Basics: Canasta is normally a four-player game, though it can also be played by two. To play either variation, two standard 52-card decks and four jokers are combined to make a 108-card deck. The rules below describe the four-player game, but differences in the two-player game are noted when applicable. (Throughout these rules, "partnership" should be taken to mean "player" in a two-player game.) Players are divided into two competing partnerships, and partners sit across from one another. The object is to be the first partnership to score 5,000 points. Points are earned by melding sets of three or more cards of the same rank.

The Deal: In a four-player game, 11 cards are dealt to each player; in a two-player game, each player is dealt 15 cards. The remainder of the deck is placed facedown to form the stock, and the top card of the stock is turned faceup and placed alongside the stock to start a discard pile.

Melding:  A meld is a set of three or more cards of the same rank that are placed faceup on the table. A player need not make a meld when able; however, points are only scored for melds that are made before the hand ends.

Jokers and deuces (twos) are wild cards that can be used as cards of any rank in a meld. However, all melds must contain at least two natural (nonwild) cards, no meld may contain more than three wild cards, and no meld may contain more wild cards than natural cards.

Threes have special properties. Red threes may not be melded or discarded, and black threes may only be melded when going out, in which case the meld must consist of a set of three or four black threes without wild cards. Red threes score points, however; a player who is dealt one or who draws one immediately turns it faceup and draws a replacement card from the stock. If the initial upcard is a red three, a player who eventually takes it by taking the discard pile (as explained below) turns it faceup but does not replace it with another card.

A partnership may not have two different melds of the same rank. Instead, cards may be added to existing melds, including canastas, when they match in rank. Wild cards may also be added to existing melds, provided the limits on wild cards are observed.

The first meld a partnership makes during a hand must have a minimum value, based on the card point values above, which varies with the partnership's cumulative score prior to that hand. The requirements are as follows:

A "canasta" is a meld of seven or more matching cards. Besides earning a large score, canastas are important because a partnership is not allowed to go out until it has melded at least one canasta (or two canastas, if players choose this option when setting up their table). A natural canasta (one with no wilds cards) is more valuable than a "mixed" canasta (one that contains at least one wild card). Each canasta is squared up into a pile, with a red card placed on top if it is natural and a black card if it is mixed. In addition to the point values of the melded cards, the following bonus points are scored at the end of a hand:

"Going out concealed" means making all of one's melds at once on the final, going-out turn. A player who has made any melds previously can only go out unconcealed.

If a player can make a meld--or add to an existing meld--with the top discard and at least two natural (nonwild) cards from his or her own hand, the player may pick up the entire discard pile and add it to his or her hand. The player may then, in the same turn, use the added cards to make any desired additional melds. The discard pile may be claimed to make a partnership's first meld, provided the required minimum point value is satisfied without using any cards in the discard pile other than the top one.

The discard pile may also be picked up (i) when its top card can be combined with a wild card and a natural card in a player's hand to make a meld or (ii) when the top card can be laid off on an existing meld other than a canasta--provided in either case that the pile is not "frozen."

The discard pile is frozen against any partnership that has not yet made its initial meld. It's also frozen against both partnerships whenever it contains a wild card or a red three (either because the initial upcard was a wild card or red three, or because someone has discarded a wild card). A red three or wild card in the discard pile is turned sideways to make it clear that the pile is frozen even though other cards have been played on it.

Scoring: Each card has a point value that is earned when it is melded. The same values are subtracted from a partnership's score for cards left in a player's hand when someone else (even the player's partner) goes out. The values for each card are:
 

A player "goes out" when he or she has no cards left after a meld or discard. A player is not permitted to go out, however, unless his or her partnership has at least one canasta (or at least two canastas, if that option has been chosen). Note: A convention used by some players, but not at Yahoo!, is to require a player to ask partner's permission before going out.

Upon going out, a player earns points as described above under scoring. In addition, each of the other players subtracts the point values of all cards that remain in their hands from their scores. Values of all melds are also tallied, and players go on to the next hand unless someone has reached the winning total.

If no one goes out before the stock is exhausted, play ends after the player who took the last stock card completes his or her turn. The hand is scored as usual except that no one earns a bonus for going out.

Playing at Yahoo: Shuffling, dealing, and scoring are handled automatically at Yahoo! Players take actions by clicking on cards and/or labeled buttons, as follows:

• To draw a card, a player clicks on the stack.
   
• To discard a card, click on the card you wish to discard and then on the "Discard" button. (You can instead click on the "No Discard" button in a situation in which you are not required to discard.)
   
• To meld, click on the cards you want to meld, then click on the Meld button--unless you are melding for the first time in a hand and want to take the discard pile, in which case you click on the cards and then on the discard pile.
   
• To pick up the discard pile, simply click on it if there is only one way for you to take the pile. If there is more than one way for you to take the pile--that is, when you hold at least two natural matching cards and a wild card--you must first click on the cards you want to use to take the pile, and then click on the pile.

In creating a Canasta table at Yahoo!, a player may choose whether to play with two players or four, whether players draw one card or two cards each turn, and whether one canasta or two are required to go out.