Canasta scoring
Canasta Scoring Made Simple
Scoring a hand of Canasta takes only a few minutes once you know what to count. This page lists every number you need for classic partnership Canasta, then walks through a real hand from start to finish.
How a hand is scored
At the end of each hand, each team works out one number:
- Add up all your bonuses (canastas, red threes, going out).
- Add the point values of every card your team melded on the table.
- Subtract the point values of every card still in both partners' hands.
Add that number to your running total. A hand score can be negative, and so can a running total.
These are the classic (Hoyle-style) values. If you play Modern American Canasta, the bonuses and minimums are different.
Card values
The same values are used for melded cards (which count for you) and cards left in your hand (which count against you).
| Card | Points each |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| 2 (wild) | 20 |
| Ace | 20 |
| K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 | 10 |
| 7, 6, 5, 4 | 5 |
| Black 3 | 5 |
A handy way to remember it: the "high" cards (8 and up) are 10, the "low" cards (4 to 7) are 5, and aces and twos are 20.
Bonuses
| Bonus | Points |
|---|---|
| Natural canasta (no wild cards) | 500 |
| Mixed canasta (1 to 3 wild cards) | 300 |
| Each red three (team has melded) | 100 |
| All four red threes (team has melded) | 800 total |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | 200 total (100 extra) |
Only the team that goes out gets the going-out bonus. Both teams get their canasta and red three bonuses.
Canasta bonuses are paid on top of the cards' own values. A natural canasta of seven kings is worth 500 for the bonus plus 70 for the kings, so 570 in all.
Red three scoring
Red threes are laid face up as soon as you get them. How they score depends on whether your team managed to meld anything that hand.
| Red threes held by your team | Team has melded | Team has not melded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | +100 | −100 |
| 2 | +200 | −200 |
| 3 | +300 | −300 |
| All 4 | +800 | −800 |
So a red three is a reward for getting into the game, and a penalty if you never do. See red threes and black threes for more.
Going out bonuses
- Going out: 100 points. Your team needs at least one canasta first.
- Going out concealed: 200 points in total. You must meld your entire hand in one turn, including at least one canasta, without having melded anything earlier that hand.
First-meld minimums
Your team's first meld each hand must add up to a minimum card count. The minimum goes up as your score climbs, which makes it harder for a leading team to get started.
| Team score before the hand | Minimum for first meld |
|---|---|
| Below 0 | 15 |
| 0 to 1,495 | 50 |
| 1,500 to 2,995 | 90 |
| 3,000 or more | 120 |
- Only card values count toward the minimum. Bonuses do not.
- If you take the discard pile to make your first meld, the top card counts but the rest of the pile does not.
- Scores in classic Canasta always end in 0 or 5, which is why the bands end in 95.
Worked example
Team North-South has 1,620 points. Team East-West has 2,450. In this hand, South goes out by discarding her last card. She did not ask her partner and had melded earlier, so it is a normal going-out.
North-South (went out)
On the table:
- A natural canasta of seven kings
- A mixed canasta of five eights, a 2 and a joker
- A meld of three fives
- Two red threes
North still holds a 9, a 7, a 4 and a black 3. South holds nothing.
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Natural canasta bonus | 500 |
| Mixed canasta bonus | 300 |
| Two red threes | 200 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Seven kings (7 × 10) | 70 |
| Five eights, a 2 and a joker (50 + 20 + 50) | 120 |
| Three fives (3 × 5) | 15 |
| Minus North's hand: 9, 7, 4, black 3 (10 + 5 + 5 + 5) | −25 |
| Hand score | 1,280 |
New total: 1,620 + 1,280 = 2,900. Next hand, their first meld must be at least 90.
East-West (did not go out)
On the table:
- A meld of three aces and a 2
- A meld of four queens
- One red three
East holds a joker, an ace and a 10. West holds two sixes, a king, an 8 and a jack.
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| One red three (they have melded) | 100 |
| Three aces and a 2 (60 + 20) | 80 |
| Four queens (4 × 10) | 40 |
| Minus East's hand: joker, ace, 10 (50 + 20 + 10) | −80 |
| Minus West's hand: 6, 6, K, 8, J (5 + 5 + 10 + 10 + 10) | −40 |
| Hand score | 100 |
New total: 2,450 + 100 = 2,550.
Notice what happened. East-West were ahead, but holding a joker and an ace in hand when the other team went out cost them 70 points. The canasta bonuses are where the big swings come from.
What if East-West had not melded at all?
Their red three would count −100 instead of +100, they would score nothing for melds, and every card in their hands would count against them. Getting your first meld down matters.
Winning the game
The game ends at the end of the hand in which a team reaches 5,000 or more. If both teams pass 5,000 in the same hand, the higher total wins. There is no set number of hands; play simply continues until a team gets there.
Some groups play two-player Canasta to 5,000 and three-player to 7,500. Modern American Canasta is played to 8,500.
Quick scoring checklist
- Count canastas: 500 natural, 300 mixed.
- Count red threes: 100 each, 800 for all four, negative if no meld.
- Add 100 for going out, or 200 if concealed.
- Add all melded card values.
- Subtract cards left in hands.
- Check the new first-meld minimum for next hand.
Need the rules refresher? See how to play Canasta. Playing the bigger game? Try Hand and Foot scoring.
Keep score on your phone or tablet
Tap in canastas, red threes and leftover cards, and our free scorekeeper does the math for both teams.