Canasta Rules
Canasta is a rummy-style card game for partners, usually four players in two teams, played with two 52-card decks plus four jokers (108 cards in the classic game). You build melds - three or more cards of the same rank - and work them up into a canasta, a meld of seven or more cards. A canasta with no wild cards is natural and scores highest; one that leans on wild cards is mixed. Jokers and twos are the wild cards that stand in for any rank, while red threes are bonus cards laid aside for extra points. Each turn you draw a card (or scoop up the whole discard pile), meld if you can, and discard, racing your opponents to complete a canasta and go out.
This page gathers the rules for every version of Canasta on Canasta.now. Each section covers the goal, how a turn works, and the details that trip up new players, with a link to jump straight into a game. Sides play to a target score - 5,000 points in Classic Canasta, higher in the South American variants - so a match can run several hands. New to the game? Start with Classic Canasta, the two-deck original everyone means when they say "Canasta", or try Two-Handed Canasta if you only have one opponent.
💡 New to Canasta? Every version below shares the same heart - meld matching cards, build canastas, then go out. Learn Classic Canasta first and the rest follow quickly.
Every Canasta variant at a glance
Compare the whole family first, then jump to the full rules for any game below.
| Game | Players | Decks | Difficulty | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | 4 | 2 | Easy to learn, deep to master | First side to 5,000 points |
| Two-Handed | 2 | 2 | Quick to learn | First player to 5,000 points (draw two, two canastas to go out) |
| Hand and Foot | 4 | 5 | Long and social | Most points after four rounds |
| Pennies | 4 | 5 | Marathon partnership | Most points after the final round |
| Samba | 4 | 3 | Intricate | First side to 10,000 points |
| Bolivia | 4 | 3 | Hard | First side to 15,000 points |
| Brazilian | 4 | 2 | Demanding | First side to 10,000 points |
| Uruguay | 4 | 2 | Very hard | First side to 15,000 points |
| American | 4 | 2 | Strategic | First side to 8,500 points |
| Cuban | 4 | 2 | Punishing | First side to 7,500 points |
| Italian | 4 | 2 | Complex | First side to 12,000 points |
Classic Canasta
Classic Canasta
4 players · 2 decks · Easy to learn, deep to master · First side to 5,000 points
Classic Canasta is the original two-deck partnership game that swept the world in the early 1950s, and it is the version most people mean when they simply say Canasta. Four players sit in two fixed partnerships, drawing from a shared stock or scooping up the discard pile, then building melds of matching ranks until a partnership completes a canasta of seven cards. Red threes sit aside as bonuses, wild jokers and twos flesh out weaker melds, and black threes lurk as tiny roadblocks on the discard pile. What keeps Classic Canasta endlessly replayable is the tension between speed and patience: rush to go out and you leave points on the table, but hoard cards too long and the pile grows into a prize your opponents may snatch first. Managing the minimum-meld requirement, freezing the pile at the right moment, and timing the close are the skills that separate a casual player from a partnership that reaches 5,000 first.
Goal
Team up with your partner to build melds of matching cards into canastas of seven, then go out before the opponents, racing across several hands toward the winning total of 5,000 points.
The deal
Two full decks plus four jokers are shuffled together and each player receives eleven cards, with one card turned up to start the discard pile and the rest set aside as the face-down stock.
Melding
On your turn draw a card, then lay down melds of three or more cards of the same rank, using at most three wild cards per meld and always keeping at least two natural cards in it.
Canastas
Grow any meld to seven or more cards to complete a canasta, scoring 500 for a clean one made without wilds and 300 for a mixed one that contains a joker or a two.
Taking the discard pile
Instead of drawing you may take the whole discard pile when its top card matches a meld you hold or pairs with two natural cards in your hand, a powerful swing that can hand you dozens of cards at once.
