Canasta Rules: A Complete Guide for Beginners and Experienced Players

What is Canasta?

Canasta is a partnership rummy-style game played with two standard 52-card decks plus four Jokers (108 cards). Players build melds—sets of three or more cards of the same rank—with the aim of completing at least one canasta (a meld of seven or more cards) and then “going out” to end the hand.

A Brief History of Canasta

Invented in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1939 by Segundo Sánchez Santos and Alberto Serrato, Canasta spread rapidly through South America and reached the United States in 1949, where formal laws were drafted by the New York Regency Club.

Objective of Canasta

Score more points than the opposing partnership by:

• laying down melds of equal-rank cards (wild cards—Jokers and 2s—may be included);
• forming at least one canasta;
• and going out, which ends the hand and yields a bonus.

The Pack and Card Ranks

Card	Value (for scoring & initial-meld count)
Joker	50 pts
2 (Deuce)	20 pts
Ace	20 pts
8 – K	10 pts
4 – 7 & Black 3	5 pts
Red 3*	100 pts bonus/penalty
*Red 3s are laid face-up immediately and replaced; they score plus or minus 100 depending on whether your side makes a canasta.

How to Play Canasta: Step-by-Step Rules

1. Setup – Four players in two partnerships sit opposite partners. Shuffle both decks together and deal 11 cards to each player (classic rules). Place the stock in the centre and turn the top card face-up to start the discard pile. If that card is a wild card or a Red 3, it is turned sideways to “freeze” the pile and another card is turned.
2. Turn Sequence (clockwise):
   • Draw the top stock card or take the entire discard pile if you can immediately meld its top card with two natural cards from hand (pile is frozen if it contains a wild card or is frozen against a side yet to meld).
   • Meld optional combinations; at least one meld in the partnership must meet the initial meld requirement (50/90/120 pts depending on cumulative score).
   • Discard one card to end your turn. Black 3s are safe discards because they block the next player from picking up the pile.
3. Forming Melds & Canastas – Melds are sets only (no sequences). A canasta is seven-plus cards.
   • Natural canasta (no wilds) – square-off the stack with a Red card.
   • Mixed canasta (contains wilds) – square-off with a Black card.
4. Going Out – You may ask partner “May I go out?” before ending the hand. To go out you must:
   • have at least one canasta;
   • play or discard your last card.
   • Going out concealed (all melds laid at once) earns an extra bonus.

How to Keep Score

Action	Points Awarded
Natural canasta	+500
Mixed canasta	+300
Wild-card canasta	+1 000 (optional rule)
Each Red 3 (if you have melded)	+100 (+200 each if you hold all four)
Going out	+100 (+additional 100 if concealed)
Card values in melds	Add per “Pack & Ranks” table
Card values left in hand	Subtract

Game ends at 5 000 points (classic) or 7 500 (modern American).

Key Differences Between Classic & Modern American Canasta

Rule Aspect	Classic (Regency)	Modern American
Cards dealt	11 each	13 or 15 each
Target score	5 000	7 500
Initial meld requirement	50/90/120	often higher tiers (e.g., 125/155/180)
Going out	1 canasta needed	2 canastas if “Tough End” option
Black 3s	Safe discards only	May be melded in pairs when going out
Concealed hand bonus	100 pts	200 pts

Additional Tips and Fun Facts

• Keep track of wild cards—each meld may contain no more than three; exceeding this “wild ratio” nullifies the meld.
• A frozen discard pile can only be taken with two natural cards matching the top card—time your safe discards accordingly.
• Canasta reached U.S. “craze” status in the early 1950s—Life magazine called it “the biggest new card game since Bridge.”

Canasta FAQs

For more classic card game rules and strategies, explore the rest of our Card Game Rules library.