| The Rules |
| It should be noted that you can take the pile in one other circumstance. When the pile is NOT frozen, AND your team has already made a meld, the following situation may arise: Say you melded four sixes earlier in the hand. You opponent then tosses out a six onto the discard pile. If the pile is NOT frozen, you can take the discard pile EVEN if you do not have any sixes in your hand, because you already melded them. This only works when the pile is NOT frozen. It also is not allowed if you have already made a canasta on sixes previously that hand. (In that case you would need a pair of sixes to pick it up). |
| Discarding, and Going Out At the end of your turn, you must toss out a card onto the top of the discard pile. You should toss out a card that you either do not want, or you think your opponent will not be able to pick up. Certain cards, when discarded are called "stop cards". These are black threes, deuces and jokers. They are called stop cards because your opponent can not use them to pick up the pile. To end the hand you could wait for the deck to run out of cards. This stops the hand, and if it was your turn to draw two cards, and there was only one left, you're out of luck, you don't get a turn. To end the hand before this, thus stopping your opponents from scoring any more points, you must use up all your cards, and make a minimum amount (set by the players) of canastas (black or red). Make your canastas, then meld all your cards. This will end the hand. Also, you can meld all but one of your cards, then toss your last card onto the discard pile to end the hand. Recall that this is the only time you can meld black threes. Both teams score points, but only the team that went out recieves the 100 point bonus. Any points left in your hand at the end of the round count AGAINST you. When playing in teams it is best to ask your partner "may I go out?". They may answer you only by saying "yes" or "no", and their decision is binding. You must follow their answer. If you wish to make the decision yourself, don't ask your partner. If you suspect your partner has high valued cards in their hand (which would reduce your score), it's best you ask. In the unlikely event that your team did not make it's initial meld before your opponents went out, all your cards are counted against you, and all red threes that you collected will count AGAINST you instead of as a bonus. If you had all 4, and didn't meld that would be a penalty of 800 points! Also, with regards to red threes, in order for them to count as bonus points, you must have made a canasta in that hand. Otherwise they count against you. Most online gaming sites (including Yahoo! Games) do not use this rule, but do use the penalty for not melding at all. Since you need at least one canasta to go out, you must hold at least one card in your hand until you have made the required number of canastas. |
| The game continues until one team scores 5000 points or more. If both teams tie above 5000, play another hand to break the tie. Remember to play nicely. It is a game after all. You can talk during the game, but not about what cards you have. |