Canasta is a classic four-player partnership card game played with two 52-card decks plus four jokers (108 cards). Each player is dealt eleven cards. On your turn you draw one card from the stock or take the entire discard pile, meld as you wish, and discard one card. Teams score for melded cards, canasta bonuses and red threes; the first team to reach 5,000 points across hands wins the match.
Play now — it's freeTwo standard 52-card decks are shuffled together with the four jokers — 108 cards. Card values: 4-5-6-7 count 5; 8-9-10-J-Q-K count 10; aces and deuces (twos) count 20; jokers count 50.
Twos and jokers are wild cards. The threes are special: red threes (♥3 ♦3) are bonus cards, black threes (♠3 ♣3) are stop cards. All other cards (4 through ace) are natural cards.
Each of the four players is dealt 11 cards. Players opposite each other are partners (seats 0/2 vs 1/3). Red threes dealt to you are laid face up at once and replaced from the stock. One card is turned up to start the discard pile; if it is wild or a red three, more cards are turned on top of it until a natural card or black three appears — and the turned wild/red three freezes the pile.
A turn begins in one of two ways: draw the top card of the stock, or take the whole discard pile (see the freeze rules below). You may then make as many melds as you like, and the turn always ends by discarding one card face up on the pile.
| Action | Rule |
|---|---|
| Draw from stock | Always allowed; if the stock is empty the hand ends immediately |
| Drawn red three | Tabled at once, draw a replacement |
| Take the pile | Only if you can immediately meld the top card |
| End of turn | Discard exactly one card |
A meld is three or more cards of the same natural rank (4 up to ace). A meld must contain at least two natural cards and never more than three wild cards; melds made only of wild cards are not allowed. Threes can never be melded in normal play.
A partnership may have only one meld per rank — later cards of that rank are added to the same meld. A meld of seven or more cards is a canasta.
| Canasta | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Natural (pure) canasta — no wild cards | 500 |
| Mixed canasta — contains at least one wild card | 300 |
Red threes are bonus cards: lay them face up at once and draw a replacement. They score +100 each, or +800 for all four — but if your team never melded during the hand, they count against you instead (−100 each, −800 for all four).
Black threes are stop cards: discarding one prevents the next player from taking the pile. They do not freeze it. Black threes may only be melded in the final turn of a player going out, as a set of three or four with no wild cards.
The pile is frozen for everyone while it contains a wild card or a red three (shown sideways), and it is frozen against any team that has not yet melded this hand. A pile whose top card is a wild card or a black three can never be taken.
When the pile is frozen against you, you may take it only by pairing the top card with two natural cards of the same rank from your hand. When it is not frozen, you may take it by melding the top card with two cards from your hand (two naturals of that rank, or one natural plus one wild) — or simply by adding the top card to a meld of that rank that your team already has on the table.
The first time a team melds in a hand, the cards laid down must total at least a minimum count based on the team's accumulated score:
| Team score | Minimum initial meld |
|---|---|
| Negative | 15 |
| 0 – 1,495 | 50 |
| 1,500 – 2,995 | 90 |
| 3,000 or more | 120 |
When taking the discard pile for an initial meld, only the top card of the pile counts toward the requirement — but you may lay several melds at once to reach it. The one exception: melding your entire hand in one turn including a canasta (going out concealed) needs no minimum.
A player may go out — empty their hand by melding (with or without one final discard) — only if their team has at least one canasta. Going out scores +100; going out concealed (melding the whole hand in one turn without any previous meld) scores 200 instead.
The hand also ends when the stock runs out (a player who must draw cannot) or at the turn limit. Red threes drawn as the very last card end the hand at once.
At the end of the hand each team scores its melded cards at face value, plus bonuses, minus the face value of cards left in the players' hands:
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Each natural canasta | 500 |
| Each mixed canasta | 300 |
| Each red three (if the team melded) | 100 |
| All four red threes (if the team melded) | 800 |
| Red threes with no meld at all | −100 each (−800 for four) |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | 200 |
| Cards left in hands | minus face value |
Hand totals accumulate across deals. The match ends when a team reaches 5,000 points — if both pass 5,000 in the same hand, the higher total wins.
Never discard a wild card — it freezes the pile against your own team too and hands a 50-point card to whoever takes the pile.
Save wild cards to finish canastas: adding one wild to a six-card meld is often worth more than starting a new meld.
A black three is the safest discard — it stops the pile for one turn without freezing it.
Watch the initial meld ladder: late in the match a team needs 90 or 120 points to open, so hoard high cards before your first meld.
Don't go out the instant you can — partner's leftover hand counts against the team, so build one more canasta first if you can.
Two 52-card decks plus four jokers — 108 cards in all.
Canasta is best for four players in two fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite each other.
Eleven cards each, plus one card turned up to start the discard pile.
A meld of seven or more cards of the same rank. A natural (pure) canasta has no wild cards and scores 500; a mixed canasta contains wild cards and scores 300.
At most three, and a meld must always contain at least two natural cards. Melds of only wild cards are not allowed.
100 points each, and all four together score 800 — provided your team melded during the hand. If the team never melded, red threes count against it at the same values.
It stops the next player from taking the discard pile, but does not freeze it. Black threes can only be melded when going out, three or four at a time with no wild cards.
While it contains a wild card or a red three, and against any team that has not yet melded. A frozen pile can only be taken by pairing the top card with two natural cards of the same rank from hand.
Empty your hand by melding (optionally with one final discard) — your team must already have at least one canasta. Going out scores 100, or 200 if concealed.
5,000 points, accumulated over several hands. If both teams pass 5,000 in the same hand, the higher total wins.
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