Canasta Scoring and Card Values
At the end of each round every side counts its points. Plus points come from melded cards, canastas, red threes and going out. Minus points come from cards still in hand. The basic rules are on the page Canasta rules.
Card values
- Joker: 50 points
- Two: 20 points
- Ace: 20 points
- King, queen, jack, ten, nine, eight: 10 points each
- Seven, six, five, four: 5 points each
- Black three: 5 points
- Red three: 100 points bonus, does not count as a card value
Every melded card counts its value as plus. Every card in hand counts its value as minus.
Bonuses
- Natural canasta (seven or more cards without wild cards): 500 points
- Mixed canasta (with wild cards): 300 points
- Going out: 100 points
- Going out concealed (in one turn, without an earlier meld in the round): 200 points
- Red three: 100 points per card
- All four red threes: 800 points
The card values of a canasta count in addition to the bonus. A natural canasta of seven kings therefore scores 500 plus 70 points.
Red threes without a meld
If a side has no meld of its own at the end of the round, its red threes count against it: minus 100 per card, minus 800 for all four.
Minimum first meld
The first meld of a round must reach a minimum value. It depends on the side's score at the start of the round:
- Below 0 points: 15
- 0 to 1,495 points: 50
- 1,500 to 2,995 points: 90
- 3,000 points and above: 120
Only card values count towards the minimum, no bonuses. Whoever takes the discard pile may count its top card.
Example of scoring a round
A side has a natural canasta of seven tens, a meld of three aces and a two, two red threes, and has gone out. Nothing is left in hand.
- Natural canasta: 500 bonus plus 70 card value
- Meld of aces: 60 plus 20 for the two
- Two red threes: 200
- Going out: 100
That makes 950 points for this round.
End of the game
A game ends when one side has 5,000 points or more after a round. If both sides have passed the limit, the side with more points wins. In the short game the limit is 1,500 points.
Let the app count
In Canasta Salon the app scores everything at the end of the round and shows the score sheet with card values, bonuses and remaining cards. Free for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evorence.canasta