If this first upcard is a joker, trey (3) or deuce (2), he must turn another card from the stock and place it atop this card. This is the upcard, which forms the beginning of the discard pile. He then turns over the top card of the stock pile and places it face up beside the stock. Once the initial hands are dealt, the dealer then places the remainder of the deck in the center of the table face down as a stock pile. The dealer continues distributing the cards, in a clockwise direction until each player has 11 cards. The dealer begins by dealing one face-down card to each player, starting at the player to his left. If any player draws a joker, he must draw another card as the jokers are not considered to have a value when drawing for partnerships.Īll 108 cards should be shuffled together by the dealer and then cut by the player to the dealers immediate left (which, as per the draw above, will also be the first player to play in this hand). If two cards of the same rank and suit are drawn, the first one drawn is considered the higher card. Spades (♠), hearts ( ♥), diamonds ( ♦) and clubs (♣).

The suits, for purpose of this draw rank as follows (from highest to lowest): When drawing cards, for determination of who has the highest card (and so on) the cards rank as follows (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2). After each hand, the turn to deal will rotate around the table in a clockwise direction from player to player. The dealer will be the player who ends up sitting to the right of the player who drew the highest card. The other two players (drawing the lowest two cards) will play as partners against these players. This player will sit directly across from his partner at the table. His partner will be the player who is dealt the second highest card. This player may also determine his seating position at the table. Whichever player draws the highest card is the first to play a card in the first deal. If the partnerships are not set in some predetermined manner, each player should draw from the shuffled, face down deck. In this way, in the play of the hand, the players of a partnership will alternate players.

The players should seat themselves at the table such that each player sits directly across from his partner. The game is played by four players in two partnerships in which each partnership plays against the other partnership. The basic game of Canasta is played with two standard 52 card decks plus four jokers, making a total of 108 cards. This rummy type game which is named for the Spanish word for basket, is also the name for one the special melds required in the game. It was the most popular of all card games in the United States in the early 1950's and is still popular in many parts of the world today. Canasta, originating as a Latin American game quickly spread to the United States and much of the rest of the world.

American canasta rules for two players