What you need
- Two standard 52-card decks plus four jokers — 108 cards, shuffled together.
- Pencil and paper to keep score. Scores run into the thousands, so a running total helps.
- Two to four players. Four play in two partnerships, sitting opposite each other. The changes for 2 and 3 players are below.
The goal
Score points by making melds — sets of three or more cards of the same rank — and growing them into seven-card canastas. A hand ends when someone goes out by getting rid of all their cards. The first player or team to reach 5,000 points wins. A game usually takes several hands.
Suits don’t matter in canasta, only ranks. There are no runs or sequences in classic canasta.
Card values and wild cards
Each card is worth points when it is melded, and costs you the same if it is still in your hand when the hand ends.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker (wild) | 50 |
| 2 (wild) and Ace | 20 |
| King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8 | 10 |
| 7, 6, 5, 4 and black 3 | 5 |
| Red 3 (bonus card) | 100 |
Wild cards: the four jokers and the eight 2s can stand in for any rank in a meld, except a meld of black 3s. Every other card is a natural card.
The deal
Players cut for the first deal and the deal then passes to the left (in a two-player game, it alternates). The dealer deals the cards face down one at a time:
| Players | Cards each |
|---|---|
| 2 players | 15 |
| 3 players | 13 |
| 4 players (2 teams) | 11 |
The rest of the cards form the stock, face down. The top card of the stock is turned face up beside it to start the discard pile.
Special upcards: if the first upcard is a joker, a 2 or a red 3, turn it sideways — the pile is now frozen — and turn up another card on top. Repeat until the upcard is an ordinary card.
Any player dealt a red 3 puts it face up on the table straight away and takes a replacement card from the stock. See red 3s.
Your turn
The player to the dealer’s left (in two-player canasta, the non-dealer) goes first. Each turn has three steps:
- Draw. Take the top card of the stock — two cards in two-player canasta — or take the whole discard pile (see taking the pile).
- Meld (optional). Lay down new melds and add cards to melds you or your partner already have.
- Discard. Put one card face up on the discard pile. This ends your turn.
Melds
A meld is three or more cards of the same rank, laid face up on the table. The rules for every meld:
- At least two natural cards.
- No more than three wild cards.
- Your side can have only one meld of each rank. Extra cards of that rank are added to it.
- Melds belong to a side, not a player: in partnerships either partner can add to them.
- Black 3s can only be melded when you go out.
Three Kings, two 9s with a wild 2, and four 7s with two wild cards.
Only one natural Queen — a meld needs at least two natural cards.
Canastas
A meld of seven or more cards is a canasta. Square it up into a pile and keep adding cards to it if you like.
- Natural canasta (no wild cards) — 500 bonus. Traditionally shown with a red card on top.
- Mixed canasta (one to three wild cards) — 300 bonus. Traditionally shown with a black card on top.
Adding a wild card to a natural canasta turns it into a mixed canasta.
The first meld
The first time your side melds in each hand, the cards you put down must add up to a minimum value. The minimum depends on your score at the start of the hand:
| Your score | First meld needs |
|---|---|
| Below 0 | 15 |
| 0 – 1,495 | 50 |
| 1,500 – 2,995 | 90 |
| 3,000 or more | 120 |
You may put down several melds in the same turn to reach the minimum. Only the card values count — bonuses for red 3s or canastas don’t. If you take the discard pile to make your first meld, the top card counts, but the rest of the pile doesn’t.
Three Jacks are only 30 — not enough on their own.
Three Jacks (30) plus 7, 7 and a joker (5 + 5 + 50) = 90. Enough to meld.
Taking the discard pile
Instead of drawing from the stock you can take the whole discard pile — often the best move in the game. To take it you must use the top card straight away in a meld, together with cards from your hand:
- with a natural pair of the same rank, or
- with one natural card and one wild card, or
- by adding it to a meld your side already has.
Show the cards, meld them with the top card, then take the rest of the pile into your hand. You may then make any other melds and discard as normal.
You hold two 9s and the top card is a 9. Meld the three 9s and take the rest of the pile.
The frozen pile
Sometimes the pile is frozen. A frozen pile can only be taken with a natural pair matching the top card — no wild cards, and not by adding to an existing meld. The pile is frozen:
- when it contains a wild card (a wild discard is placed sideways to show this) or a red 3 turned up at the start;
- for a side that has not yet made its first meld.
A frozen pile unfreezes once someone takes it.
