How to Play Canasta With Playing Cards
The word "canasta" comes from the Spanish word for basket, and may be used to refer to the tray used to hold the deck and discard piles. Canasta has several variations but is best played with four people in teams of two. Your main goals are to form several melds of cards before the other team does, go out before they do and earn the most points.
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Instructions
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Draw cards to determine teams, with the two highest playing against the two lowest. Jokers do not count. Partners sit across from each other.
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Begin dealing cards clockwise to the player on your left. Deal 11 cards to each player and one card in the middle to begin the discard pile, all face down. The remaining cards are placed face up next to the discard pile.
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Each player begins his turn by drawing a card from the deck or the discard pile to attempt to form a meld from his cards. You may draw from the discard pile only if you can use the card in a meld. A meld is three or more cards of the same number. Jokers (W) and 2's are wild and may be used to help produce melds, but a meld must always contain a minimum of two like cards, and no more than three wilds(7-7-2-W-2.) A natural meld contains three or more of the same card and no wilds, such as three 5's (5-5-5). You must meet minimum point values before placing your team's melds down. 4's through 7's are worth 5 points, 8's through kings are worth 10 points, aces and 2's are worth 20 points, and jokers are worth 50 points. For the first round, each team must have 50 points from their melds before laying cards down. Once they have accumulated 1,500 points, a team must have 90 points from their melds before laying them down, and after accumulating 3,000 points, a team must have at least 120 points from their melds before laying them down. You can play several melds in a single turn to reach your minimum points. If you cannot form a meld on your turn, just add the card to your hand and position it with like cards.
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Watch out for 3's. Red 3's are bonus cards; if you are dealt one, lay it down and it is counted toward your score at the end of the hand. If you draw one, lay it down to be scored at the end of the hand, and draw another card that may work into a meld. Black 3's stop the discard pile and force the next player to draw from the deck, even if she wanted the top card.
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Try to form as many canastas, a meld of seven of the same cards, as possible. Natural canastas are worth more points, but you can also form mixed canastas of number and wild cards. Mixed canastas must have at least four natural cards and no more than three wilds. The hand ends when a player plays his last card, assuming that his team has made at least one meld.
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Mixed canastas are worth 300 points each, and natural canastas 500. If your team went out, you get an extra 100 points. Each red 3 earns you an extra 100 points, and if your side has all four of them, you get 800 points. The first team that reaches 5,000 points wins the game.
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