Two-Handed Canasta
2 players · 2 decks · Quick to learn · First player to 5,000 points (draw two, two canastas to go out)
Two-Handed Canasta strips the classic partnership game down to a duel. Each player is dealt fifteen cards, draws two cards from the stock every turn instead of one, and keeps every red three drawn as a personal bonus. Because there is no partner to cover for you, every decision is yours alone: when to freeze the pile, when to open your melds, and when to gamble on capturing the growing discard heap. The extra draw speeds the game and swells your hand, so the pile fattens quickly and the swings are dramatic. Going out is deliberately harder here, requiring two completed canastas rather than one, which stretches the hand and rewards patient collectors over hasty closers. The result is a tense, information-rich contest where you can often deduce your opponent's plans from their discards. Many players consider two-handed the sharpest way to learn Canasta, because you feel the full weight of the discard pile and the minimum-meld ladder without a partner to lean on.
Goal
Outscore your single opponent by melding matching cards into canastas of seven and going out first, playing hand after hand until one player reaches 5,000 points.
The deal
Shuffle two decks with their four jokers and deal fifteen cards to each player; turn one card up to begin the discard pile and place the remaining cards face down as the stock.
Drawing
On your turn draw the top two cards of the stock rather than one, which fills your hand faster and makes the discard pile grow quickly throughout the game before you discard a single card.
Canastas
Build any meld to seven or more cards to score a canasta, 500 for a clean one with no wild cards and 300 for a mixed one, and remember you need two of them before you can finish.
Going out
Play or discard your final card to go out, but only once you have completed two canastas; closing earns a 100-point bonus, or 200 if you concealed your entire hand until that turn.
Hand & Foot Canasta
Hand and Foot
4 players · 5 decks · Long and social · Most points after four rounds
Hand and Foot is a sprawling, sociable American cousin of Canasta, usually played by four people in two partnerships with about five decks shuffled together. Each player receives two piles of cards: a hand played first and a foot picked up only after the hand is emptied, which is where the game gets its name. The extra decks mean melds grow fat and canastas come thick and fast, so the emphasis shifts from scrapping over a single discard pile to steadily manufacturing clean and mixed canastas by the handful. Most rule sets ask each partnership to complete a set number of both natural and mixed canastas before anyone may go out, which keeps hands long and encourages cooperation. Played over four deals with a rising minimum-meld requirement each round, Hand and Foot is less cutthroat and more of a relaxed, chatty table game, a favorite at family gatherings and clubs. Big bonuses for canastas and red threes produce enormous scores, so a single strong round can reshape the standings entirely.
Goal
Partner with the player across from you to build clean and mixed canastas from five decks of cards, aiming to hold the highest combined score after four rounds of play.
The deal
Each player is dealt two stacks, a hand of around eleven to thirteen cards to play first and a foot of the same size set aside face down, to be picked up only after the hand has been fully played.
Melding
Draw and meld sets of three or more matching cards just as in Canasta, laying off freely onto your partnership's melds so both players build the same canastas together.
Canastas
Complete canastas of seven cards in two flavors, clean ones made entirely of natural cards and mixed ones that include wild cards, and gather the number of each your rules require before anyone can close.
Going out
Once your side has finished the required canastas and you have played through both your hand and your foot, you may go out by emptying your cards, ending the round and triggering the scoring.
Pennies from Heaven
4 players · 5 decks · Marathon partnership · Most points after the final round
Pennies from Heaven is a richer, more demanding member of the Hand and Foot family, played by four in partnerships with roughly five decks and the same hand-and-foot structure of two stacks per player. What sets it apart is the sevens. Before your side may go out, you must build a full canasta of sevens, affectionately called your pennies, alongside the usual natural and mixed canastas. Sevens therefore become precious currency: every one you draw or capture is hoarded toward that required canasta, and letting them slip away can doom a round. Wild cards are also more tightly restricted than in plain Hand and Foot, so you cannot simply paper over a shortage of naturals. Combined with the requirement to complete several different canasta types, these rules make Pennies from Heaven a long, calculating partnership marathon where planning which cards to save is as important as melding them. The name captures its spirit: the humble seven, usually a throwaway, becomes the most valuable card at the table and the key to a winning round.
