The dealer then passes 11 cards face down to each player, one at a time, dealing clockwise. The player to dealer left cuts the deck after the last shuffle. Anyone can shuffle, but the dealer has the right to shuffle last. Rotation of the deal follows clockwise and starts with the player to the right of the player that drew the highest card. If player drawsana equal card or joker, they must draw again. Partners sit across from one another. For the purpose of picking partners, card values are as such, A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 / Spades (high), hearts, diamonds, clubs. The person with the second highest card becomes the partner of the player that drew the highest card. The player that draws the highest card gets to choose his seat and goes first. Partnerships are formed by drawing cards from the deck. Red 3 cards = 100 or 200 points Picking Partners:Ĭanasta has an interesting approach to forming partnerships. In Canasta the value of cards is as follows: NUMBER OF CARDS: Double 52-card decks plus four jokers (108 cards in total) / Specialty Canasta Deck
A meld consists of three of more cards of the same rank, and jokers can be used as wild cards to help form melds. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the game is to form as many melds as possible.
