Basic two-player Canasta
Canasta is a card game similar to rummy, but more fun.
Canasta is played with two decks of cards shuffled together, including the Jokers.
Players are delt 15 cards each.
The goal of canasta is to have the most points possible when the round is over. The round can only end when one player "goes out" by placing the last card in his hand down and therefore not possesing any cards. A player can only "go out" after he has a minimum of one canasta on the board.
At the start of each turn, a player may either draw two cards from the deck, or as many cards as they would like from the discard pile (but he must immediately use a card from the discard pile if he picks it up).
During his turn, a player lays down tricks as he is able, in order to gain points.
At the end of each turn, players must discard one card into the discard pile. The cards in the pile should not be visible, except for the first card.
Tricks: a player gains points by placing cards down or "on the board." Cards can be placed down initially in "tricks" or sets of three
Canastas: a "red canasta" is seven cards of the same number
a "black canasta" is a canasta that includes up to three wild cards
Melding: a player must be able to "meld" a certain number before setting down any tricks. This means that before drawing new cards, a player must be able to set down the required point value in cards already in his hand.
Freezing the deck: a black 3 will "freeze the deck" if it is discarded. That means the other player cannot pick up the discard pile for one full turn. Black 3s are only good for freezing the deck. They cannot be used for anything else, including making tricks or canastas.
Red 3s: Red threes are worth a 100 point bonus. When you get a red 3, lay it down in it's own pile and immediately pick up another card to fill it's now vacated place in your hand. Red 3s cannot be used to make tricks or a canasta. If you collect all 4 in one hand, you get a 1000 point bonus!
Dealing a perfect hand: If, when it is your turn to deal, you pick up exactly 30 cards (without counting) and deal them out, 15 to each player,you get a 1000 point bonus.
Below there is a cheat-sheet for the quick rules and the point values of all the cards:
