Card values, bonuses, penalties and initial-meld minimums on one page to keep by the cards.
Modern American Canasta
Card values
| 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 |
Initial meld minimum
| 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 |
Plus a natural meld of 3+ (no wild card) or a wild meld of 3+. A splash needs no count. Bonuses never count.
Threes (each colour)
| Threes of one colour | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|
| Points | 100 | 300 | 500 | 1,000 |
No canasta: against · one canasta: nothing · two or more: for.
Bonuses
| Bonus | Points |
|---|
| Mixed canasta (one or two wild cards) | 300 |
| Natural canasta (no wild cards) | 500 |
| Natural canasta of aces | 2,500 |
| Canasta of sevens (always natural) | 2,500 |
| Wild canasta of seven twos | 3,000 |
| Wild canasta: four jokers and three twos | 2,500 |
| Any other wild canasta | 2,000 |
| Going out | 100 |
Penalties
| Penalty | Points |
|---|
| Unfinished meld of natural aces | −2,500 |
| Unfinished meld of sevens | −2,500 |
| Unfinished wild-card meld | −2,000 |
| …holding all four jokers | −2,500 |
| Each player caught with 3+ aces | −1,500 |
| Each player caught with 3+ sevens | −1,500 |
Special hands
| Special hand (14 cards, team not yet melded) | Points |
|---|
| Straight: one of every rank, ace to king, plus a joker | 3,000 |
| Seven pairs, no wild cards | 2,500 |
| Seven pairs including twos, sevens and aces | 2,000 |
| Garbage: two fours-of-a-kind and two threes-of-a-kind | 2,000 |
Melds: 3 to 7 cards, at most 2 wild; rule of five after the initial meld; sevens never wild; aces wild only in the initial meld. Going out: two canastas and a final discard. Game: 8,500.
Scoring order
1 Special hand? · 2 Count canastas · 3 Bonuses (with a canasta) · 4 Penalties · 5 Threes · 6 Melded cards (minus with no canasta) · 7 Cards in hand and 3+ aces / sevens.
Classic Canasta
Initial meld minimum
| 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 |
Bonuses
| Natural canasta | 500 |
| Mixed canasta | 300 |
| Red three (each) | 100 |
| All four red threes | 800 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed (extra) | 100 |
Melds: 3 or more cards, at least 2 natural, at most 3 wild; no wild melds. Red threes count against a team that melded nothing. Black threes 5 each. Going out: one canasta. Game: 5,000.
Questions people ask
What are the card values in canasta?
Joker 50; two and ace 20; king, queen, jack, 10, 9 and 8 are 10; 7, 6, 5 and 4 are 5. A black three is 5. In Modern American Canasta a three left in a hand counts 5 against you; in Classic a red three has no card value and scores only as a bonus.
How much is a canasta worth?
A natural canasta (no wild cards) is 500 and a mixed one 300, in both versions. Modern American adds 2,500 for natural aces or sevens and 2,000 to 3,000 for wild-card canastas. The cards in the canasta also count at face value.
Is there a bonus for going out in canasta?
Yes, 100. In Classic Canasta going out concealed earns another 100. In Modern American Canasta you need two canastas and must finish with a discard.