Canasta (; Spanish for "basket") is a card game of the rummy family of games believed to be a variant of 500 rum. Although many variations exist for two, three, five or six players, it is most commonly played by four in two partnerships with two standard decks of cards. Players attempt to make melds of seven cards of the same rank and "go out" by playing all cards in their hands.

History

The game of Canasta was devised by attorney Segundo Sánchez Santos and his Bridge partner, architect Alberto Serrato in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1939, in an attempt to design a time-efficient game that was as engaging as Bridge. They tried different formulas before inviting Arturo Gómez Hartley and Ricardo Sanguinetti to test their game.

After a positive reception of Canasta at their local bridge club, the Jockey Club, in the 1940s the game quickly spread north throughout South America in myriad variations to Chile, Peru, Brazil and Argentina, It was introduced to the United States in 1949 by Josefina Artayeta de Viel (New York), where it was then referred to as the Argentine Rummy game by Ottilie H. Reilly in 1949 and Michael Scully of Coronet magazine in 1953. In 1949/51 the New York Regency Club wrote the Official Canasta Laws, which were published together with game experts from South America by the National Canasta Laws Commissions of the US and Argentina.

Canasta became rapidly popular in the United States in the 1950s with many card sets, card trays and books being produced. Interest in the game began to wane there during the 1960s, but the game still enjoys some popularity today, with Canasta leagues and clubs still existing in several parts of the United States.

The name canasta likely is named for the tray (basket) originally placed in the center of the table for the stack of undealt cards and discards. Santos and Serrato never patented the game rules, and thus never received royalties from the later Canasta boom.

Canasta is <!--the only partnership member of the family of Rummy games to achieve the status of a classic; and it is -->"the most recent card game to have achieved worldwide status as a classic".

Rules for classic Canasta

Cards and deal

The classic game is for four players in two partnerships of two. Variations exist for two and three player games wherein each plays alone, and also for a six-player game in two partnerships of three. If partners are chosen, they must sit opposite each other. Canasta usually uses two complete decks of 52 French-suited playing cards with two or three Jokers per deck, making a total of 108 or 110 cards. (The number of Jokers varies depending on the deck.)

{| class=wikitable

|+ Card functions

|-----

! Card !! align="right" | Value

|-----

| 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A || align="right" | Natural melding cards

|-----

| Deuce (2), Joker || align="right" | Wild melding cards

|-----

| Red Trey (3) || align="right" | Bonus points

|-----

| Black Trey (3) || align="right" | Safe discard (may be melded when going out)

|}

The initial dealer is chosen by any common method, although in Canasta there is no privilege or advantage to being the dealer. The deal then rotates clockwise after every hand. The dealer shuffles the pack, the player to the dealer's right cuts, and the dealer deals out a hand of 11 cards to each player. The remaining cards are left in a stack in the center of the table. One card is taken from the top of the stack and placed face up to start the discard pile. If that card is wild or a red three, the card is rotated 90 degrees and another card is turned and placed on top of it.

When considering going out, a player may ask the partner for permission to go out. It is not required to ask partner's permission, but if done the player must abide by the partner's answer. If the partner refuses permission, the player may not go out this turn. If the partner responds "yes", the player must go out this turn.

If a player melds the whole hand in one turn (including at least one canasta) without previously melding, they earn an extra 100 points for going out concealed, making it 200 points. To earn the bonus, a player cannot add cards to the partner's melds. It is allowed to go out concealed while picking up the discard pile. The relevant initial meld requirement must be met.

A hand can also be ended by exhausting the stock. Play can continue with no stock as long as players are able take the previous player's discard and meld it. In such a situation a player must take the discard if able to do so. As soon as a player cannot legally take the card, the hand ends. If a player draws a red three as the last card from the stock, it is counted towards that player's score, but the hand ends immediately since there is no replacement card to be taken. The player is not allowed to meld nor discard after picking up the red three in this case.

