Canasta Rules
How to play canasta: melds and canastas, wild cards, the frozen pile, red and black threes, card values and scoring, plus versions for 2, 3 and 6 players.
Canasta is a rummy game for four players in two partnerships, played with two packs and four jokers. You score by melding sets of the same rank, and the big points come from canastas: melds of seven or more cards. The game started in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1939, and was a craze in the 1950s. The rules were standardised around 1950, and that Classic version is still played around the world. This guide covers the full canasta rules, the card values, scoring with a worked example, and the versions for two, three and six players.
Canasta Rules at a Glance
| Classic Canasta | |
|---|---|
| Players | 4, in two partnerships sitting opposite (versions for 2, 3 and 6 below) |
| Cards | Two 52-card packs plus 4 jokers: 108 cards |
| Wild cards | Jokers and twos |
| Deal | 11 cards each; the rest form the stock, and one card is turned up to start the discard pile |
| Aim | Meld cards of the same rank and complete canastas (7+ cards) |
| To go out | Your side needs at least one canasta |
| Game | First side to 5,000 points |
Card Values
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| Ace, 2 | 20 |
| K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 | 10 |
| 7, 6, 5, 4 and black 3 | 5 |
| Red 3 | 100 bonus (not melded) |
How to Play Canasta
- Deal. Each player gets 11 cards. Turn the top card of the stock face up to start the discard pile; if it is a wild card or a red three, turn another card on top.
- Red threes. Lay any red three face up straight away and draw a replacement from the stock.
- Your turn. Either draw the top card of the stock, or take the whole discard pile (see below).
- Meld. Put down melds of three or more cards of the same rank, or add cards to your side’s existing melds.
- Discard. End every turn by discarding one card face up.
- Go out. Once your side has a canasta, you can go out by melding all your cards, or all but one and discarding the last.
Melds and canastas
- A meld is three or more cards of the same rank, from fours up to aces. Threes cannot be melded in the normal way.
- Every meld needs at least two natural cards and can hold no more than three wild cards. Q-Q-2 is fine; Q-2-joker is not.
- Melds belong to the partnership: you can add to your partner’s melds but never to the opponents’.
- Seven or more cards make a canasta. With no wild cards it is natural (red), worth a 500 bonus; with wild cards it is mixed (black), worth 300.
The first meld
Your side’s first meld of each hand must reach a minimum count, set by your score so far: 15 if your total is below zero, 50 from 0 to 1,495, 90 from 1,500 to 2,995, and 120 from 3,000. You can lay several melds at once to reach it. Bonuses, including red threes, do not count towards it. Example: K-K-K and Q-Q-2 come to 70, enough when you need 50 but not when you need 90.
Taking the discard pile
You can take the whole pile only if you can meld its top card: with two matching cards from your hand (two naturals, or one natural and a wild card), or by adding it to one of your side’s melds. Show the meld first, then take the rest of the pile into your hand. You can never take the pile when a wild card or a black three is on top.
The frozen pile
The pile is frozen for everyone once a wild card is in it, and frozen against your side until you have made your first meld. When it is frozen against you, you can take it only with two natural cards of the same rank as the top card.
Red threes and black threes
Each red three is worth 100, and all four together are worth 800. If your side never melds in the hand, they count minus 100 each instead. A black three is a stop card: discarding one stops the next player taking the pile. Black threes can only be melded by a player going out, as three or four black threes with no wild cards.
Going out
Your side needs at least one canasta before anyone can go out; until then you must keep at least one card in hand after discarding. Before going out you may ask your partner “may I go out?”, and the answer is binding. Going out is worth 100, or 200 if it is concealed: the whole hand, including a canasta, melded in one turn by a player who had not melded before. Play also ends if the stock runs out.
Canasta Scoring
At the end of a hand each side scores its bonuses, plus the value of all the cards it has melded, minus the value of the cards left in its players’ hands.
| Bonus | Points |
|---|---|
| Natural canasta | 500 |
| Mixed canasta | 300 |
| Each red three (if your side has melded) | 100 |
| All four red threes | 800 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | 200 |
The cards inside a canasta still count: a natural canasta of seven kings is worth 570, the 500 bonus plus 70 for the kings. Here is a full hand:
Canasta Tips
- The discard pile is the prize. Taking a big pile gives you cards for several melds; discard cards your opponents are unlikely to want.
- Freeze the pile with a wild card when the opponents are about to take a large one.
- Keep pairs of natural cards, since two naturals are what you need to take a frozen pile.
- Use a black three to stop the next player taking the pile for a turn.
- Do not rush to go out. The cards left in your partner’s hand count against you, and staying in can be worth more.
Canasta for Two, Three and Six Players
| Players | Changes to Classic Canasta |
|---|---|
| 2 | 15 cards each; draw two cards from the stock and discard one; you need two canastas to go out |
| 3 | 13 cards each (some play 11); draw two and discard one; the first player to take the pile plays alone against the other two for that hand |
| 6 | Three packs and six jokers; 13 cards each; two canastas to go out; three teams of two play to 7,500, two teams of three to 10,000 |
Modern American Canasta, popular in parts of the US, is a stricter version: 13 cards each, the discard pile starts empty, and the game is played to 8,500. Hand and Foot is a related game in which each player has a second hand, the “foot”, to play after the first.
Canasta vs Rummy and Gin Rummy
All three are draw-and-discard games about melding. Rummy allows runs (consecutive cards of one suit) as well as sets; gin rummy is a two-player game of knocking and deadwood. Canasta uses sets only, adds wild cards and partnerships, and is played over many hands to 5,000.
More card games: Pontoon, dominoes and backgammon.
For a quicker game: our Switch card game rules cover every power card and the common UK house rules.
The game Canasta grew from: Rummy 500, first to 500 points wins.
Canasta: frequently asked questions
How do you play canasta?
How many cards do you deal in canasta?
What are the card values in canasta?
What is a canasta?
What is the minimum first meld in canasta?
What does a frozen discard pile mean in canasta?
What do red and black threes do in canasta?
How many points do you need to win canasta?
Fadi Hayek
Author & Casino Expert
After going through several successful experiences with several industry pioneers, Fadi Hayek has managed to excel in the world of content for online gaming by providing unique content for several projects that allowed him to obtain the necessary experience to launch his career. Last but not least, Fadi also holds several certificates, including but not limited to content marketing and iGaming.
