Canasta translated from Spanish is basket. The card game originates from the country of Uruguay, in which players try to make melds of 7 cards with the same rank, and “go out” by being able to play all cards in their hand and discarding. It is usually played by four players in two partnerships using two standard decks of cards. Although, there are several variants of the game available for 2-3 player games or teams.
The game has an optimal playing size of 2 to 6 players; either each person plays alone or in partnership with another. When the partners are selected, they should be seated opposite each other. The game of Canasta needs 2 complete decks of fifty-two playing cards plus the four Jokers. The Jokers and deuces are considered wild cards.
The first dealer is selected by card drawing, with the player drawing the highest card dealing first. The dealer then rotates clockwise after every hand played. The dealer is responsible for shuffling the deck, the player to the right of the dealer cuts, and 11 cards are dealt to each player.
The remaining cards are the left in a stock in the table. The top card is then turned over to form a discard pile. If the first card is either a black three or a wild card, the discard pile is then frozen. More cards are drawn from the stock and then turned over onto the discard pile until the top card is neither a three nor a wild card.
Any player who gets a red three in their original hand must right away play it to the table team and draw a new card.
The player to the left of the dealer plays first, and then proceeds in clockwise direction. A turn starts either by getting a card from the stock or by picking up the entire discard pile. However, there are restrictions when picking up the discard pile. If the card drawn from the stock is a red three, the player must play it right away and draw another.
The player can make as many legal melds as he wish from the cards in hand. A turn ends when the player discards a card from hand to the top of the discard pile.
This version of Canasta is very popular in the United States, and was the official tournament version being used by the American Canasta Association. The American version of the Canasta can be found in some books.
Due to its relative difficulty and intolerant scoring rules, which give big penalties for several melds that would be good enough, this is not the optimal version for starting players. Classic canasta may be better for beginners.
Beginners should try to play online to get lots of experience. Besides game play is both fun and challenging when playing canasta online. You can also meet new friends by playing online, and after practicing against the computer you’ll be able to amaze your friends.
This article was written by Alexis.
Tags: canasta, Card games