What do red threes do in Canasta?
Red threes are the lucky bonus cards of Canasta. They demand nothing from you except that you put them on the table, yet they can swing a hand by hundreds of points.
How red threes are played
The two red threes are the three of hearts and the three of diamonds, and there are four of them across the double deck. Any time one appears in your hand, at the deal or after a draw, you lay it face up in front of your side and draw a replacement card. You do not meld red threes and you never discard them; they simply sit there earning their bonus.
Their scoring power
Each red three is worth 100 points at the end of the hand. If one partnership collects all four, the value doubles to 800 points, so red threes can quietly decide a close game. If you take the whole discard pile and a red three is buried in it, you place that one face up too but do not draw a replacement for it.
The catch
Red threes only pay out if your side has melded at least one canasta by the end of the hand. If your partnership fails to build a canasta, those same red threes count against you at 100 points each. In a few variants, such as Cuban Canasta, that penalty is a constant threat, so red threes are not always the free gift they look like.
The surest way to make this stick is to play a few hands. Try Italian Canasta or Pennies from Heaven against the computer, keep the Canasta rules and glossary handy for anything unfamiliar, and browse the rest of the Canasta FAQ for more answers. When you are ready, put it to the test on the daily deal.
Related questions
What are black threes in Canasta?
Black threes are the clubs and spades threes, and they act as stop cards. Discarding a black three blocks the next player from taking the discard pile for one turn. You can only meld black threes on the turn you go out, and such a meld can never include wild cards.
How is Canasta scored?
At the end of each hand you add the point values of the cards your side melded, plus bonuses: 500 for each natural canasta, 300 for each mixed one, 100 for going out, 200 for going out concealed, and 100 per red three. You then subtract the value of cards still in hand. Games run to 5,000 points.
What are the card point values in Canasta?
Each card carries a fixed value. Jokers are 50 points. Aces and twos are 20. Kings, queens, jacks, tens, nines and eights are 10 each. Sevens, sixes, fives, fours and black threes are 5 each. Red threes are bonus cards worth 100. These values count both in melds and against cards left in hand.
What is a canasta (natural vs mixed)?
A canasta is a meld of seven or more cards of the same rank. A natural or clean canasta contains no wild cards and scores a 500-point bonus. A mixed or dirty canasta includes at least one wild card and scores 300. Your side must complete at least one canasta before anyone can go out.