Scoring

At the end of each hand, the score for each team is calculated as follows:

The total value of all cards melded by that player/team, including cards in canastas minus the total value of all cards remaining in the player's/team's hands, plus any bonuses:

{| class=wikitable

|+

|-----

! Card !! align="right" | Value counted against if in hand at end of game

|-----

| Red 3 || align="right" | 500

|-----

| Black 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 || align="right" | 5

|-----

| 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K || align="right" | 10

|-----

| 2, A || align="right" | 20

|-----

| Joker || align="right" | 50

|}

{| class=wikitable

|+ Bonus points

|-----

! Bonus !! align="right" | Value

|-----

| For going out || align="right" | 100

|-----

| For going out concealed || align="right" | an extra 100 (200 total for going out)

|-----

| For each mixed canasta || align="right" | 300

|-----

| For each natural canasta || align="right" | 500

|-----

| For red threes || align="right" | 100 points each (200 points each if you have all four )

|-----

|}

Penalties

If a player/team has collected red threes, but has not yet made the initial melds when the opposition goes out, then the bonus value of red threes counts against them (it is subtracted from the score along with the rest of the cards in their hands). If they collected all four red threes, 800 points are deducted from their score. Play is to 15,000. Wild card canastas (bolivias) count 2,500. A side must have a samba (called escalera in this game) and at least one other canasta to go out. Red threes only count positive if two or more canastas have been melded. Black threes are negative 100 instead of negative 5 when left in hand.

Brazilian Canasta

Similar to Bolivia, but only to 10,000. The minimum meld requirements are 150 from 5,000 to 7,000; a canasta from 7,000 to 8,000; 200 from 8,000 to 9,000; and a natural canasta from 9,000 up. Wild card canastas count 2,000. Partnerships receive 1,000 for five red threes and 1,200 for all six. If a side has a sequence of five cards or less, it loses 1,000.

British Canasta

Similar to the original rules but with the important addition of 'Acaba' (Spanish for 'The End'). A player may say this at any point during their turn and will immediately forfeit the round awarding the opposing player or team 1,500 points and receiving 0 points, ending the very dull phase where one player or team has total control over the discard deck. When playing in teams a player may ask their teammate for permission to say acaba just as they may ask before going out and they will also be bound by the response in the same way.

Chilean Canasta

Allows both sambas and bolivias. Can be played with either three decks (162 cards) or four decks (216 cards).

Cuban Canasta

A two-deck variant to 7,500. Requires 150 for an initial meld if a partnership is over 5,000. The deck is always frozen. Wild card canastas are worth between 2,000 and 4,000; depending on the number of deuces. Threes are scored only if canastas are made; they count 100 for one, 300 for two, 500 for three and 1,000 for four. Black threes are removed from play if a discard pile is taken; a partnership that removes all four black threes this way gets 100 points.

Italian Canasta

Italian canasta is a Samba variant. The number of cards in the discard pile at the beginning of the game varies with the initial card turned up. The discard pile is always frozen. Deuces may, but a partnership may not play deuces as wild cards if deuces have been melded and a canasta is incomplete. Game is to 15,000

Uruguayan Canasta

It is exactly like the original canasta, in its original version.

Boat Canasta

This variation originates in Slovakia. Since the definition of Canasta rules differed from player to player a strong urge has risen for unified rules. This in turn was satisfied by the creation of Boat Canasta, which really is a mix of other known rules, but thoroughly optimized. Currently this variant of Canasta is steadily gaining popularity mainly in Slovakia, but also in countries such as France, Germany and England.

Hand and Foot Canasta

This version is a quad deck game that is played with a hand and a foot, unlike traditional canasta that just has a hand. Hand and Foot is a Canasta variant involving four to seven decks and is played by teams of two players (usually two teams, but it also works with three or four teams). The number of decks used is typically one more than the number of players, though this can vary. Due to the larger pool of available cards, it is much easier to form canastas in Hand and Foot than in standard Canasta, which changes the strategy considerably. Some players feel this version is more enjoyable for beginners. The variant was born in the 1970s; commercial decks to play Hand and Foot have been available since 1987. Important rule changes for this variant include:

  • Each player is dealt two piles of 11 cards, which will be referred to as the "hand" and the "foot". The hand is picked up normally, while the foot remains face down until the hand is exhausted.
  • A player who melds all cards from the original hand picks up the foot as a new hand and continues playing. A player who exhausts the original hand by discarding picks up the foot as a new hand, but does not play from it until the next turn.
  • On each turn, players draw two cards from the stock. Each player discards one card on each turn.
  • The number of canastas required to go out are three red (natural or clean, i.e. no wild cards) and four black (mixed or dirty, i.e. with wild cards) canastas. When playing a singles game (that is, without partners), the requirement is one red canasta and two black canastas.
  • Discards may be picked up with a natural pair, but a player must take the top five cards from the discard pile.
  • Threes may not be melded; so, since the only way to get rid of them is by discarding them one at a time, the number of threes in a player's hand represents a minimum number of turns before a player could possibly go out.
  • Black threes (in a player's hand or foot) score five points, red threes are scored as negative 300 points.

Initial melds

At the beginning of a game, both teams have an initial meld requirement of 50. The requirement increases in value in subsequent hands.

{| class="wikitable"

|-----

! Hand !! align="right" | Minimum initial meld

|-----

| 1st hand || align="right" | 50

|-----

| 2nd hand || align="right" | 90

|-----

| 3rd hand || align="right" | 120

|-----

| 4th hand || align="right" | 150

|}

  • Rules for going out are:
  • A player must have a minimum of three red (no wild cards) and 4 black canastas.
  • A player asks their partner for permission to go out.

The scoring

At the end of each hand, the score for each team is calculated as follows:

The total value of all cards melded by that player/team, including cards in canastas minus the total value of all cards remaining in the team's hands, plus any bonuses:

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Bonus scores

|-----

| Going out || align="right" | 100

|-----

| Each mixed (black, dirty) canasta || align="right" | 300

|-----

| Each natural (red, clean) canasta || align="right" | 500

|}

Point values are:

{| class=wikitable

|+ Point values for cards in Canasta

|-----

! Card !! align="right" | Value

|-----

|-----

| 4, 5, 6, 7 || align="right" | 5

|-----

| 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K || align="right" | 10

|-----

| 2 (Wild), A || align="right" | 20

|-----

| Joker (Wild) || align="right" | 50

|}

Miscellaneous variations for Classic Canasta and other types

  • The discard pile is blocked for canastas. Only non-canasta melds can be used to pick up the discard pile.
  • The number of wildcards in a meld must always be less than the number of natural cards.
  • Card points inside canastas are counted as well as the canasta score.
  • Real jokers can not be discarded and thus can not be used to block the discard pile
  • The initial meld must be done before the discard pile can be taken, so the points of 2 natural cards together with the discard top card are not added to the initial meld requirement score.
  • There is a special case where any player/team that manages to meld 7 canastas in one hand (natural or mixed) automatically gain 5000 points and thus win the game.
  • A number of cards other than 11 may be dealt at the beginning of the game, 13 and 15 being common choices. Some groups vary the number of cards drawn inversely with the number of players.
  • To make picking up the discard pile more challenging, require that a natural pair be played on the same turn that the pile is picked up.
  • A concealed canasta occurs when a canasta is melded directly from a player's hand. Usually in also going out: going out concealed which earns an extra 100 point bonus over the standard 100 point going out bonus.
  • One variant allows melding up to three wild cards in a meld, regardless of the number of natural cards melded.
  • When the stock is depleted, consider flipping over the discard pile and turning it into a new stock to extend play.
  • Another variation is to only take 10 cards after taking the discard pile. This allows for the game to be much more balanced the further you get into a round.

See also

  • Rummy
  • Desmoche
  • Mille (card game)
  • Continental (card game)

References

Bibliography

  • Culbertson, Ely, Culbertson on Canasta: a Complete Guide for Beginners and Advanced Players With the Official Laws of Canasta, Faber 1949
  • Holmberg, H.H. and Öhrling, Erkki, Canasta, Samba ja Sitoumussamba, 1962
  • Morehead, Albert, Hoyle's Rules of Games (Third edition), Signet, 2001
  • Scarne, John, Scarne's Encyclopedia of Card Games, 2001
  • Collins, Dara and Miller-Small, Donna Modern American Canasta: The Complete Guide, Instruction for beginners and Strategies for seasoned players as well as the most commonly played rules.
  • CLA – Canasta League of America
  • How to Play Canasta—How Stuff Works