Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (58 page)

In Auction Bridge, each
odd trick
(the number of tricks more than six won by the declarer) scores towards game, even if the tricks were not contracted. The trick values are as follows:

So a contract of, say, 3 of diamonds is worth 21 below-the-line points on its own (3 × 7 = 21). However, if the declarer wins ten total tricks on a contract of 3 of diamonds, he instead scores 28 below-the-line points. The first team to score 30 points below the line wins the game. The first side to win two games earns a 250-point rubber bonus.

If the declarer makes a doubled contract, he scores above-the-line bonuses: 50 points for the contract, plus 50 points for each overtrick won in excess of the original contract. Redoubled contracts score 100 points for contract, 100 points for overtricks. Score a 50 point above-the-line bonus for small slams, 100 points for grand slams.

When the declarer loses the contract, the opposing teams scores 50 points above the line for each undertrick (100 points per trick if the contract is doubled; 200 points per undertrick if the contract is redoubled).

The side holding the majority of honors earns above-the-line bonus points, regardless of which team is the declarer. In trump contracts, the honors are A, K, Q, J, 10; in no-trump contracts, the honors are all four aces. The honors bonus is:

30 points: three honors

40 points: four honors, divided

50 points: five honors, divided

80 points: four trump honors in one hand

90 points: four trump honors in one hand, fifth honor in partner’s hand

100 points: four aces in one hand for no trump contracts

100 points: five honors in one hand

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   high
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   medium
   
3. DECKS
   : 2
   

In the 1930s and ‘40s, Rummy was the second-most popular card game in the United States (after Bridge). In the 1950s, Rummy fell from favor and was overtaken by two of its offspring, the games of Gin Rummy (invented in Brooklyn, NY) and Canasta (invented in Uruguay).

Canasta is not one game, it is an umbrella term for a family of games. Most are team-based, although variations such as Two-Hand and Three-Hand Canasta, as well as Oklahoma Canasta, ditch team play for individual play. The “classic” version described here dates from the 1940s. It is still played, though nowadays it’s more likely you’ll encounter the Samba or Bolivia variations.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with two fifty-two-card decks plus four jokers (108 cards total). There are no card rankings, since sequences have no value in Canasta. Jokers and all 2s are wild. Deal eleven cards to each player. Set the remaining cards face down in the center of the table (this is the stock), turn up a card from the stock, and place it face up on the table (this is the discard pile).

SCORING
Going out is important, but it is not the game’s primary objective; the true goal is to score as many points as possible through melding. Cards have the following values in Canasta:

Once the game ends, teams calculate their scores like so: game bonuses plus the value of all cards melded, minus the value of all cards still in hands.

You also earn points for each red 3 played on the table (800 points total if you meld all four). If your team didn’t meld, then each of your red 3s scores -100 points (-800 points if you happen to hold all four).

Keep in mind that any points scored in a natural or mixed canasta are added to the card values; for example a natural canasta of seven 8s is worth 500 points for the canasta, plus 70 points for the seven 8s, for 570 total points.

Going out
concealed
means you go out in a single turn, including playing your mandatory canasta. In other words, to earn this bonus, you may not have melded or added any cards to your partner’s melds, and you must play a canasta in your final turn. Also keep in mind that if you go out concealed and your partner has not yet melded, you must also meet the initial melding requirements!

Games of Canasta are typically played to 5,000 points.

HOW TO PLAY
The player to the left of the dealer starts by drawing a card (either from the stock or the top card in the discard pile); making melds; and then discarding one card from the hand, face up, on top of the discard pile. The turn then proceeds clockwise.

To create melds, players take cards from their hand and place them on the table, face up, in sets of three or more cards of equal rank (e.g., 5 of hearts-5 of diamonds-5 of spades or 9 of diamonds-9 of clubs-Joker). Keep in mind:

Melds must have at least two
natural
cards.

Each team may not meld more than one set of the same rank; instead, additional cards must be melded onto the original set.

Each team may build on their own existing melds, for example, adding 5 of clubs to an existing 5 of hearts-5 of diamonds-5 of spades set. They may never build on the opposing team’s melds.

A set of three of four
black
3s (e.g., 3 of spades-3 of spades-3 of clubs) without wild cards may be melded on a player’s last turn, on which they go out. Otherwise, black 3s may not be melded. Moreover, if a player discards 3 of spades or 3 of clubs, the next player may draw only from the stock (he may not take the discarded black 3).

Red 3s are bonus cards; if you have one, place it face up on the table on your next turn and take a replacement card from the stock.

INITIAL MELD REQUIREMENTS
The first meld made by either team must meet a minimum value, based on their score at the start of the hand:

Scores below 0 must meld at least 15 points

Scores from 0 to 1,495 must meld at least 50 points

Scores from 1,500 to 2,995 must meld at least 90 points

Scores of 3,000 or more must meld at least 120 points

Bonuses do
not
count toward initial meld requirements. So any points you may earn from a canasta or a red 3 does not count; even with a seven-card canasta in hand, you may not meld it if the value of the cards within the canasta do not meet or exceed your initial meld requirements.

DISCARD PILE
You may not take the topmost discard without also taking the entire discard pile. In fact, to take a card from the discard pile, you must meld the pile’s topmost card in the very same hand, either to create a new set (containing at least one natural card, in addition to the discard) or to build on an existing set (again, the existing set must contain at least one natural card). As long as you meet these requirements, you may meld as many cards as you like from the discard pile. Any cards not melded go into your hand.

The discard pile is considered
frozen
against either team if they have not yet melded an initial set, or against both teams whenever the discard pile contains 3 of hearts, 3 of diamonds, or a wild card. When the pile is frozen, it may be taken only if the top card is immediately melded with a
natural
set of equal rank from your hand. For example, if the pile is frozen and the top card is 8 of clubs, you may take the discard pile only if you play a new set of natural eights including the 8 of clubs.

CANASTAS
A canasta is a meld of seven or more cards of equal rank (e.g., 8 of hearts-8 of hearts-8 of clubs-8 of clubs-8 of diamonds-8 of diamonds-8 of spades). The canasta is
natural
when it contains no wild cards, otherwise it is considered
mixed
. A mixed canasta may contain no more than three wild cards. Teams are not allowed to go out until they meld one canasta.

When a canasta is played, place the cards in a pile, and put a red card on top if it’s natural, a black card on top if it’s mixed. Continue building natural cards onto the canasta; you may also build wild cards as long as you don’t exceed the three-wild-card maximum.

GOING OUT
Once your team has at least one canasta, you may go out by melding all your cards or by melding all but one and discarding the last card. Remember that players going out are allowed to meld black 3s on that final turn. You may also complete the required canasta and go out on the same turn.