Canasta

Canasta ( canasta from the Spanish: basket) is a card game for four people in two partnerships; there are also versions for two, three, five or six people.

According to the description of Philip E. Orbanes in The Canasta Canasta story was in 1939 by attorney Segundo Santos and his bridge partner at the Jockey Club in Montevideo, the architect Alberto Serrato developed. Beginning of the 1940s, it soon spread over Uruguay and Argentina. Josefina Artayeta de Viel brought the game to New York, via the United States reached the game to the UK and on the European continent. In the 1950s, Canasta was the most played card game next bridge.

John R. Crawford and Oswald Jacoby, two excellent bridge and backgammon player, wrote widely read works on game strategy. In order to promote their books, they called in 1950 to the Great out Canasta challenge match, where they defeated Sam Fry and Theodore Lightner.

Within a few years created countless variations, the most famous variety is Samba Canasta with three packages. The following description is based on the Official Canasta Laws, which the respected New York Regency Whist Club together with game experts from South America wrote in the years 1949/51 and issued by the National Commissions Canasta Laws of the United States and Argentina.

• 4.1 English-language literature
• 4.2 German -language literature

Rules of the game according to the Official Laws of Canasta Regency Whist Club of New York

The goal

The aim of the game is to reach by peer messages cards, especially so-called Canasta, many points as possible. A game of Canasta is generally composed of several individual games together and ends when a party of 5,000 or more points achieved. The party with the lower score shall pay to the prevailing party the corresponding points of difference.

Preparations

If two or more players draw cards equal, the known from the Bridge ranking of the colors, so cross or club ( ♣ ) is considered as the lowest color, followed by diamonds ( ♦ ), heart (♥) and spades ( ♠ ) holds.

The player with the highest card is forehand in the first game; his partner sitting opposite; his neighbor on the right the deal for the first game. The parts replaced after each game clockwise.

The dealer shuffles, then pull it off and there; each player is dealt eleven cards. The remaining cards form the shock or Talon and face down in a stack in the middle of the table. The top card in the deck is turned face up and placed beside it. Is this card a wild symbol, a twin, a red or black threesome, a further card is about as long as down to a value of four to Ace rests.

The red threesome

If a player gets when dividing or later when buying from the shock of a red three, so he sets open in front of him and takes it from the shock of a replacement card. For a red threesome that is purchased with the package (see The purchase of the package) is pulled no replacement card.

In the settlement of a game, each red three counts 100 Credit Points, if the party has notified cards, or 100 minus points if the party could make no initial report. If a party has all four red three, these are 800 points total (plus or minus, as appropriate) rated. However, someone keeps a red three on hand, he shall be deducted 500 points after the end of the game, provided the player was at least once in the course.

The cards and their evaluation

Canasta is played with 108 French playing cards (two times 52 sheets plus four jokers ). The cards are valued as follows:

The red Dreier ( ♥ 3 ♦ 3) are evaluated separately (see above)

Jokers and twos are called wild cards that are red three rewards cards, black three so-called barrier cards, cards with the values ​​of four to Ace called natural cards.

For the Canasta game, there are also special cards printed with points values.

The game

If a player is on the train, so he begins his game by either takes the top card from a pile or the top card of the discard pile, the so-called package, Spanish Pozo ( cf. The purchase of the package). Then he must report cards ( in compliance with the rules, among other things ), and he finished his game by discarding a card, ie open at the top laying on the package.

The Report

In Canasta only messages of peer cards accepted: A message must consist of at least three cards; they must have at least two natural cards and may only contain more than three wild cards.

A message from peer seven cards is called a canasta. Includes a Canasta wild cards, so it is a mixed canasta, this is valued at 300 points. If the canasta of seven natural cards, so it is a pure canasta, which will be awarded 500 points.

A player can create additional cards to their own messages and those of his partner, but you can not add messages to the other party.

A reported card may not be redeemed in the hand; nor is it allowed to move wild cards from a message to another.

The initial report

The first to issuing the cards have reported a total reach a certain minimum value. This limit depends on the state of the game.

Bonus points for red three or Canasta (see Settlement of a game ) do not count to the limit in the first place out.

The purchase of the package

If a player has two cards of the same value as the top card of the discard pile in hand ( a real couple ), so he must report them together with the top card of the packet and then take the remaining cards in the discard pile in his hand.

Has his party still made ​​no initial reports, the player must - before picking up the remaining cards of the package - may still report more cards to reach the limit for the first out replacement.

Has his party already made its initial declaration and the package is not frozen (see Locking and freezing of the package), so a player may buy the package even if it the top card together with a peer card from his hand and a wild board reported ( fake pair), or may invest the top card to an existing message.

