Free Canasta scorekeeper
Canasta Score Sheet
Enter each side's score for the hand, negatives included, and the sheet keeps the running totals to 5,000. It also shows each side's minimum first meld for the next hand, so nobody has to look it up.
- First meld minimum worked out from every running total
- Negative hands and negative totals handled
- Print it, or put the game on a live board
Canasta score sheet
| Round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | – | – | – | – |
| First meld | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Hand 1 | ||||
| Hand 2 | ||||
| Hand 3 | ||||
| Hand 4 |
How to Score Canasta
When a player goes out, the hand stops and each side works out one number: its bonuses, plus the cards it melded, minus the cards still in hand.
- 1
Add your bonuses
Canastas, going out and red threes, from the table below.
- 2
Add your melded cards
Every card on the table for your side, at its card value.
- 3
Subtract the cards in hand
Whatever you and your partner are still holding counts against you.
- 4
Enter the hand's total
It can be negative. The sheet carries the running total and the next meld minimum.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| Ace, two | 20 |
| King down to eight | 10 |
| Seven down to four | 5 |
| Black three | 5 |
| For | Points |
|---|---|
| Natural canasta (no wilds) | 500 |
| Mixed canasta | 300 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | 200 |
| Each red three | 100 |
| All four red threes | 800 |
Red threes count against a side that has not made a single meld by the end of the hand: minus 100 each, minus 800 for all four.
The Minimum First Meld
Your side's first meld of each hand has to be worth a minimum number of points, and that minimum climbs as your score does. It is the rule most tables forget to check, which is why the sheet shows it in the First meld row for every column.
Only the cards in the meld count toward the minimum. Bonuses for red threes or canastas you have not made yet do not help you get down.
| Side's score | First meld |
|---|---|
| Below 0 | 15 |
| 0 to 1,495 | 50 |
| 1,500 to 2,995 | 90 |
| 3,000 or more | 120 |
Partners, Threes and Variants
Classic Canasta is four players in two partnerships, so the sheet only needs two columns: rename them to the teams and remove the rest. For two or three players, keep one column each.
This page follows classic rules. American Canasta and other house versions change the meld minimums and what it takes to go out; the totals work the same either way, since the sheet adds whatever you enter. For anything more unusual, the score sheet maker builds a sheet to your own rules.
- Two columns for partners, or one per player
- Negative hands are fine: type a minus sign
- Live board lets both sides follow on their phones
- Free, including the share link and the TV view
Frequently Asked Questions
Each side adds two things. First, the bonuses: 500 for each natural canasta, 300 for each mixed canasta, 100 for going out (200 if you went out concealed), and 100 for each red three (800 for all four). Second, the cards: add the value of every card you melded and subtract the value of every card still in your hands. The result, which can be negative, goes in that hand's row.
Jokers are 50, Aces and twos are 20, Kings down to eights are 10, sevens down to fours are 5, and black threes are 5. Red threes are not counted as cards; they score as a bonus of 100 each instead.
It depends on your side's score before the hand. Below 0 it is 15 points; from 0 to 1,495 it is 50; from 1,500 to 2,995 it is 90; and at 3,000 or more it is 120. Only the cards in your first meld count toward it, not bonuses. The sheet above shows each column's current requirement in the First meld row.
5,000 in classic Canasta. The game ends after the hand in which a side reaches 5,000, and the higher total wins. Some groups play a shorter game to 3,000 or a set number of hands.
Both are melds of seven or more cards of the same rank. A natural canasta has no wild cards and earns a 500 bonus. A mixed canasta includes at least one wild card (a Joker or a two, and no more than three wilds in total) and earns 300.
Each red three is laid face up as soon as you get it and is worth 100, or 800 if one side has all four. If that side has not made any meld by the end of the hand, the red threes count against it instead: minus 100 each, or minus 800 for all four.
Four players usually play as two partnerships, and partners share one score. On the sheet, rename the first two columns to the two teams (for example, Us and Them) and remove the extra player columns with the × button.
Because a hand can cost you. If you are caught with high cards in hand and few melds, your total for the hand is below zero, and a side's running score can drop below zero too, which lowers its minimum meld to 15.
No. This page follows classic Canasta. Modern American (Hoyle) Canasta and other variants change the meld minimums, the number of canastas needed to go out, and some bonuses. The sheet just adds up the numbers you type, so it works for any variant; only the First meld row assumes classic rules.
Yes. Press Put this game on a live board and both sides and every hand you have scored move onto a free MakeTheBoard score sheet with a share link that updates as you enter each hand.
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