Goal
With your partner, assemble the full set of canastas your rules demand, including a required canasta of sevens, and finish the game with the highest total after the final round.
The deal
Using about five decks, each player receives a hand to play first and a separate foot set aside for later, exactly as in Hand and Foot, with the extra decks ensuring plenty of every rank to work with.
Melding
Meld matching ranks as usual, but treat every seven as a card to keep, since you will need seven of them for the pennies canasta, and use wild cards sparingly under the tighter limits.
Canastas
Build the assortment your side owes, typically a natural canasta, a mixed canasta, and the special canasta of sevens, before any thought of closing the round.
Going out
Only after the pennies canasta and the other required canastas are complete, and both partners have played through their feet, may your side go out to end the round and score.
South American Canasta
Samba
4 players · 3 decks · Intricate · First side to 10,000 points
Samba is a three-deck expansion of Canasta that adds a whole new way to meld: alongside the usual sets of matching ranks, you may build sequences, runs of three or more cards in the same suit. A sequence grown to seven cards is a samba, and it scores a hefty 1,500 bonus, giving the game its name and its rhythm. With three decks in play you draw two cards each turn, discard one, and juggle sets and runs at the same time, deciding which cards serve better as matched ranks and which as links in a suited chain. Sequences cannot contain wild cards, so building a samba demands patience and clean draws, while your ordinary canastas can still be padded with jokers and twos. The larger deck also brings six red threes and a higher target of 10,000 points, stretching the game across more hands. Samba rewards players who can hold two plans in mind at once, weaving sets and sequences together while watching the fat discard pile for a chance to strike.
Goal
Team with your partner to build both matching sets and same-suit sequences into canastas and sambas, racing across several hands to be the first side to reach 10,000 points.
Drawing
Three decks are shuffled together and, as in the two-handed game, you draw the top two cards of the stock each turn before discarding one, which keeps hands full and the discard pile growing.
Melding
Lay down sets of matching ranks as in classic Canasta, but also build sequences of three or more cards of the same suit in order, such as the five, six, and seven of hearts, which may never contain wild cards.
Canastas
A set grown to seven cards is an ordinary canasta, while a same-suit sequence grown to seven cards is a samba worth a 1,500 bonus; your side needs two completed canastas or sambas to go out.
Taking the discard pile
You may take the pile when its top card completes a set you can make, but not to extend a sequence, so runs must be built patiently from cards you draw rather than captured wholesale.
Bolivia
4 players · 3 decks · Hard · First side to 15,000 points
Bolivia is one of the most elaborate three-deck Canastas, building on Samba and pushing the game further in almost every direction. As in Samba you may meld same-suit sequences, and a seven-card run is here called an escalera, worth a rich bonus. Bolivia's headline addition is the wild-card canasta, a canasta made entirely of wild cards, known as a bolivia and worth an enormous 2,500 points. Black threes also gain new life, becoming meldable during play rather than serving only as blockers, which opens fresh tactical options. To go out, a side typically must have completed both an escalera and a bolivia, or the required mix its rules specify, so hands run long and the target climbs all the way to 15,000 points. The result is a demanding, high-scoring game full of enormous swings, where a single completed wild-card canasta can rewrite the standings. Bolivia rewards players who can hoard wild cards toward that huge bonus while still juggling sets and suited runs, making it a favorite of enthusiasts who have outgrown the gentler variants.
Goal
Partner up to build sets, suited sequences, and wild-card canastas, aiming to complete the melds your rules require and be the first side to reach a lofty 15,000 points.
The deal
Three full decks with their six jokers are shuffled together and each player is dealt a hand, with the remaining cards forming the stock and one card turned up to begin the discard pile.
Melding
Meld matching sets and same-suit sequences of three or more cards, where a completed seven-card run is called an escalera, and take advantage of black threes, which Bolivia lets you meld during play.
