How to Play Canasta

Build 7-card melds and go out first.

Also known as Basket

👥 2 or 4 players · Medium difficulty

Learn Canasta for 2 or 4 players: the deal, melds of one rank, the first-meld minimum, red threes, the frozen pile and scoring. Work through a mixed canasta, then play in your browser.

A mixed canasta, card by card

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Five nines and two wild twos make a mixed canasta: seven cards with at least two natural cards and no more than three wild. The cards count 50 + 40 = 90 points, and the mixed-canasta bonus adds 300, for 390 before your other melds, bonuses and the cards left in hand.

Canasta scoring at a glance
Item	Points
Natural canasta / mixed canasta	500 / 300
Going out	100, and your team needs a canasta first
Red threes: each / all four	100 / 800 — against you if your team has not melded
Joker / two or ace / king to eight / seven to four and black three	50 / 20 / 10 / 5
First meld of a hand, by team score	15 below 0, 50 below 1,500, 90 below 3,000, 120 from 3,000
A wild card or red three in the pile	The pile is frozen: only a natural pair from hand takes it

Each team adds its melds and bonuses and subtracts the cards left in hand. The match ends when a team reaches the target, 5,000 by default.

Practise this game in your browser

🎯 Objective

Lay down sets of three or more cards of one rank and grow them to seven — a canasta. Your team scores its melds and bonuses, less the cards left in hand, until a team reaches the target: 5,000 unless you change it at setup (1,000 to 10,000).

🃏 Canasta Setup & Rules

Two players, or four in two partnerships with partners sitting opposite. Two 52-card decks and their four jokers are shuffled together — 108 cards.
Jokers and twos are wild. Red threes are bonus cards: laid out at once and replaced from the stock. Black threes block the pile when discarded and can be melded only on the way out.
Eleven cards each with four players, fifteen with two. One card is turned up to start the discard pile — a wild card or a red three is covered until a natural card shows — and the rest is the stock. The player after the dealer goes first.

▶ How to Play Canasta

DRAW: take the top card of the stock (a red three drawn is laid out and replaced), or take the whole discard pile by melding its top card with two natural cards of the same rank from your hand — or onto a meld your team already has, while the pile is not frozen.
MELD: lay three or more cards of one rank with at least two natural cards and no more than three wild cards, or add cards to a meld your team already has. Melds belong to the partnership.
Your team's first meld of a hand must be worth 50 card points in one go: 90 once your score is 1,500 or more, 120 from 3,000, and only 15 while your score is negative. Bonuses do not count towards it.
DISCARD: end your turn by discarding one card. A wild card or a red three in the pile freezes it: from then on only a natural pair from hand can take it.
GO OUT: once your team has a canasta, melding or discarding your last card ends the hand. Black threes can be melded only then, and never with wild cards.
The hand also ends when the stock runs dry: drawing from an empty stock is how a player who will not take the pile ends it.

🎬 Watch: How to Play Canasta

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📖 Detailed Guide

Setting up your table

From the game menu choose Canasta, then pick 2 or 4 seats and fill the empty ones with AI players. Four play in two partnerships, partners sitting opposite.
Set the target score: 5,000 by default, from 1,000 to 10,000 in steps of 500. The match ends when a team's total reaches it.
Two 52-card decks and their four jokers are shuffled together. Eleven cards each with four players, fifteen with two.
One card is turned up to start the discard pile; a wild card or a red three there is covered until a natural card shows. The player after the dealer goes first.

Wild cards and threes

Jokers and twos are wild: they stand in for any rank in a meld, up to three wild cards per meld, and a meld needs at least two natural cards.
Red threes are bonus cards, not playing cards. One dealt or drawn is laid out for your team at once and replaced from the stock.
A black three discarded blocks the pile for the next player. Black threes can be melded only when going out, in a meld of their own without wild cards.
A red three or a wild card discarded freezes the pile: it stays frozen until someone takes it with a natural pair from hand.

Your turn: draw, meld, discard

Draw the top card of the stock, or take the whole discard pile. Then meld as much as you like, and end your turn by discarding one card.
A meld is three or more cards of one rank with at least two natural cards. Raise the cards and tap Meld; cards of a rank your team has already melded join that meld.
Your team's first meld of a hand must reach the minimum in a single Meld move — 50 card points, 90 from 1,500, 120 from 3,000, 15 while behind — counting card values only, not bonuses.
The two-player game draws one card a turn, as at four — not the two cards of the classic rules.

Taking the discard pile

To take the pile, meld its top card first: with two natural cards of the same rank from your hand, or — while the pile is not frozen — onto a meld your team already has. The whole pile then joins your hand.
A frozen pile can be taken only with a natural pair from hand. The classic route of one natural card plus a wild is not offered.
If your team has not melded yet, the top card and the cards you meld with it must also reach your first-meld minimum.
You cannot take a pile topped by a black three or a wild card, and the pile joins your hand before you go on melding, so it counts against going out that turn.

Going out and scoring

Your team needs a canasta — a meld of seven or more — before either partner can go out. Going out, by melding or discarding your last card, ends the hand and earns 100.
A natural canasta, with no wild card, scores 500; a mixed one 300. Melded cards count for your team at their card values, and cards left in both partners' hands count against it.
Red threes count 100 each, 800 for all four — or the same amount against your team if it has not melded by the end of the hand.
The hand also ends when the stock runs dry. The match ends when a team's total reaches the target, 5,000 by default.

📊 Canasta Scoring

Joker 50, twos and aces 20, eights to kings 10, fours to sevens and black threes 5. A natural canasta is worth 500, a mixed one 300; going out is 100. Red threes count 100 each, 800 for all four — against you if your team has not melded. Each team adds its melds and bonuses and subtracts the cards left in hand. First team to the target wins: 5,000 unless you change it at setup. No concealed-hand bonus, and no asking your partner before going out.

❓ Canasta — Frequently Asked Questions

How many players do you need for Canasta?

Canasta is played with 2 or 4 players. On Vanikar, empty seats can be filled with AI opponents so you can always start a game.

How many cards are dealt in Canasta?

Eleven cards each with four players and fifteen with two, from two 52-card decks shuffled with their four jokers — 108 cards. One card is turned up to start the discard pile and the rest is the stock.

What is the first-meld minimum in Canasta?

Your team's first meld of a hand must be worth 50 card points: 90 once your score is 1,500 or more, 120 from 3,000, and 15 while your score is negative. It has to be met in a single Meld move, and bonuses do not count.

When is the discard pile frozen in Canasta?

A wild card or a red three in the pile freezes it. A frozen pile can be taken only by melding its top card with two natural cards of the same rank from your hand.

How are red threes scored in Canasta?

Red threes count 100 each and 800 for all four. They count against your team instead if it has not melded by the end of the hand.