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Canasta
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Canasta(/knst/Spanishfor"basket")isacardgameoftherummyfamilyofgamesbelievedto
beavariantof500Rum.Althoughmanyvariationsexistfortwo,three,fiveorsixplayers,itismost
commonlyplayedbyfourintwopartnershipswithtwostandarddecksofcards.Playersattemptto
makemeldsofsevencardsofthesamerankand"goout"byplayingallcardsintheirhand.Itisthe
onlypartnershipmemberofthefamilyofRummygamestoachievethestatusofaclassic.
ThegameofCanastawasdevisedbySegundoSantosandAlbertoSerratoinMontevideo,Uruguay,in
1939.[1]Inthe1940sthegamequicklyspreadinmyriadvariationstoChile,Peru,Braziland
Argentina,[1]whereitsruleswerefurtherrefined[2]beforebeingintroducedtotheUnitedStatesin
1948,whereitwasthenreferredtoastheArgentineRummygamebyOttilieH.Reillyin1949and
MichaelScullyofCoronetmagazinein1953.[3]Thegamequicklybecameacardcrazeboominthe
1950s[4]providingasalesavalancheofcardsets,cardtraysandbooksaboutthesubject.[5]

Contents
1RulesfororiginalCanasta
1.1Cardsanddeal
1.2Play
1.2.1MeldsandCanastas
1.2.2Initialmelds
1.2.3Pickingupthediscardpile
1.2.4Goingout
1.3Thescoring
2Canastafortwoorthreeplayers
3USAmericanCanasta
3.1Setupandplay
3.2Meldingrules
3.3Otherscoringrules
4Samba
5Other"National"Canastas

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Origin

Uruguay

Type

Matching

Players

Skill(s)required

Tacticsandstrategy

Agerange

12andup

Cards

108cards

Deck

French

Play

Clockwise

Cardrank(highest Red3Joker2AKQJ1098
tolowest)
7654Black3
Playingtime

60min

Randomchance

Medium
Relatedgames
BuracoBiriba
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5Other"National"Canastas
5.1BolivianCanasta
5.2BrazilianCanasta
5.3BritishCanasta
5.4ChileanCanasta
5.5CubanCanasta
5.6ItalianCanasta
5.7UruguayanCanasta
6BoatCanasta
7HandandFootCanasta
7.1HandandFoot
7.1.1Initialmelds
7.2Thescoring
8MiscellaneousvariationsforClassicCanastaandothertypes
9InPopularCulture
10Seealso
11References
12Furtherreading
13Externallinks

RulesfororiginalCanasta
Cardsanddeal
Theclassicgameisforfourplayersintwopartnerships.Variationsexistfortwoandthreeplayergameswhereineachplaysalone,andalsoforasix
playergameintwopartnershipsofthree.Ifpartnersarechosentheymustsitoppositeeachother.Canastausestwocompletedecksof52playingcards
(FrenchDeck)plusthefourJokers.AlltheJokersandtwosarewildcards.

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PointvaluesforcardsinCanasta
Card
Value
3,3

100(200eachifallfourheld)

3,3,4,5,6,7

8,9,10,J,Q,K

10

2(Wild),A

20

Joker(Wild)

50

Theinitialdealerischosenbyanycommonmethod,althoughitshouldberememberedthatinCanastathereisnoprivilegeoradvantagetobeingthe
dealer.Ratherthetrueprivilegeisoffirstplayandaccessbythatplayertoanychancebonuscardwhichmighthavebeenturnedup,andsubsequently
covered,attheconclusionofthedeal(e.g.,ifaredthreeorwildcardhadbeenturnedupattheendofthedeal,itmustandwouldhavebeencoveredby
alegitimateplaycardwhichitselfcouldthenbeusedbythatfirstplayerinmakingtheinitialmeldandtakingthediscardpileandthusgivingthatfirst
playerthosebonuscards).Thedealthenrotatesclockwiseaftereveryhand.Thedealershufflesthepack,theplayertothedealer'srightcuts,andthe
dealerdealsout11cardstoeachplayer.
Theremainingcardsareleftinastockinthecenterofthetable.Thetopcardfromthestockisturnedovertoformthediscardpile.Ifthisfirstturned
cardisaredorblackthree,orawildcard,additionalcardsfromthestockareturnedovertothetopofthediscardpileuntilthetopcardofthediscard
pileisneitherathreenorawildcard.Ifoneofthesebonuscardswasawildcard,itfreezesthediscardpileuntilthatdiscardpilecontainingthewild
cardhasbeenlegitimatelytakenintoaplayer'shand.Abonusredthreetakeninthismannerisnotreplacedbyanothercardfromthestock,asitwouldif
ithadbeendrawnfromthestockduringaplayer'sregularturn.
Anyplayerwhoreceivesaredthreeintheirinitialhandmustimmediatelyplayittothetableteamanddrawanewcardfromthestocktotheirhand.