Wild cards
Collect jokers and twos not only to pad mixed sets but to build a bolivia, a canasta made entirely of wild cards that scores a huge 2,500-point bonus and is central to winning the game.
Canastas
Finish canastas of seven cards in several forms, natural sets, escaleras, and wild-card bolivias, and complete the particular combination your rules demand, usually including a bolivia, before your side can go out.
Brazilian Canasta
4 players · 2 decks · Demanding · First side to 10,000 points
Brazilian Canasta is a demanding two-deck game that layers a strict, score-linked structure over the familiar melds. Like the three-deck South American games it allows same-suit sequences as well as matched sets, and a seven-card run scores a large bonus, but its defining feature is the way the rules tighten as your team climbs toward the 10,000-point target. The minimum opening meld rises through several steps as your score grows, and at the highest brackets you face extra demands, such as needing a completed canasta or a sequence before you may go out. Just as sharp are the penalties: a side that fails to build a canasta by the end of a hand loses points rather than merely missing a bonus, so falling behind can compound quickly. This mix of escalating requirements and real punishment for stalling makes Brazilian Canasta a tense, calculating game where the scoreboard itself changes how you must play. It rewards players who read the brackets carefully and pace their melding to stay ahead of the tightening rules.
Goal
Partner with the player opposite you to build sets and suited sequences into canastas while meeting minimum-meld demands that grow with your score, racing to be first to 10,000 points.
Melding
Draw and lay down matched sets and same-suit sequences of three or more cards, but check the scoreboard first, because the point total your opening meld must reach rises through several brackets as your team advances.
Canastas
Complete canastas of seven cards, whether natural sets, mixed sets, or suited sequences, and be sure to finish at least one, since ending a hand without a canasta carries a stiff penalty rather than a mere lost bonus.
Scoring
Add canasta and red-three bonuses to your melded card points and subtract the cards left in hand, then apply the penalties for any hand your side ends without the required canasta.
Taking the discard pile
Capture the pile when its top card matches a set you can make with a natural pair or an existing meld, a valuable swing in a two-deck game where the pile can hold the cards you need to clear a high minimum.
Uruguay
4 players · 2 decks · Very hard · First side to 15,000 points
Uruguay is among the toughest and most volatile Canastas, closely related to Bolivia but sharpened for players who crave enormous swings. Played to a lofty 15,000-point target, it revolves around the wild-card canasta, a canasta built entirely from jokers and twos, which here scores even more than it does in Bolivia. That single meld can be worth a fortune, so whole hands are organized around gathering wild cards toward it, often at the cost of everything else. Because completing such a canasta is usually required to go out, and because being caught with wild cards in hand or an unfinished wild canasta is so costly, the fortunes of a hand can reverse in an instant. Named, like several of its siblings, for a South American nation, Uruguay demands nerve as much as calculation: you must commit to hoarding wilds while your opponents do the same, then time your finish before the scoring turns against you. It is a game of feast or famine, prized by experienced players who relish its brutal, high-stakes character.
Goal
Team up to build canastas, above all a canasta of wild cards, and be the first side to reach 15,000 points, usually needing that wild-card canasta finished before you may go out.
Melding
Draw and meld matched sets and, in most rule sets, same-suit sequences, laying down the point count your rising minimum meld demands before you can open in a hand.
Wild cards
Gather jokers and twos toward a wild-card canasta that scores an especially large bonus here, but guard them closely, because wilds stranded in your hand at the end of a hand are heavily penalized.
Canastas
Complete canastas of seven cards in their various forms, and finish the wild-card canasta your rules usually require to go out, the single meld around which most of the hand revolves.
Scoring
Tally the outsized bonuses for wild-card and other canastas together with red threes, then subtract the value of cards still in hand, producing the huge positive and negative swings the game is known for.
