One great thing I love about playing Canasta is that there are more advanced strategies, so you can continually improve over time if you want to, no matter how long you’ve played. Although it can seem complex on the surface, it’s a fairly simple game to learn if you follow the steps below. The rules and strategies below are based off the game as it’s primarily played in the United States, with American Canasta Rules.Ĭanasta is a great strategy game that teaches you to think a few steps ahead. There are several variations of the game that we’ve run across over the years such as Brazilian, British, Italian, Cuba, Boat, and even one called Hand and Foot Canasta. It gets its name because in the card game, you try to get a basket-full (or 7) cards of the same rank in order to obtain points for a canasta. The word Canasta means “basket” in Spanish. It was invented in Uruguay in 1939 and first spread to South America before becoming popular in the United States in the 1950s. * Fully optimised to run smoothly on your deviceĭownload Canasta for your phone and tablets today and have endless hours of fun.Canasta, the card game, is a variant of Rummy.
Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned Canasta player or giving it a go for the first time, If you like card games, you’ll love Canasta!Īnd now you can play Canasta for free whenever and wherever you wish! The side that first reaches a total of 5,000 wins a game. In the game of canasta a meld comprising seven or more cards, including at least four natural cards (called a "base"), is a canasta. A player is not permitted to go out, however, unless there's at least one canasta. If the card drawn from the stock is a red three, the player must play it immediately and draw another card.Ī player "goes out" when no cards are left after a meld or discard. A turn begins either by drawing the first card from the stock into the player's hand or by picking up the entire discard pile.
The player to the dealer's left has the first turn, and play then proceeds clockwise. The dealer shuffles the pack, the player to the dealer's right cuts, and the dealer deals out 2 hands of 11 cards to each player.The remaining cards are left in a stack in the center of the table. The initial dealer in canasta is chosen by any common method, although it should be remembered that there is no privilege or advantage to being the dealer.
Players attempt to make melds of seven cards of the same rank and "go out" by playing all cards in their hand.Ĭanasta for two players is the same as four-handed Canasta, in a two player game, each player plays for himself.Ĭanasta uses two complete decks of 52 playing cards (French Deck) plus the four Jokers. 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. (Sequences are not valid melds).Ĭanasta is a card game of the rummy family of games believed to be a variant of 500 Rum. The principal objective of canasta is to form melds - combinations of three or more cards of the same rank - with or without the help of wild cards. In fact, the accuracy of play demanded by the rules adds drama to the game. The rules are intricate but not difficult to follow.
The gameplay is fast and is full of exciting twists.
It is an exciting mix of strategy, luck and skill.Ĭanasta, and its variations, appeals to card players of all skill levels. Canasta is the most traditional and loved card game by all.