Play
Theplayertothedealer'slefthasthefirstturn,andplaythenproceedsclockwise.Aturnbeginseitherbydrawingthefirstcardfromthestockintothe
player'shandorbypickinguptheentirediscardpile.However,therearerestrictionsonwhenonecanpickupthediscardpile.(SeePickingupthe
discardpile,below.)Ifthecarddrawnfromthestockisaredthree,theplayermustplayitimmediatelyanddrawanothercard.
Theplayermaythenmakeasmanylegalmeldsastheywishfromthecardsintheirhand.Aturnendswhentheplayerdiscardsonecardfromtheirhand
tothetopofthediscardpile.Noplayermay"undo"ameldorlaidcard,orchangetheirmindafterdrawingacardfromthedeckiftheydecidethatthey
couldhavetakenthediscardpile.

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MeldsandCanastas
Eachplayer/teamkeepsseparatemeldsofthevariousranksofcards.Aplayermayneverplaytoanopponent'smeld.Alegalmeldconsistsofatleast
threecardsofthesamerank.Suitsareirrelevantexceptthatblackthreesaretreateddifferentlyfromredthrees.Wildcardscanbeusedasanyrank
exceptforthrees.Threesmayneverbemeldedinordinaryplay,although3or4blackthreesmaybemeldedlastintheprocessofaplayergoingout.
Ameldmustconsistofatleasttwonaturalcards,andcanneverhavemorewildcardsthannaturalcards(andthereforemorethanthreewildcards).
Examples:552and99922Jokerarelegalmelds.522isnotalegalmeldasitcontainsonlyonenaturalcard.99222Jokerisnotlegalasit
containsmorewildcardsthannaturalcards.
Acanastaisameldofatleastsevencards,whethernaturalormixed.Anaturalcanastaisonethatcomprisesonlycardsofthesamerank.Amixed
canasta(ordirtycanasta)isonethatcomprisesbothnaturalandwildcards.
A"concealed"canastaisacanastaassembledintheplayer'shandandisplayedtothetablecomplete,orrequiringonlythetopcardfromthediscardpile
(thediscardpilebeingpickedupintheusualway).Aconcealedcanastamaybenaturalormixedandcarriesabonusscoreof100points(so400fora
concealedmixedcanastaand600foraconcealednaturalcanasta).
Initialmelds
Atthebeginningofagame,bothteamsalwayshaveaninitialmeldrequirementof50.Whenaplayer/teamhasnotyetmadeanymeldsinahand,that
playermustmeetanadditionalpointscorerequirementtomaketheirfirstmeld(s).Thesumofthevaluesofthecardsplayedintheplayer'sturnmust
equalorexceedtheminimuminitialmeldrequirementaccordingtotheplayer/team'stotalscore:
Teamscore