Modern Canasta
Modern American Canasta
4 players · 2 decks · Strategic · First side to 8,500 points
Modern American Canasta is the tournament-refined version of the game as it is played in clubs across North America today. It keeps two decks and four players in partnerships but tightens the classic rules into a sharp, calculating contest. The discard pile is effectively frozen to you until your side has melded, and taking it always requires a natural pair from your hand, which shifts the game away from luck and toward planning. To go out you must have completed the right mix of canastas, typically a natural and a mixed one, so a hasty close is rarely possible. The most striking additions are the special hands: assemble a particular pattern, such as a hand of pairs or an all-wild collection, and you can lay it down to go out in a single turn for a large bonus, a dramatic surprise that keeps opponents honest. With a target of 8,500 points and wild-card canastas worth chasing, the modern game rewards deep planning, disciplined melding, and a keen sense of when to spring a special hand.
Goal
Partner up to build the required mix of canastas, usually a natural and a mixed one, and go out first, or spring a special one-turn hand, on the way to 8,500 points.
Taking the discard pile
The pile is frozen to your side until you have melded, and even then you may take it only by holding a natural pair matching its top card, so captures must be planned rather than seized on luck.
Melding
Draw one card, then lay down matched sets that meet your score-based minimum, building toward the specific canastas your side needs, since a loose meld now can leave you unable to close later.
Canastas
Complete the canastas your rules require to go out, most often at least one clean natural canasta and one mixed canasta, and note that wild-card canastas are also allowed and richly rewarded.
Wild cards
Use jokers and twos to build mixed and wild-card canastas, and watch for special hands, particular patterns such as sets of pairs or all wild cards, that let you go out in one turn for a big bonus.
Cuban Canasta
4 players · 2 decks · Punishing · First side to 7,500 points
Cuban Canasta is a stern, calculating two-deck game that strips away much of the friendliness of the classic version. From the very first turn the discard pile is frozen, so you can only ever take it by holding a matching natural pair, which makes captures rare and hard-won. You may not lay off cards onto your partner's melds, so each player must build largely alone, and the cooperative rescue that softens other partnership games is gone. Red threes turn dangerous too: if your side has no completed canasta, they count against you rather than for you, so a slow start can pile up penalties. Wild-card canastas are permitted and richly rewarded, giving disciplined hoarders a powerful target, and special bonuses reward canastas of particular ranks. With a modest 7,500-point goal, Cuban Canasta packs its punishment into fewer hands, so a single bad round can be decisive. It is a game for players who enjoy a tight, unforgiving contest where every discard is a risk and nothing comes easily.
Goal
Team up to build canastas from a frozen pile and cautious melding, avoiding the game's many penalties, and race to be the first side to 7,500 points.
Taking the discard pile
The pile is frozen from the very first turn and stays that way, so you may take it only by holding two natural cards that match its top card, making every capture a planned and difficult prize.
Red threes
Red threes are set aside as usual, but here they cut both ways: they add to your score only if your side completes a canasta, and count as a penalty against you if you finish the hand without one.
Melding
Meld your own matched sets to reach the required minimum, but remember you may not lay off cards onto your partner's melds, so each of you must largely build your canastas independently.
Canastas
Complete canastas of seven cards, including permitted wild-card canastas that score a large bonus, and secure at least one before the hand ends to keep your red threes from turning into penalties.
Italian Canasta
4 players · 2 decks · Complex · First side to 12,000 points
Italian Canasta is an intricate two-deck game full of distinctive rituals that set it apart from every other variant. After the deal, a card is turned to determine how many cards are counted off the stock and buried, setting aside a hidden block that will not come into play, and the discard pile is frozen from the very beginning and stays frozen throughout. That means you can only ever take the pile with a matching natural pair, and every capture must be earned. As in the South American games you may meld same-suit sequences as well as matched sets, adding a second dimension to your building. The minimum-meld requirement is steep and climbs sharply with your score, so opening a hand can itself be a challenge. Played to a demanding 12,000-point target, Italian Canasta asks you to juggle sequences and sets, hoard natural pairs against an always-frozen pile, and navigate a rising ladder of requirements. Its layered rules make it one of the more complex and rewarding Canastas for dedicated players.
