special cases for the number of canastas and no penalties: four steps for each team.
- Canasta bonuses: 500 for each natural canasta, 300 for each mixed one.
- Going out: 100, plus another 100 if the player went out concealed.
- Red threes: 100 each, 800 for all four; subtract instead if the team melded nothing.
- Cards: add the value of every melded card; subtract the cards left in hands.
Add the hand to the running totals. When a team reaches 5,000 the game ends and the higher total wins. The scorekeeper has a Classic setting.
Classic vs Modern American
| Rule | Classic | Modern American |
|---|---|---|
| Cards dealt | 11 | 13 |
| Meld size | 3 or more | 3 to 7 |
| Wild cards in a meld | Up to 3 | Up to 2; rule of five |
| Wild-card melds | Not allowed | Allowed (2,000 to 3,000) |
| Initial meld | 15 / 50 / 90 / 120 | 125 / 155 / 180 |
| Red threes | 100 each, 800 for four | Table, with black threes |
| Going out | One canasta | Two canastas and a discard |
| Concealed going out | +100 | No extra |
| Penalties for unfinished melds | None | Aces, sevens, wild melds |
| Game | 5,000 | 8,500 |
Full Modern American rules.
Canasta tools
Scorekeeper
Counts canastas, threes, penalties and cards for each hand, with running totals.
Initial meld checker
Lay out your melds and see if they reach your minimum.
Modern American rules
The deal, melds, the rule of five, threes, going out and scoring.
Classic Canasta rules
The 1950s game: 11 cards, red threes, the frozen pile, game to 5,000.
Cheat sheet
Card values, bonuses, penalties and minimums on one printable page.
Printable score sheet
A score card for Modern American or Classic Canasta.