Minimuminitialmeld

Negative

15

01495

50

15002995

90

3000andabove

120

Example:Ifaplayer/teamhasascoreof1,600andhasnotyetmadeanymeldsinahand,aninitialmeldof666,KKK2cannotbemadeasitscores
only65pointsandtherequirementis90.Ameldof666,AAA2wouldscore95pointsandcanbeplayed.Notethatbothinitialmeldscanbeplayed
iftheteam'stotalscoreisbelow1500,andthatneithercanbeplayediftheteam'stotalscoreis3000orhigher.
Pickingupthediscardpile
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Atthebeginningoftheirturn,aplayermaypickuptheentirediscardpileinsteadofdrawingacardfromthestock.Theymayonlypickupthediscard
pileiftheycanusethetopcardeitherinanexistingmeldorbymakinganewmeldalongwithtwoothercardsfromtheirhand.Onlythetopcardis
relevantfortheplayer/teamtopickuptherestofthediscardpile.Inaddition,theplayer/teammustmeettheinitialmeldrequirementusingthetopcard
ofthediscardpileinordertopickupthepile.
Ifawildcardhaspreviouslybeendiscardedtothepile,thediscardpileisfrozen.Whenthediscardpileisfrozen,itmayonlybethawed(pickedup)if
theplayercanmeldthetopcardwithtwonaturalcardsofthesamerankintheplayer'shand.
Ifawildcardorablackthreeisontopofthediscardpile,itmaynotbepickedup.Playingablackthreedoesnotfreezethepile,howeveritjustactsas
a"stopcard."Thecarddiscardedafterablackthreeallowsthepiletobepickedupagain(unlessitisawildcard).
Goingout
Aplayermaygooutbyusingallthecardsintheirhandonlyifthatplayer/teamhasmadeoneormorecanastas.Theplayermaygooutonlybymelding
allhiscards,andmaydiscardasinglefinalcardifnecessary.Itisnotrequiredtodiscardacardintheprocessoflegallygoingout.Iftheplayer/teamhas
notyetmadeanycanastas,playersinthatteammaynotmakeaplaywhichwouldleavethemwithnocardsintheirhandattheendoftheirturn.The
handendsimmediatelywhenanyplayergoesout.
Whenconsideringgoingout,aplayermayasktheirpartnerforpermissiontogoouthowever,itisnotrequiredtoaskpartner'spermission,butifdone
theplayermustabidebythepartner'sanswer.Ifthepartnerrefusespermission,theplayermaynotgooutthisturn.Ifthepartnerresponds"yes",the
playermustgooutthisturn.
Ifaplayercanlegallygoout,buthasthreeormoreblackthreesinhishand,thesemaybemeldedatthistimeonly.Ifthestockiscompletelydepleted
whenaplayerisrequiredtodrawacard,thehandendsimmediately,thatis,neitherteamgetsthegoingoutbonus.

Thescoring
Attheendofeachhand,thescoreforeachteamiscalculatedasfollows:
Thetotalvalueofallcardsmeldedbythatplayer/team,includingcardsincanastasminusthetotalvalueofallcardsremainingintheteam'shands,plus
anybonuses:

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Bonusscores
Goingout

100

Eachmixedcanasta

300

Eachnaturalcanasta

500

Eachredthree,uptothree

100

Ifallfourredthreesareheld 800
Ifapartnershiphasaccumulatedredthrees,buthasnotyetmadeanymeldswhentheoppositionteamgoesout,thenthetotalvalueofallthecardsleft
intheplayer/team'shand(s)aswellasthebonusvalueofmeldedredthreesaresubtractedfromthatteam'spreviousscore.Thatis,ifateamhasthree
redthreesbuthadnotyetmadeanymelds,attheendofthathandtheteamwillsufferapenaltyof300pointsratherthangaininga300pointbonus.
Thegameendswhenaplayer/team'stotalscorereaches5,000orabove.Theteamwiththehighesttotalscoreatthispointwins.

Canastafortwoorthreeplayers
Canastacanbeplayedwithfewerthanfourplayerswithsomevariationsintherules.Themostsignificantchangesareinthenumberofcardsdealtatthe
beginningofthehandandthefactthateachpersonplaysindividually.Inagamewiththreeplayers,eachplayerreceives13cards.Inatwoplayergame
eachplayerreceives15cardsandeachplayerdrawstwocardsoneachoftheirturnsanddiscardsone.Ifeachplayerdrawstwocards,thereisusually
theadditionalrequirementthataplayermusthavemadetwocanastasinordertogoout.

USAmericanCanasta
ThisversionofCanastaiswidespread,especiallyintheUnitedStates,anditwastheofficialtournamentversionusedbythe(possiblydefunct)
AmericanCanastaAssociation.AmericanCanastacanbefoundinfewbooks.OnenotableexceptionisScarne'sEncyclopediaofCardGames,where
theauthorclaimstohaveinventedagamewhichhecallsInternationalCanasta.MostoftheelementsofModernAmericanCanastacanbefoundin
Scarne'sInternationalCanasta,althoughtherearesomedifferences.
Duetoitsrelativecomplexityandunforgivingscoringrules,whichgivelargepenaltiesformanymeldsthatwouldbeacceptableandevengoodinother
versions,thismaynotbethebestversionforbeginningplayers"classic"canastaorHand&Footmaybetterservethispurpose.(Ontheotherhand,
theseversionscanteachhabitsthatbecomemajorliabilitiesinAmericancanasta.)Thisversionisonlymeanttobeplayedbyexactlyfourplayers,in
twotwopersonpartnerships.Importantdifferencesbetweenthisversionandthe"classic"versioninclude:

Setupandplay
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13cardsaredealttoeachplayer,thentwofacedowngroupsofcardsaredealtoneithersideofthedrawpileanddiscardpile,onewithfourcards
andonewiththree.Thelatterarereferredtoasthetalonsorwings.Thediscardpileitselfstartsoutempty.Thewingsareneverrevealed,scored
orotherwisepermittedtoaffectthegameinanywaytheirpurposeseemstobetomakethegamelesspredictablebycreatingsomeuncertainty
aboutthecompositionofthedeck.
Thedrawtwocardsruleisnotused.Twocanastasarerequiredtogoout.Playisto8,500.
Initialmeldrequirementsarehigher125forteamswithlessthan3,000points,155forteamswith3,000ormorebutlessthan5,000,180
thereafter.Moreover,somewhereinyourinitialmeldmustbeamatchingsetofthreenaturalcards,thoughyouareallowedtohavewildcardsin
thismeldinadditiontothenaturalcards.
Meldingacompletecanasta,however,isalwaysconsideredtomeettheinitialmeldrequirement,regardlessofthepointvaluesofthecards
involved.(Thereisnootherbonusforsuchaplay.)
Thediscardpileisalwaysfrozen.Manygroupsdonotallowtakingthepileandmakingyourteam'sinitialmeldonthesameturnthosethatdo
allowthis,requireyoutomaketheinitialmeldfirst,thentakethepile.(Thelatterwasthe"official"tournamentrule).Thiscanbedoneonthe
strengthofapairofnaturalcardsthatwerealreadymeldedthatturn,orbyproducingsuchapairfromyourhandafterhavingmettheinitialmeld
requirementwithoutit.
Therearesomelimitationsonlegaldiscards.Threescan'tbediscarded,exceptasyourfinaldiscardwhengoingoutthesameistrueofwildcards.
Ifthediscardpileisempty,acesandsevenscan'tbediscarded.Itispossible(thoughveryunlikely),however,tobeinasituationwhereyouhave
onlywildcards,oronlyaces,sevensandwildcardswithanemptydiscardpile.Inthiscaseyoumaymakesuchadiscard(acesorsevensif
possible,wildcardsonlyifthereisnootherchoiceneverathreeunderanycircumstances).However,anopponentmaychallengethelegalityof
suchaplay,inwhichcaseyoumustshowtheopponentyourhandtoverifythattheplaywasinfactlegal.
Bothredandblackthreesmaybeplayedtothetableasredthreescanin"classic"canasta.Unlikeinotherversionsofcanasta,thisisoptional.As
inotherversions,aplayerwhoplaysathreedrawsareplacementcard.

