Canasta initial meld checker
Lay out the melds you are holding, enter your score, and see whether they make your team's first meld of the hand.
Check your initial meld
Initial meld minimums
Modern American Canasta
| Team's score before the hand | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Below 3,000 (negative scores too) | 125 |
| 3,000 to 4,995 | 155 |
| 5,000 or more | 180 |
Must include a natural meld of three or more with no wild card, or a meld of three or more wild cards. A splash (a whole natural or wild canasta from the hand) needs no count.
Classic Canasta
| 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 |
Count only. The top card of the pile counts if you take it with a natural pair; the rest of the pile does not.
How to count your initial meld
- Find your score before this hand, not after it, and look up the minimum.
- Add the card values of everything you will lay down this turn: joker 50, two and ace 20, king to eight 10, seven to four 5.
- Leave out bonuses. Canasta and three bonuses never count towards the minimum.
- Modern American only: make sure one meld is natural with three or more cards (or all wild), and that any wild cards are within the meld rules (at most two per meld; never in sevens).
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.