Printable canasta score sheet

Print a score card for your next game, or let the online scorekeeper add it up for you.

Modern American Canasta score sheet · Game to 8,500 · Date: ____________

Team 1 ____________________

Hand	Canastas & out	Threes	Penalties	Melded cards	Cards in hand	Hand score	Total	Next min.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Team 2 ____________________

Hand	Canastas & out	Threes	Penalties	Melded cards	Cards in hand	Hand score	Total	Next min.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Initial meld: below 3,000: 125 · 3,000 to 4,995: 155 · 5,000+: 180. Canastas: mixed 300 · natural 500 · aces or sevens 2,500 · wild 2,000 / 2,500 / 3,000 · going out 100. Threes per colour 100 / 300 / 500 / 1,000: no canasta against, one canasta nothing, two+ for. Penalties: unfinished aces or sevens −2,500, wild −2,000; 3+ aces or sevens in a hand −1,500.

Classic Canasta score sheet · Game to 5,000 · Date: ____________

Team 1 ____________________

Hand	Canastas	Going out	Red threes	Melded cards	Cards in hand	Hand score	Total	Next min.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Team 2 ____________________

Hand	Canastas	Going out	Red threes	Melded cards	Cards in hand	Hand score	Total	Next min.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Initial meld: below 0: 15 · 0 to 1,495: 50 · 1,500 to 2,995: 90 · 3,000+: 120. Natural canasta 500 · mixed 300 · going out 100 · concealed +100 · red threes 100 each, 800 for four (against if the team melded nothing).

How to fill in the score sheet

Write each part of the hand in its own column, so a mistake is easy to find: canasta and going-out bonuses, threes, penalties, melded cards, cards left in hands.
Add across for the hand score (it can be negative) and add it to the running total.
Look up the next minimum for the initial meld from the new total and write it in, so nobody has to ask.

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.

Questions people ask

How do you keep score in canasta?

Score both teams after every hand: bonuses for canastas, going out and threes, minus penalties, plus melded cards, minus cards left in hands. Add the hand score to a running total, and note each team's next initial-meld minimum. The online scorekeeper does the arithmetic.

Can a canasta score be negative?

Yes. A team that is caught with many cards in hand, or in Modern American Canasta ends a hand with no canasta or an unfinished meld of sevens, aces or wild cards, can score below zero for the hand and in total.

Who keeps score in canasta?

Any one player. In Modern American Canasta the player on the dealer's right often keeps score for that hand. Agree that both teams check each line before the next deal.