The player to the dealer's left has the option to cut the deck. The deal then rotates clockwise.Īny person can shuffle, but the dealer has the option to shuffle last. The player who draws the second highest card sits to the right of the dealer. If more than one card is of the same rank but different suits, suits are ranked from spades (high), hearts, diamonds, to clubs (low). Redraw if the card is a joker or two players draw the exact card, such as 7. Essentially, a three-card meld can only have one wild card.ĭealing: The first dealer is the player who sits to the right of the player who draws the highest card from the deck. Jokers and deuces (2s) are wild and can be melded only with cards that are 4 or higher (called 'natural' cards). Remember to use decks that look the same on the back. The cards: Two standard 52-card decks are mixed together with four jokers, totaling 108 cards. Object: To score 5,000 points or more by melding cards and forming canastas (a meld of seven cards that is awarded extra points). Melds: A meld is a combination of cards that must consist of a minimum of three cards, all of the same rank.
Going out on a concealed hand: 200 points The initial melding requirement increases along the way Note that a three-card (or longer) meld must have at least two Each card in a meld has a point value.Ĭalculate the value of a meld, add up the point of each card in the The first player to meld for a side must table at least 50 points of meld.