Goal
Partner up to build matched sets and suited sequences into canastas against an always-frozen pile, meeting steep minimum melds on the way to 12,000 points.
The deal
After each player is dealt a hand, a turned card determines how many cards are counted off the stock and buried face down, setting aside a hidden block that stays out of play for the rest of the hand.
Taking the discard pile
The pile is frozen from the very first turn and remains frozen throughout, so the only way to take it is to hold two natural cards matching its top card, making every capture a deliberate, hard-won prize.
Melding
Lay down matched sets and same-suit sequences of three or more cards, but be ready for a steep opening minimum that rises sharply with your score, so your first meld of a hand often requires a strong, well-planned lay-down.
Canastas
Complete canastas of seven cards as sets or as suited sequences, gathering the melds your rules require before your side can go out and claim the hand.
Terms every Canasta player should know
Meld
Three or more cards of the same rank laid face up on the table. A meld may include wild cards, but it must hold at least two natural cards and, in the classic game, no more than three wilds. Melds belong to the whole partnership.
Canasta
A meld grown to seven or more cards. A natural (clean) canasta has no wild cards and scores 500; a mixed (dirty) canasta includes one to three wilds and scores 300. Your side needs at least one canasta before it can go out.
Wild card
Jokers (worth 50) and twos (worth 20) are wild. They can substitute for any rank to help complete a meld, but too many wilds turn a canasta from natural into mixed and lower its score, so they are used with care.
Red three
The red 3s are bonus cards. Draw one and you set it aside face up, then draw a replacement. Each is worth 100 points (800 for all four), but they count against a side that never completes a canasta.
Freezing the pile
The discard pile is frozen when a wild card or a red three is discarded onto it. While frozen, the only way to take the pile is to hold two natural cards in hand that match its top card, which makes the pile much harder to claim.
Going out
Emptying your hand to end the hand, usually by melding and laying off and then making a final discard. Your side must already have a completed canasta. Going out concealed, melding everything in one turn, earns a bigger bonus.
Ready to put the rules to work? Play today's Daily Challenge, team up in Multiplayer, or browse the FAQ for common questions about Canasta.
Canasta rules FAQ
What is a canasta in the card game Canasta?
A canasta is a single meld of seven or more cards of the same rank. A clean (natural) canasta contains no wild cards and scores 500 points; a dirty (mixed) canasta uses one to three wild cards and scores 300. Completing at least one canasta is what earns your side the right to go out, so most of the game is spent turning ordinary melds into full canastas.
How many decks do you need to play Canasta?
Classic Canasta is played with two 52-card decks shuffled together with all four jokers, giving 108 cards for a four-player partnership game. Bigger variants use more: Samba and Bolivia use three decks, while Hand and Foot uses five or six so each player can hold two separate sets of cards at once.
What are red threes worth in Canasta?
Red threes are bonus cards, not normal melding cards. Whenever you draw one you lay it face up in front of you and draw a replacement. Each red three is worth 100 points and holding all four is worth 800. The catch is that if your side has not completed a canasta by the end of the hand, those same red threes are subtracted instead of added.
How do you go out in Canasta?
To go out you get rid of every card in your hand, normally by melding and laying off and then discarding your final card. Your partnership must have finished at least one canasta first (two in some variants) before it is allowed to go out. Melding your entire hand in a single turn without having melded before is called going out concealed and pays a larger bonus.
Is Canasta hard to learn?
Classic Canasta is easy to pick up and deep to master. Each turn follows a simple pattern: draw a card, meld or lay off if you can, then discard. The real skill lies in deciding when to scoop up the whole discard pile, when to freeze it against your opponents, and which cards to keep back, so beginners can play a good game on day one while experts keep refining their timing.
Want more answers? See the full Canasta FAQ or look up any term in the glossary.