Albany Canasta Players - from two to six each playing for himself or as partners. (see below.) Cards - Three 52 card decks plus six jokers - 162 cards Aces rank high only. Twos and Jokers are wild. Cards other than wild cards are natural cards. Threes (and sometimes fours) are stoppers. Deal - Draw for deal. Low card deals or winner of last game deals. Deal passes to the left. The dealer shuffles the cards, lets the player to his right cut the cards and deals one card at a time to each player beginning at his left until each player has the proper number from the table below. The remainder of the pack is the stock with one card turned face up to start the discard pile. # of cards canastas Players playing on deal to go out 2 individually 15 4 3 individually 13 3 4 individually 11 2 5 individually 9 2 4 2 partnerships 11 5 6 2 partnerships 7 5 6 3 partnerships 7 3 Play - Each player beginning with the player to the dealer's left draws, melds or lays off (optional) and discards. Discard is optional if going out. (see below) To meld is to play a set on the table in front of oneself. To lay off is to add to a set already melded. The discard is always one card from the hand placed face up on the discard pile. The discard pile is always fanned. Discarding ends a player's turn and play passes to the left. Sets are three or more cards of the same rank called a group or three or more in sequence of the same suit. Wild cards can substitute for any natural card but wild cards are not declared and can be anything needed in the meld. For example in a 7, 8, wild card sequence, the wild card can take the place of either a 6 or a 9 and if a six is played it then becomes either a 5 or a 9. A set must have at least two natural cards and can never contain more than two wild cards unless it is a wild card set. The draw may be two cards from the stock or a player may take from the discard pile instead as below: If the top card of the discard pile cannot be layed off it may be taken alone. However, if the top card can be layed off and he takes it the player must lay it off or use it in a new meld and take all cards in the discard pile as well. Or, he can take any card below the top card in the discard pile and all above it, but the bottom card taken must be melded immediately. A card taken from within the discard pile can only be melded with at least two natural cards from the hand. In this case, the player should first lay down the natural cards from his hand, then play the bottom card taken from the discard pile before picking up the cards above it. A canasta is at least seven cards in a set. Stoppers cannot be played or taken from the top of the discard pile into the hand. They may be discarded. Two stoppers in the hand prevent a player going out. Sets may be combined when they adjoin properly even across the table with a partner's set. A joker played on the table may be exchanged for a card from the hand provided the card from the hand replaces the joker in the set. Once played, a card (except jokers when replaced) may never be removed from a set. A player may not lay off on another player's meld except in partnership play as below. Three or more wild cards may be melded as a wild card set. A wild card set may contain any number of twos and jokers but its point score is doubled if they are not mixed in the same set. Going A player may go out ending play for that hand only if he has at Out least the required number of canastas and plays or discards the last card in his hand. If a player, otherwise able to go out, discards his last card and does not say, "I'm out.", play continues. If the stock is exhausted without any player going out, the discard pile except the top card is shuffled and turned over to form a new stock and play continues until only one card remains or only stoppers remain or a discarded card is taken and discarded completely around the table without being played or kept. Partnership play - if four or six play, they may play in partnerships of two or three and a partner may play on his partner's sets. On his turn a player may ask his partner, "May I go out?" and he is bound by his partner's answer. Either partner of a partnership may go out if the partnership has the required number of canastas but not before. Partners may not discuss their hands or strategy during play. Score - Cards played count plus point value. Cards in hand count minus point value. Canastas in hand count minus also. Canastas in hand must be counted as highest possible value. A game consists of seven hands or play until one player has accumulated at least 4 times the winning score of the first hand plus 1000 points or until the highest scoring player has a cumulative score of at least 1000 more than that of his closest opponent. Card Points 4-7 5 8-10 10 Face cards 15 Aces 20 Twos 20 Jokers 50 Threes 50 Fours (if stoppers) 100 Canasta: Mixed 100 containing any wild cards or Natural containing no wild cards 7 - 8 cards 200 or 9 - 10 cards 300 or 11 cards 400 or 12 cards 500 Going out 100 Wild cards in an unmixed wild card set count double. An unmixed wild card canasta counts double. (no jokers) Albany Canasta Deluxe Played like Albany Canasta with any combination of the following options: 1. Red 3's and 4's option - stoppers Fours are played under the same rules as threes except that if caught in the hand fours count minus 100 points. Three or more red threes or three or more red fours may be melded at any time. A three or four meld may not, however, contain any wild cards. Black threes or fours may not be melded. Melded threes count plus 50 points and melded fours count plus 100 points. No three or four may be taken from the top of the discard pile nor may they be taken as the bottom card from the discard pile to be melded immediately. They can only be taken with other cards. If an entire meld of threes or fours is of the same suit, it counts double. 2. Three of a kind option If a group of the same suit other than stoppers or jokers are melded alone then they count 50 points each rather than their normal point value. These melds may, of course, be combined later if desired but they would then revert to their normal point value. 