Canasta

Canasta (Spanish for “basket”) originated in South America. Some 50 years ago it was the most popular card game in the United States, from whence it spread to Europe and became something of a craze before going into decline. Its detractors claim it is over elaborate, but it retains the loyalty of a widespread band of enthusiasts.

Requirements/Statistics

-Cards: two standard packs plus four jokers well shuffled. Jokes and deuces are wild. Red 3s are bonus cards and are not used in the play. All other cards are called “naturals”.

-Ranking: for cutting the pack only, the cards rank Ace (high) down to deuce (low), and the suits spades (high), hearts, diamonds, clubs (low). Jokers rate zero. In play, ranks are irrelevant buy have values for scoring purposes.

-Deal: partners, who have been decided by cutting or other convenient means, sit opposite each other. Each player receives 11 cards singly, face down. The remainder forms the stockpile, which is placed face up beside the stock. If the turn-up is a red 3 or a wild card the next card is turned over to cover it, and again is necessary, until the turn-up is natural.

Object of the game

To score points by declaring and building on melds of three or more cards of the same rank; and to earn bonuses, especially by forming canastas (melds of seven cards or more).

Play

Eldest starts and first places any red 3(s) held face up on the table, replenishing his hand with the same number of cards from the top of the stockpile. He then draws a card from stock. If it is a red 3, this is at once laid face up on the table and another card is drawn to replace it. Eldest then declares any melds, provided that the point count of the cards is melded add up to the minimum requirement (see table below), by placing them face up on the table. More than one meld can be declared on a turn. No meld may contain more wild cards than naturals. Black 3s, exceptionally, may not be melded until play ends (see below). Declaring melds are always optional, and a player with two melds in hand could elect, for example, to declare only one of them.

Instead of drawing from stock, Eldest could have taken the up pile, known as the “pack” or “pot”, provided that the top card could be melded with two natural cards from hand and provided that the minimum point requirement for the initial meld was met. Notice that the entire discard pile is taken, not just the top card. Thus Eldest might, in melding the top card, have acquired red 3(s) and/or wild card(s). Any red 3 is at once placed face up on the table but, because the card was from the pack and not from the stock, no replacement card is drawn. Now Eldest discards by taking a card from hand and placing it face up on the pack (or beside the stock if the pack has been taken).

The other players in turn follow much the same procedure, in sequence:

(1) On the first round only, declaring and replacing any red 3s; (2) Drawing a card from stock (declaring and replacing it if a red 3) or taking the pack; (3) declaring any melds if desired and/or adding matching cards or wild cards to the partnership’s declared melds; and (4) discarding.

Once one player of a partnership has declared a meld or melds meeting the minimum point requirement, the other player is free to (1) put down any meld; (2) take the pack by matching the top (natural) card with two natural cards of the same rank or one natural card and a wild; and (3) add a card or cards of matching rank(s), and/or wild cards, to partner’s meld(s). The melds of a partnership are kept together, either player being free to add further cards to the exposed melds provided that at no time does a meld contain more wild than natural cards.

When a canasta is formed, it is squared up. A red card is then turned over on top if it is a natural canasta (no wild cards), and a black card if it is a mixed canasta (includes one or more wild cards). There is no restriction on the number of wild cards that can be added to a canasta; but if a wild card is added to a natural canasta. No card forming part of a meld can be picked up subsequently or diverted to any other purpose. The pack – but never just the top card – may be taken at any time, either to form a meld or in order to add the top card to an existing meld of the partnership, unless the pack is frozen when certain conditions apply.

The pack is frozen when (1) it contains a red 3 or wild card (which could have been discarded to it, when it is normally placed sideways at the bottom of the pack); or (2) the top card is a black 3. A frozen pack may be taken only if the player matches the up card with two natural cards of the same rank, and, in the case of black 3s, only to go out. If a player discards a black 3, the next player may not go out on that turn, even though he is holding a pair of black 3s. That player’s discard will unfreeze the pack unless it is another black 3 or wild card.

The hand ends either when the pack is exhausted or when one player goes out (has no cards left). A player may not go out unless the partnership has at least one canasta; and when he is going out he may – but does not have to – discard. It is etiquette for a player to ask partner’s permission before going out, the response being blinding.

A player may go out “blind”; that is, placing the whole hand on the table without having previously melded or laid off cards on partner’s melds. The hand must include a canasta and cards cannot be laid on partner’s melds. This earns double bonus.

Scoring

This takes place at the end of the hand. Each declared meld is scored by adding up the points of the cards it contains; thus a meld of a 7 of diamonds, 7 of diamonds, 2 of spades, joker is valued at 80 points, and 3 of clubs, 3 of clubs and 3 of spades is valued at 15 points. Bonuses are added.

Players, including the partner of the player going out, are penalised for cards held in hand according to this same scale. Thus a player holding a mixed canasta in the hope of going out concealed will attract a penalty of 300 points in addition to the card count. If a partnership has failed to declare a meld it is also penalised for any red 3s declared. This system can result in a partnership having a negative score.

The game ends when one partnership reaches or passes 5000 points when the settlement, if any, is made on the difference between the two totals.

Table 2 Canasta: Point values of cards

Bonuses