Card values
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| Ace or 2 | 20 |
| 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| 4, 5, 6, 7 | 5 |
| Black 3 | 5; special play restrictions |
| Red 3 | Special bonus or penalty; see below |
Bonuses
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Clean canasta / book | 500 |
| Mixed canasta / dirty book | 300 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Going out concealed | 200 total |
A worked example
Your team lays down seven natural Kings. Their card values total 70. The clean-canasta bonus adds 500. That combination contributes 570 points, before other melds, threes, cards left in hand, and any going-out bonus are counted.
Suppose your full table holds 750 card points, your bonuses total 800, and 120 points remain in your hands. With no other adjustments, your round score is 750 + 800 − 120 = 1,430. Add that result to your earlier rounds.
Red threes and cards left over
Laid-out red threes score 100 each, or 800 for all four, if your team has melded. Otherwise subtract those same amounts. Subtract normal values for cards left in both partners' hands.
Who wins?
When either team reaches 5,000 at the end of a round, compare both cumulative scores. The higher score wins. Equal scores are a tie.
Concealed going out
The extra 100 applies when you play your whole hand in one turn with a complete canasta and have not previously melded or added to your partner's melds. Exposed red threes do not prevent it. The canasta must be made from that concealed play, not borrowed from your partner's existing cards.
If your team is unopened, a concealed stock-draw going out can bypass the opening minimum. If you take the discard pile to go out, you must still meet the opening minimum before collecting the rest of the pile.
Count a round in a repeatable order
Keep the two teams separate and finish the same category for both before moving on. First count card values in every table meld, including cards inside completed combinations. Then add the completion bonuses. Handle red threes in their own row because their meaning depends on this variant. Add a going-out bonus only for the team that actually earned it. Finally subtract the cards and other penalties that remain.
The card points inside a completed combination still count. The completion bonus is extra. Conversely, an incomplete legal meld has card points but no completion bonus. Do not award a 500-point bonus merely because a group contains only natural cards: it must also reach the required completed size. A running total is the previous total plus this round's signed result, not just the sum of bonuses.
Opening points are not the same as your score
The opening minimum tests the card values in the first melds your team submits that round. It does not charge points or deduct the minimum from your eventual score. Reaching 90 in an opening means those cards are eligible to be played together; you do not subtract 90 later as an entry fee.
Likewise, the points you expect from completing a canasta, Samba or book do not help pay an opening minimum. Red-three bonuses do not help either. For a pickup opening, the visible top discard may contribute, but the buried cards cannot. Once your team has opened, additional legal melds do not have to reach a fresh minimum on every turn.
Complete Classic Canasta score example
| Component | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|
| All table card values | 450 | 300 |
| Canasta bonuses | 800: one natural + one mixed | 300: one mixed |
| Red threes; both teams opened | +100 | +200 |
| Going out | +100 | 0 |
| Cards remaining in both hands | -80 | -210 |
| Round score | 1,370 | 590 |
| Previous total | -200 | 650 |
| New running total | 1,170 | 1,240 |
Why the winner of a round can still be behind
In the example, Team A earns the going-out bonus and scores more points this round. Team B still leads the match, 1,240 to 1,170, because it entered with a larger total. Going out does not automatically win the match. At the end of the round, compare both cumulative totals and check the 5,000-point target.
The 80-point hand penalty can belong to Team A's partner even though the player who went out has no cards. A partnership score must include both hands. If a team never opened, its red threes become penalties instead of bonuses. Four such red threes cost 800; do not replace that rule with four ordinary 100-point penalties.
Check concealed exits without doubling the bonus
An eligible concealed exit earns 200 in total for going out, rather than the ordinary 100. Record 200 in the going-out row, not 100 plus a separate 200. The canasta made during that concealed play still has its card points and its own completion bonus, so those belong in their normal rows.
A table can contain several completed canastas of different ranks. Count each qualifying rank's bonus once. A natural canasta that later contains a wild card is mixed when scored. Check the actual final cards rather than relying on what the combination looked like earlier in the round.
Use the PDF to check a score disagreement
Ask both partners to count the same categories in the same order. Record completion counts before sweeping the cards together, and keep penalties visibly separate from additions. If the totals disagree, compare one row at a time rather than recounting a mixed pile of cards and bonuses.
The downloadable PDF is a paper worksheet, not an automatic calculator. Write the round result on its second page, transfer that signed number to the match record on the first, then add the previous total. Keep the scoring reference open if your group needs to check a special three or a going-out condition.