You can never take the pile when the top card is a wild card or a black 3.
Red 3s and black 3s
Red 3s
Red 3s are bonus cards and are never held in your hand. Whenever you are dealt or draw a red 3, put it face up in front of you and draw a replacement from the stock. (A red 3 picked up with the discard pile is laid out too, but without a replacement.)
Each red 3 is worth 100 points, and all four together are worth 800. But if your side hasn’t melded anything by the end of the hand, they count against you.
Black 3s
Discarding a black 3 blocks the pile: the next player cannot take it. That makes black 3s safe discards. You can only meld black 3s — three or four of them, with no wild cards — in the turn you go out.
Going out
You go out by melding all your cards, or by melding all but one and discarding the last. Before you can go out your side needs at least one canasta (two in two-player canasta). Going out ends the hand and earns a 100 bonus.
- In partnerships you may ask your partner “May I go out?” before melding. If you ask, you must follow their answer.
- Going out concealed means melding your whole hand in one turn, including a canasta, without having melded before. It scores 200 instead of 100.
- If you can’t go out yet, you must keep at least one card to discard.
When the stock runs out
If a player draws the last card of the stock and it is a red 3, the hand ends at once. Otherwise play carries on with no stock: each player in turn may take the discard pile if they can meld its top card, and must take it if the top card matches one of their side’s melds and the pile isn’t frozen. The hand ends as soon as a player can’t, or chooses not to, take the pile. No one gets the going-out bonus.
Scoring a hand
When the hand ends, each side adds up the following. (Keep the printable canasta scoring cheat sheet handy at the table.)
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Each natural canasta | 500 |
| Each mixed canasta | 300 |
| Each red 3 (all four: 800) | 100 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | 200 |
| Every card in your melds | its value |
| Every card left in your hand | minus its value |
Player A goes out. They have a natural canasta of Kings, a mixed canasta of 7s with two wild 2s, three Aces and one red 3.
- Cards in melds: Kings 70 + 7s and 2s 65 + Aces 60 = 195
- Canastas: 500 + 300 = 800
- Red 3: 100 · Going out: 100
Player A scores 1,195.
Player B has melded four 8s with a joker and three 5s, has two red 3s, and is caught holding a Queen, a 9 and a 2.
- Cards in melds: 8s and joker 90 + 5s 15 = 105
- Red 3s: 200
- Cards in hand: −10 −10 −20 = −40
Player B scores 265.
Canasta for 2, 3 and 4 players
| 2 players | 3 players | 4 players | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | Each for themselves | Each for themselves | Two partnerships |
| Cards dealt | 15 | 13 | 11 |
| Draw from stock | 2 cards, discard 1 | 1 card | 1 card |
| Canastas to go out | 2 | 1 (some play 2) | 1 |
All other rules — melds, wild cards, 3s, the frozen pile and scoring — are the same. Playing with partners? See how to play canasta with 4 players.
Want to try it now? Play two-player canasta online free against the computer. The game checks every meld and keeps the score for you, so it’s an easy way to learn.
Canasta rules questions
What is canasta?
Canasta is a rummy-style card game from Uruguay and Argentina, played with two decks and four jokers. Players make melds of three or more cards of the same rank and build them into seven-card canastas. The first player or team to 5,000 points wins.
How many cards do you deal in canasta?
With 2 players each player gets 15 cards, with 3 players 13 cards each, and with 4 players (two partnerships) 11 cards each.
How do you play canasta with 2 players?
Each player is dealt 15 cards, draws two cards from the stock each turn but discards only one, and needs two canastas before going out. Everything else is the same as the four-player game.
Which cards are wild in canasta?
The four jokers and all eight 2s are wild. A meld must have at least two natural cards and can hold no more than three wild cards.
What does a frozen pile mean in canasta?
A frozen discard pile can only be taken with a natural pair that matches the top card. The pile is frozen when it contains a wild card or red 3, and it is always frozen for a side that has not yet made its first meld.
How much do you need for your first meld?
It depends on your score: 15 points if your score is below zero, 50 points from 0 to 1,495, 90 points from 1,500 to 2,995 and 120 points from 3,000 upward.
What happens to red 3s in canasta?
Red 3s are bonus cards. Put them face up as soon as you get one and draw a replacement. Each is worth 100 points, or 800 for all four, but they count against you if your side has not melded by the end of the hand.
Can you go out without a canasta?
No. You need at least one canasta to go out in the four-player game, and two canastas in two-player canasta.
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