Meldingrules
Meldsthatdonotincludesevensoracesworkasin"classic"canasta,exceptthatsuchmeldscanincludeatmosttwowildcardsratherthanthree.
Meldsofmorethansevencardsarestrictlyforbidden,asareduplicatemeldsofthesamerankbythesameteam.Thishasafewstrategic
implicationsforexample,itisimpossibletopickupthepileonthestrengthofapairof(say)jacksinyourhandifyourteamalreadyhasameld
offivejacks,naturalorotherwise.
Onecommonexception,istoallowmeldsof8ormorecardswhengoingout.Skilledplayerswillplayawildcardonanexistingcanastaforthe
win.
Sequences(suchasthosethatdefineSamba,describedbelow)arenotlegalmeldsandplaynoroleinthenormalplayofAmericanCanasta.The
closestthingtoasequencethatisnormallyallowedisoneoftheSpecialHands,describedbelow.
Meldsofsevenscannotincludewildcards.Acanastaofsevensisworth2,500pointsratherthantheusual500.However,ifthehandendswithout
yourteamcompletingthiscanasta,yourteamloses2,500points.Retainingthreeormoresevensinyourhandisnearlyasbad,carryingapenalty
of1,500.
Acesaretreatedthesamewayassevens,withoneexception.Ifyourteam'sinitialmeldincludesaces,wildcardsmaybeaddedatthattimeifthis
isdone,theacesaretreatedlikeanyothermeldratherthanbeingtreatedinthespecialwaysevensare.Otherwise,allthesamerules,includingthe
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potentialpenalties,applytoacesastosevens.
Meldsconsistingentirelyofwildcardsarelegal,muchlikeintheaforementionedBoliviavariant.Acanastaconsistingofwildcardsisworth
3,000pointsifitconsistsentirelyoftwos,2,500pointsifitcontainsallfourjokers,or2,000pointsforanyothercombination.However,failingto
completeacanastaoncesuchameldismadecarriesa2,000pointpenalty.
Itislegaltomeldcertainspecialhandsasyourteam'sfirstandonlymeld.Thesearehandsofexactly14cardswhichyoucanconceivablyhave
afterdrawingyourcardfortheturn.Ifateamplaysaspecialhand,theplayendsimmediatelytheteamscoresonlythepointsforthespecialhand
(therearenopenaltiesforthecardsintheotherpartner'shand).Thisisalsotheonlytimeaplayerisallowedtonotdiscardacardevenwhen
goingout,aplayermustotherwisehavesomethingtodiscard.Thereisconsiderablevariationinwhatspecialhandsareallowedandhowtheyare
scored.Amongthemostcommonlyacceptedspecialhandsarethefollowing(thesearetheonesthatwerelegalinthetournamentversion):
Straightonecardofeveryrank,includingathree(thereasonyouareallowedtoretainthreesinyourhand),plusajoker.Thisisworth
3,000.
Pairssevenpairs,whicheitherdonotincludewildcards(worth2,500),orincludetwos,sevensandaces(allthreemustbepresentthis
combinationisworth2,000).
GarbageTwosetsoffourofakindandtwosetsofthreeofakind,whichdonotincludeanywildcardsorthrees.Forexample,44447
779999JJJwouldbeconsideredaGarbagehand.Thisisworth2,000.

Otherscoringrules
Yetanothervariationonscoringthreesisused.Scoringis100foronethreeofaparticularcolour,300fortwo,500forthreeor1,000forfourred
threesandblackthreesarecountedseparately.Thisisapenaltyifyourteamhasnocanastasattheendofthehand(andforthispurposethreesin
yourhandcountasthoughtheywereonthetable),ignoredentirelyifyourteamhasexactlyonecanasta,andabonusifyourteamhastwoormore
canastas.
Ifyourteamhasnocompletecanastaswhentheplayends,anycardsthathavebeenmeldedcountagainstthatteam,inadditiontoanyofthe
abovepenaltiesthatmayapply.Ateamwithatleastonecanastagetspositivepointsforthesecardsasusual.

Samba
SambaisavariantofCanasta,playedwiththreedecks,includingjokers,foratotalof162cards.15cardsaredealttoeachoffourplayers,andan
additionalcardisturnedup.Thegameisto10,000pointsinsteadof5,000.Sambaallowssequencemeldsofthreeormore(forexample,the4,5,and6
ofheartsortheQueen,KingandAceofSpades).Ifaplayerisabletomakeasequenceofseven(forexample,the5throughJofdiamonds),thisisa
sambaandisworth1,500points.Ratherthanfourredthreesbeingworth800points,sixredthreesareworth1,000points.Twowildcardsisthe
maximumallowedforameld.Theminimuminitialmeldis150ifapartnershiphas7,000ormore.

Other"National"Canastas
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BolivianCanasta
BolivianCanastaissimilartoSamba,asitusesthreedecksandsequencemelds.[6]Playisto15,000.Wildcardcanastas(bolivias)count2,500.Aside
musthaveasamba(calledescalerainthisgame)andatleastoneothercanastatogoout.Redthreesonlycountpositiveiftwoormorecanastashave
beenmelded.Blackthreesarenegative100insteadofnegative5whenleftinhand.

BrazilianCanasta
SimilartoBolivia,butonlyto10,000.Theminimummeldrequirementsare150from5,000to7,000acanastafrom7,000to8,000200from8,000to
9,000andanaturalcanastafrom9,000up.Wildcardcanastascount2,000.Partnershipsreceive1,000forfiveredthreesand1,200forallsix.Ifaside
hasasequenceoffivecardsorless,itloses1,000.

