Canasta for Beginners

Someone sets down two decks of cards, says "we are one short for canasta, you will pick it up as we go," and suddenly you are holding eleven cards and a lot of questions. What is a meld? Why can your partner not open with those three kings? What does it mean that the pile is frozen, and why did everyone groan when you discarded a deuce? Canasta for Beginners is a friendly, step-by-step first course in the classic partnership rummy game. It starts with the two decks, the seats and the deal, then teaches a turn of draw, meld and discard, melds and wild cards, canastas, the discard pile, the opening meld minimum and going out. Scoring is explained slowly with worked examples, so a hand never ends in an argument over the arithmetic. Where other guides hand you a page of rules and leave you to fend for yourself, this one adds strategy chapters on when to take the pile and when to freeze it, planning melds, choosing discards, partner play and reading opponents, plus an honest look at Modern American club rules, house rules and other versions. Simple card diagrams show each hand, and every chapter closes with practice scenarios and answers you can work out with a pencil and a real deck. Inside, you'll learn: How to set up, seat the partners, deal eleven cards and handle red threes and the start card How a turn works, how to make legal melds and how wild cards may and may not be used How to build natural and mixed canastas and what each is worth When the discard pile may be taken, what frozen means and how the opening meld minimum rises with your score How to go out, including concealed, and how to score a hand and a whole game step by step Rule-of-thumb strategy for taking or freezing the pile, planning melds and choosing safe discards Partner play, reading opponents, and where Modern American club rules, house rules and other versions differ Table etiquette, how to join or start a Canasta group and what to check before playing online The book closes with a one-page summary of the rules and scoring, a glossary and a blank scorecard to keep by the table. Pull up a chair, deal the first hand, and learn the game at your own pace.

Imad Muratspahic is an independent author of practical how-to guides, technical handbooks, history and fiction. The books aim to be clear, honest and useful from the first page.