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 |
| Wild book | 1,500 |
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. Subtract 100 for each red three remaining in an unopened foot. Subtract every other card left in either partner's hand or foot at its normal value.
Who wins?
Play four rounds and compare cumulative scores. The higher score wins. Equal scores are a tie.
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 Hand & Foot score example
| Component | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|
| All table card values | 980 | 700 |
| Book bonuses | 3,100: two clean + two dirty + one wild | 800: one clean + one dirty |
| Exposed red threes | +200 | +100 |
| Red threes in unopened feet | 0 | -100 |
| Going out | +100 | 0 |
| Other cards in hands and feet | -30 | -420 |
| Round score | 4,350 | 1,080 |
The unopened foot is part of the final count
Team B's unopened foot is not ignored because it was never played. Reveal it when the round is being scored. Count its ordinary card values with the remaining-card penalty, and record each red three there as a 100-point penalty in the separate red-three row. Do not subtract those red threes a second time in the ordinary-card row.
Team A's 30-point remainder can be in the partner's foot after that partner has already played from it. The player who goes out must empty their own cards, but the partner does not have to be empty. Both the partner's remaining cards and the going-out bonus belong in the team's result.
Four rounds, rising openings and a fixed finish
The opening requirement is tied to round number: 50, 90, 120, then 150. A negative running total does not lower it. Write the new opening minimum next to the round before the deal so that an old total does not suggest the Classic Canasta rule by mistake.
The match lasts four rounds rather than ending at 5,000 or 10,000 points. Carry both totals forward even if one team builds a large early lead. After round four, compare the final cumulative scores. A tie remains a tie under these defaults. The two-page PDF includes exactly four match-record rows and a separate worksheet to repeat for every 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.