BritishCanasta
Similartotheoriginalrulesbutwiththeimportantadditionof'Acaba'(Spanishfor'TheEnd').Aplayermaysaythisatanypointduringtheirturnand
willimmediatelyforfeittheroundawardingtheopposingplayerorteam1,500pointsandreceiving0points,endingtheverydullphasewhereone
playerorteamhastotalcontroloverthediscarddeck.Whenplayinginteamsaplayermayasktheirteammateforpermissiontosayacabajustasthey
mayaskbeforegoingoutandtheywillalsobeboundbytheresponseinthesameway.[7][8]

ChileanCanasta
Allowsbothsambasandbolivias.Canbeplayedwitheitherthreedecks(162cards)orfourdecks(216cards)

CubanCanasta
Atwodeckvariantto7,500.Requires150foraninitialmeldifapartnershipisover5,000.Thedeckisalwaysfrozen.Wildcardcanastasareworth
between2,000and4,000dependingonthenumberofdeuces.Threesarescoredonlyifcanastasaremadetheycount100forone,300fortwo,500for
threeand1,000forfour.Blackthreesareremovedfromplayifadiscardpileistakenapartnershipthatremovesallfourblackthreesthiswaygets100
points.

ItalianCanasta

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ItaliancanastaisaSambavariant.Thenumberofcardsinthediscardpileatthebeginningofthegamevarieswiththeinitialcardturnedup.Thediscard
pileisalwaysfrozen.Deucesmay,butapartnershipmaynotplaydeucesaswildcardsifdeuceshavebeenmeldedandacanastaisincomplete.Gameis
to15,000

UruguayanCanasta
Thisisregularcanastawithtwovariants:
Thedeckisalwaysfrozen
Canastasmadesolelyofwildcardsareallowed,andareworth2,000points

BoatCanasta
ThisvariationoriginatesinSlovakia.SincethedefinitionofCanastarulesdifferedfromplayertoplayerastrongurgehasrisenforunifiedrules.Thisin
turnwassatisfiedbythecreationofBoatCanasta(http://boatcanasta.site90.net),whichreallyisamixofotherknownrules,butthoroughlyoptimized.
CurrentlythisvariantofCanastaissteadilygainingpopularitymainlyinSlovakia,butalsoincountriessuchasFrance,GermanyandEngland.

HandandFootCanasta
Thisversionisaquaddeckgamethatisplayedwithahandandafoot,unliketraditionalcanastathatjusthasahand.

HandandFoot
HandandFootisaCanastavariantinvolvingfourtosixdecksratherthantwoandisplayedbyteamsoftwoplayers(usuallytwoteams,butitalso
workswiththreeorfourteams).Thenumberofdecksusedistypicallyonemorethanthenumberofplayers,thoughthiscanvary.Duetothelargerpool
ofavailablecards,itismucheasiertoformcanastasinHandandFootthaninstandardCanasta,whichchangesthestrategyconsiderably.Someplayers
feelthisversionismoreenjoyableforbeginners.Thevariantwasborninthe1970scommercialdeckstoplayHandandFoothavebeenavailablesince
1987.Importantrulechangesforthisvariantinclude:
Eachplayerisdealttwopilesof13cards,whichwillbereferredtoasthe"hand"andthe"foot".Thehandispickedupnormally,whilethefoot
remainsfacedownuntilthehandisexhausted.
Aplayerwhomeldsallcardsfromtheoriginalhandpicksupthefootasanewhandandcontinuesplaying.Aplayerwhoexhauststheoriginal
handbydiscardingpicksupthefootasanewhand,butdoesnotplayfromituntilthenextturn.
Oneachturn,playersdrawtwocardsfromthestock.Eachplayerdiscardsonecardoneachturn.
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Thenumberofcanastasrequiredtogooutarethreeredandfourblackcanastas.Whenplayingasinglesgame(thatis,withoutpartners),the
requirementisoneredcanastaandtwoblackcanastas.
Discardsmaybepickedupwithanaturalpair,butaplayermusttakethetopthreecardsfromthediscardpile.
Threesmaynotbemeldedso,sincetheonlywaytogetridofthemisbydiscardingthemoneatatime,thenumberofthreesinyourhand
representsaminimumnumberofturnsbeforeyoucouldpossiblygoout.
Blackthrees(inyourhandorfoot)scorezeropointsRedthreesarescoredas500points(alwaysagainstyou,sincetheycan'tbemelded).
Initialmelds
Atthebeginningofagame,bothteamsalwayshaveaninitialmeldrequirementof50.Whenaplayer/teamhasnotyetmadeanymeldsinahand,that
playermustmeetanadditionalpointscorerequirementtomaketheirfirstmeld(s).Thesumofthevaluesofthecardsplayedintheplayer'sturnmust
equalorexceedtheminimuminitialmeldrequirementaccordingtotheplayer/team'stotalscore:
Teamscore Minimuminitialmeld
1sthand

