How to make a meld:Ī meld is a combination of three or more cards of the same rank.

If the player chooses to take the the top card of the discard pile to form a meld, then he is required to pick up the entirety of the discard pile. The player then has the opportunity to lay down a meld if applicable and then discard one card to the discard pile to end their turn. How to play:Ī player begins by drawing a card from the stockpile or picking up from the discard pile. A team can only receive the value of the red threes if they have made a successful meld, if game pay ends and the team has made no meld, then the red threes are debited against their score. Red threes are valued at 100 points a piece but if one team collects all four red threes then the value of the card raises to 200 points a piece. Lastly, if a player picks up the red three from the discard pile he must table the card as well but is not required to pick up a replacement for the card. If a player draws a red three from the stock pile they must also place the card face up on the table in front of them and draw another card. If a player is dealt a red three, he must place it face up on the table and replace it with another card. If the turn over card is a joker, deuce or three, another card must be turned on top of it until the upcard is a “natural” card (four or higher). The top card of the stock deck should be turned over for all players to see. The remaining cards are placed in the center of the table to serve as the stock.

The dealer then passes 11 cards face down to each player, one at a time, dealing clockwise.

The player to dealer left cuts the deck after the last shuffle. Anyone can shuffle, but the dealer has the right to shuffle last. Rotation of the deal follows clockwise and starts with the player to the right of the player that drew the highest card. If player drawsana equal card or joker, they must draw again. Partners sit across from one another. For the purpose of picking partners, card values are as such, A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 / Spades (high), hearts, diamonds, clubs.

The person with the second highest card becomes the partner of the player that drew the highest card. The player that draws the highest card gets to choose his seat and goes first. Partnerships are formed by drawing cards from the deck. Red 3 cards = 100 or 200 points Picking Partners:Ĭanasta has an interesting approach to forming partnerships. In Canasta the value of cards is as follows: NUMBER OF CARDS: Double 52-card decks plus four jokers (108 cards in total) / Specialty Canasta Deck A meld consists of three of more cards of the same rank, and jokers can be used as wild cards to help form melds. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the game is to form as many melds as possible.

American canasta rules for two players