3. Take up option If a player takes any card in the discard pile and all above it, the bottom card taken must be melded immediately. In this case, the player should lay on the table the bottom card taken, pick up the cards on the discard pile above it and then play at least two more cards with the bottom card to complete the meld. The meld must include at least two natural cards but can also include up to two wild cards. None of these cards have to be from the hand originally but can be. 4. Third Stock Card option If a player declines to take from the discard pile but instead to draw from the stock, he first turns the top card of the stock face up and discards it to the top of the discard pile. He then draws his two cards from the stock, plays and discards. This option adds complexity to the game and less control by the players, particularly good in two player games. 5. Dead card option If a player takes two cards from the stock, he then takes another card, turns it face up and places it aside on a fanned dead card pile. Cards in this pile are out of play for the remainder of the game. This variation is best for two player games or two partnership games. If this option is played 1 less canasta is needed to go out. It is optional whether the dead cards are shuffled in with the discard pile if the stock becomes exhausted. 6. Auction option After he has drawn but before he plays any cards or discards a player may lay any number of cards from his hand face up toward the center of the table as an offering. Then each player who is not his partner beginning with the player to his left may pass or place any number of cards or no cards face up toward the center of the table as a bid. The offering player may then choose any bid and exchange the offering for the bid or he may reject all bids and put his offering back into his own hand. Only one offering may be made per player's turn. 7. Extra discard option As soon as a player discards he turns up the top card from the stock and puts it on the discard pile completing his turn. This variation lends more chance to the game and less control by the players. 8. Odd man option If there are 3 or 5 players, in any hand after the first the players with lowest scores may elect to play partners against the player with the highest score. If this is done the partners each get half the score made by the partnership at the end of the hand. If there are five players the 2nd highest score must partner with the lowest score and numbers 3 and 4 must partner. With 3 players partners must have 5 canastas to go out. With 5 players they must have three. 9. Money option When the game is over each loser pays the winner or winning partnership 1 cent for each point difference between their score and the winner's score. My favorite Albany Canasta includes options 1, 2, 3, and 9. Also option 5 if there are only two players. Game rules by Duane Bristow Rt. 3, Box 722 Albany, Kentucky 42602 (606) 387-5884 http://www.webcom.com/duane/welcome.html duane@webcom.com March 28, 1993 To receive these rules by U. S. Mail, please send $5.00 and a SASE. Albany Canasta Score Sheet - Game/Date ________________ Options: ________________ Player: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hand number: 1 dealer 1 Going out _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Played cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ play to: Hand Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 2 dealer 2 Going out _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Played cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Hand Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Game Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 3 dealer __ Going out _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Played cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Hand Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Game Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 4 dealer __ Going out _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Played cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Hand Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Game Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 5 dealer __ Going out _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Played cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Hand Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Game Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 6 dealer __ Going out _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Played cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Hand Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Game Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 7 dealer __ Going out _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - In hand cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Canastas _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ + Played cards _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Hand Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Game Total _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Difference from highest _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Circle each winning hand. Circle game winner's name or number. If playing partners write scores only in 1st two or three columns. # of cards canastas Players playing on deal to go out 2 individually 15 4 3 individually 13 3 4 individually 11 2 5 individually 9 2 4 2 partnerships 11 5 6 2 partnerships 7 5 6 3 partnerships 7 3 Score - Cards played count plus point value. Cards in hand count minus point value. Canastas in hand count minus also. Canastas in hand must be counted as highest possible value. A game consists of seven hands or play until one player has accumulated at least 4 times the winning score of the first hand plus 1000 points or until the highest scoring player has a cumulative score of at least 1000 more than that of his closest opponent. Card Points 4-7 5 8-10 10 Face cards 15 Aces 20 Twos 20 Jokers 50 Threes -50 Fours (if stoppers) 100 Canasta: Mixed 100 containing any wild cards or Natural containing no wild cards 7 - 8 cards 200 or 9 - 10 cards 300 or 11 cards 400 or 12 cards 500 Going out 100 Wild cards in an unmixed wild card set count double. An unmixed wild card canasta counts double. (no jokers)