50

2ndhand

90

3rdhand

120

4thhand

150

Aplayercurrentlyintheirfootmaychoosetopass,or"float",ratherthandiscardattheendoftheirturn(therestoftheturnplaysasnormal).This
allowstheplayertoplayallbutonecardbutstillavoidgoingout.Aplayermightalsowishtofloattoavoidbreakingapair,ortoavoiddiscarding
acardthatmightbefavorabletotheopponents,orsomeotherstrategicreason.
Rulesforgoingoutare:
Youmusthaveanonplayablediscard.
Youmusthaveaminimumofthreered(nowildcards)and4blackcanastas.
Youaskyourpartnerforpermissiontogoout.

Thescoring
Attheendofeachhand,thescoreforeachteamiscalculatedasfollows:
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Thetotalvalueofallcardsmeldedbythatplayer/team,includingcardsincanastasminusthetotalvalueofallcardsremainingintheteam'shands,plus
anybonuses:
Bonusscores
Goingout
100
Eachmixedcanasta 300
Eachnaturalcanasta 500

Pointvaluesare:
Pointvaluesforcards
inCanasta
Card
Value
3,3

100

3,3,4,5,6,7

8,9,10,J,Q,K

10

2(Wild),A

20

Joker(Wild)

50

MiscellaneousvariationsforClassicCanastaandothertypes
Thereisaspecialcasewhereanyplayer/teamthatmanagestomeld7canastasinonehand(naturalormixed)automaticallygain5000pointsand
thuswinthegame.
Anumberofcardsotherthan11maybedealtatthebeginningofthegame,13and15beingcommonchoices.Somegroupsvarythenumberof
cardsdrawninverselywiththenumberofplayers.
Tomakepickingupthediscardpilemorechallenging,requirethatanaturalpairbeplayedonthesameturnthatthepileispickedup(i.e.,thepile
isalwaysfrozen).ThisvariantissometimesreferredtoasUruguayanRummy
Aconcealedcanastaoccurswhenacanastaismeldeddirectlyfromaplayershand.Usuallyinalsogoingout:goingoutconcealedwhichearns
anextra100pointbonusoverthestandard100pointgoingoutbonus.
Onevariantallowsmeldinguptothreewildcardsinameld,regardlessofthenumberofnaturalcardsmelded.
Allowingcanastasmadeentirelyofwildcards(thisisallowedinUruguayanandBolivianRummy),
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Requirethattwocanastasbeplayedinordertogooutinfourplayer,aswellastwoandthreeplayer.
Variationontheabove:Requireoneorbothtobenaturalcanastas.
Noteontheabove:Inmostcasesthispreventsa'concealedhand'frombeingplayed,butitisstillpossibleifaplayerpicksupthediscard
pileandisabletouseallorallbutoneofthecardsandmeldtwocanastas.Considerincreasingtheconcealedcanastabonusto250or500
pointstoreflecttheincreaseddifficultyofsuchaplay.
Whenthestockisdepleted,considerflippingoverthediscardpileandturningitintoanewstocktoextendplay.Ifthestockanddiscardpileare
bothdepleted,continueasifthestockweredepletedundernormalrules.
Playwithamodifieddeck,suchassix,two,orzerojokers,oronly7ofeachmeldablecard.
Forafasterpacedgamethatdeemphasizestheimportanceofpickingupthediscardpile,drawtwocardsratherthanoneeachturn.Thisis
especiallycommonintwoplayergames.
Whendealing,ifthedealertakesthecorrectamountofcardsoffthestocktocompletethedeal,andhehasnocardsinhishandafterdealingthe
firstcardtostartthediscardpile,hescoresabonusof100points.
Requirethatallplayerswithlessthan1,500pointsmeld50,evenwithanegativescore.
Requiretheplayerbehind(totherightof)thedealercutthedeckleavingthebottomseparatefromthetop.Thedealerthenusesthebottompileto
dealfrom.Ifthecutterlefttheexactnumberofcardsneededtodealtoallplayersplustheoneinitialcardforthedrawpile,thatteamgets100
points.
Whenpickingupthediscardpile,onlythetopcardcanbeusedinthisturn.Theremainingcardspickedupcanthenbeusedinsubsequentturns.