A player who has only one card in his hand, the package may not buy it if it only contains a map.

The blocking and freezing of the package

If a player plays a black threesome or a wild card, the next player may not buy the package, it is locked.

Contains the discard pile a wild card or a red triple what can happen when dividing, so the package is frozen. To indicate that the package is frozen, the first stored wild card or red three is placed crosswise on the parts of the package.

If the package is frozen, so a player may buy the discard pile only if he holds two natural cards of the rank of the top card of the packet in hand and these reports together with the top card of the packet ( see The purchase of the package).

The mattering

Has his party already formed at least one Canasta, a player may make up, by declaring all cards still in hand. A player who makes, may place a card, but it does not.

If a player wants make up, he may ask his partner: "May I make? " The answer of the partner is binding.

Black threesome may be reported only in the course of Ausmachens; However, they are not to be combined with wild cards.

For the mattering the party writes a bonus of 100 points.

The hidden mattering

If a player manages, in his hand to make a Canasta and his paper completely in a train in your own messages, ie without prior notification, to be interpreted, it is awarded with 200 points instead of 100 points for the mattering. In the concealed mattering the rule does not apply on the limit for the initial report.

When a player buys the package and makes the same train without having reported previously or to have applied to messages of his partner, this also is considered concealed mattering. Is this the initial notification, the control remains on the limit for the initial report, however, exist.

The hidden mattering is sometimes referred to as hand - Canasta ( see below).

The last card in the deck

Buys a player's last card in the deck and puts a card from, without mattering so

• The next following player must buy the package if it can create the top card a message ( Forcing ), unless the package is frozen,
• He can buy the package, provided he is entitled to it.

The game ends when a player's discard pile can not record or does not want to record. If a game is terminated due to lack of cards, no bonus is paid for the mattering.

Buys a player's last card in the deck and is this a red three, the game ends immediately because he can not draw a replacement card: The player may neither report nor discard.

The settlement of a game

As a plus points include the

• Premiums for three red, if the party has made ​​an initial report: 100 points for each red three, 800 points for all four red threesome.
• Premiums for Canasta: 300 points for each mixed, 500 points for each pure canasta
• Premiums for mattering (100 points) or concealed mattering (200 points)
• The point values ​​of all reported cards ( including those contained in the Canasta cards).

When negative points are the points for red threesome if the party could make no initial report, and all still held at end of the game in the hands of cards.

The end of a game

The plus and minus points are added up after each game; the game ends at the end of that game, in which one or both parties may reach 5,000 or more points.

The game for two or three people

Canasta you can also play in pairs or in threes: The two-player game each player is dealt fifteen cards, the three-player game, each player thirteen cards. There are not formed partnerships, each player plays for himself

Viennese Canasta

In Austria is something of the rules of the Regency Whist Club played differing as follows.

However, most of these deviations are not specifically Austrian ways of playing, but find yourself rather than rule variants in Oswald Jacoby's Revised Complete Canasta (see bibliography).

• Red three are positive only if the party has at least one canasta, otherwise negative ( a mere initial report is not sufficient).
• In a message, the wild cards may never be in the majority, that is, a message such as KK -2 -2-2 is not permitted.
• If a player puts a card from that could add to an already full Canasta the subsequent opponents (!), It must not buy the package. The filing of such a card is therefore equivalent to depositing a black threesome.
• The hidden mattering with a complete canasta in hand, as described above, is called hand - Canasta and with a bonus of 1,000 points (instead of 200) award. Makes a player in the same kind, but without a private Canasta to report out of hand, this is as hidden or smooth referred mattering and valued at 200 points. A player who buys the package and makes the same train, receives no increase in premium.
• The rule that a player with only one card in your hand can not buy a package with only one card will be deleted.

Other variants

Canasta is played in the individual rounds by many different rules. Cover the most common deviations from the Official Laws

• The number of cards used packages: the Samba Canasta be used three instead of two Whistspiele with Jokers.
• The number of real Joker: often six instead of the original four,
• The number of cards each player receives the parts: sometimes thirteen instead of eleven,
• The limits for the initial report,
• Messages of exclusively wild cards, so-called Joker Canasta,
• The report of a so-called lock - canastas: four black three plus three jokers (or three black two or three red two ), this is valued at 1,500 points
• The conditions for receiving the discard pile,
• The possibility to create ready-made Canasta cards
• The premiums for mixed Canasta: sometimes depending on the number of wild cards included,
• The conditions for mattering,
• The evaluation of the three red,
• The time required for the end of the game score, etc.

These issues should be resolved before beginning a game.