How to play Canasta
Build partnership melds, control the discard pile, and complete a canasta before going out.
- Players
- 4 in partnerships
- Deck
- 2 decks + 4 jokers
- Hand
- 11 cards
- Goal
- First to 5,000
Turn flow
Partners sit opposite and share melds. On your turn, draw one stock card or legally take the entire discard pile, then make any melds and discard one card. Red threes are exposed and replaced automatically. A hand ends when someone goes out or the stock ends.
Melds and opening
A meld contains at least three cards of one natural rank, at least two natural cards, and no more than three wilds. Twos and jokers are wild; wild-only melds are not allowed. Seven cards form a canasta. Your partnership needs one before a player may empty their hand. Opening minimums are 15 below 0 points, then 50, 90, or 120 as the team's pre-hand score rises.
Taking the discard pile
The top discard must immediately enter a valid meld. If the pile is frozen or your team has not opened, you need two matching natural cards from hand. Otherwise the top may join an existing meld or start a normal one. A three or wild on top blocks pickup, and a discarded wild freezes the pile. The top card counts toward the opening minimum; cards underneath do not.
Scoring and winning
Jokers score 50; aces and twos 20; 8–K score 10; other cards 5. A natural canasta adds 500 and a mixed one 300. Red threes add 100 each or 800 for all four, but become negative if the team made no meld. Going out adds 100, and cards left in both partners' hands are subtracted. At 5,000 or more, the higher unequal total wins.
Beginner strategy
- Combine several ranks to meet a high opening minimum.
- Preserve natural pairs for frozen-pile pickups.
- Do not add a wild to a natural canasta unless the flexibility is worth losing its larger bonus.
- Avoid discarding a rank displayed in an opponent's meld.
- Use black threes to block pickup and wilds to freeze the pile.
- Keep a legal discard until your team has a canasta.