InPopularCulture
Theexpression"asdeadasCanasta"citesthetransienceofpopularinterestinthegamewithintheUnitedStates.

Seealso
Rummy
Desmoche
Mille(cardgame)
Continental(cardgame)

References
1. AmericanHeritageDictionarySpanishWordHistoriesandMysteries:EnglishWordsThatComefromSpanish(http://books.google.com/books?
id=VTYBbGybtNEC&pg=PA51&dq=michael+scully+canasta&hl=cs&ei=JBt
TIbyO4TFswbZ55yWCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=michael%20scully%20canasta&f=false),Houghton
MifflinHarcourt(2007),ISBN0618910549
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canasta

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2. JohnScarne,ScarneonCardGames(http://books.google.com/books?id=wGE7TVfEeIoC&pg=PA118&dq=500+rum+game&hl=cs&ei=2BJ
TIjeGsiLswb45LyUCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false),pg.127,DoverPublications(2004),ISBN
0486436039
3. JohnGriswold,IanFleming'sJamesBond:AnnotationsAndChronologiesforIanFleming'sBondStories(http://books.google.com/books?
id=uariyzldrJwC&pg=PA228&dq=canasta+developed+uruguai+1940&hl=cs&ei=eApTOPsCs3OswaPl
2UCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=canasta&f=false),pg.228,AuthorHouse(2006),ISBN1425931006
4. NikkiKatz,TheEverythingCardGamesBook(http://books.google.com/books?id=qzYu6eaHX2MC&pg=PA52&dq=argentine+rummy&hl=cs&ei=xjd
TLbyH43LswaTxMGUCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBjgo#v=onepage&q&f=false),pg.52,AdamsMedia(2004),ISBN1
593371306
5. LIFEMagazine,Life(http://books.google.com/books?id=UkEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47&dq=canasta&hl=cs&ei=9St
TKDGMtCEswbJj8CVCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=canasta&f=false),19December(1949)
6. GiampieroFarina,AlessandroLamberto,Enciclopediadellecarte.Lateoriaelapraticadioltre1000giochi(http://books.google.com/books?
id=uPEij9khhh8C&pg=PA337&dq=argentine+rummy&hl=cs&ei=FyF
TPjlI43Oswa7zsGWCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBzge#v=onepage&q=canasta&f=false),pg.82,UlricoHoepliEditore
S.p.A.(2006),ISBN8820336723(Italian)
7. RalphMichaels&CharlesHenryGoren,ImperialCanasta:WiththeFullTextoftheOfficialBritishRules...(http://books.google.co.uk/books?
id=dM8OAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#),pg.92,Eyre&Spottiswoode(1950)
8. ThePalmBeachPost,May6th1951(http://news.google.com/newspapers?
nid=1964&dat=19510506&id=8ElRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yTMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1555,695426),pg38

Furtherreading
Culbertson,Ely,CulbertsononCanasta:aCompleteGuideforBeginnersandAdvancedPlayersWiththeOfficialLawsofCanasta,Faber1949
Holmberg,H.H.andhrling,Erkki,Canasta,SambajaSitoumussamba,1962
Morehead,Albert,Hoyle'sRulesofGames(Thirdedition),Signet,2001
Scarne,John,Scarne'sEncyclopediaofCardGames,2001
Wastrack,Harry,TheEssentialHand&Foot,XlibrisCorporation,2005

Externallinks
HowStuffWorksHowtoPlayCanasta(http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/howtoplaycanasta.htm)
HistoryofCanasta(http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/Canasta.shtml)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canasta&oldid=671149161"
Categories: Cardgamesintroducedin1939 AngloAmericanplayingcardgames Canasta Frenchdeckcardgames Uruguayaninventions
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