The card words used in these rules
A card's rank is its number or letter: 8, Queen and Ace are ranks. Its suit is spades, hearts, diamonds or clubs. Two Queens have the same rank even when their suits differ. A natural card is being used as itself. A wild card is a 2 or Joker used as a substitute where the rules permit it; it does not become an unrestricted replacement for every purpose.
The stock is the face-down deck in the middle. The discard pile is the face-up stack beside it. Drawing from stock and taking the discard pile are alternative ways to begin a turn. Taking the pile requires a legal use for the visible top card; simply liking the cards you remember underneath is not enough.
A meld is a combination already played on the table. A pair in your hand is not yet a meld. Opening means your team's first accepted melds of the round; going out means legally emptying your cards to finish the round. Those are different milestones. Your partner can open the team for both of you, but neither partner can use cards hidden in the other's hand to qualify an opening.
1. Take your seat
Four players form two partnerships. Each player receives 15 cards from three decks with six jokers (162 cards). Partners share melds and score. The goal is 10,000 points. This table follows the Dutch Samba description on Pagat; it is one documented Samba variation.
You sit opposite your computer partner. Turns move clockwise. You start the first round at this digital table. The dealer rotates after each round; the player to the dealer's left starts.
2. Draw, meld, discard
Draw two stock cards, or make an eligible discard pickup. You may then build or extend melds and lay out red threes. Discard one card to finish. With only one stock card left, draw that one card.
To use the controls: select cards, choose a destination, and add a meld to your plan. Prepared groups appear as cards on your side of the table. You can prepare several melds before pressing Play melds. Tap a prepared group to undo it. Planned cards stay in your hand until the server accepts the whole plan.
3. Build your team's melds
A group contains at least three cards of one rank. Use no more than two wild cards, and at least twice as many natural cards as wild cards. Seven or more cards form a canasta. You may keep separate groups of one rank or merge compatible groups.
Sequences and Sambas
A sequence contains at least three consecutive cards of one suit. Only natural cards from 4 through Ace may be used. An Ace is high. No twos, jokers or threes are allowed.
Seven consecutive cards form a Samba. A Samba is complete at seven; do not add more cards. Two separate sequences cannot be joined together by playing a connecting card.
4. Open with enough points
The first melds your team plays in a round must reach the opening minimum. Count the values of the cards, not canasta bonuses or red threes. Several melds can be played together to reach the total. Once either partner opens, both may add cards freely.
The minimum is 15 with a negative team score, 50 below 1,500, 90 below 3,000, 120 below 7,000, and 150 from 7,000 onward.
5. Take from the discard pile
To take the entire pile, use two matching natural cards from your hand with the top card. Meet any opening minimum before using buried cards. This restriction applies throughout the round; Samba has no changing frozen-pile status.
Alternatively, take only the top discard to extend an existing unfinished sequence. Select that sequence as the destination. You cannot use the discard to start a new sequence or to join two sequences.
A three, two or joker on top blocks pickup. A matching group already on the table does not remove the two-natural-card requirement.
6. Handle the threes
After drawing, you may lay red threes out separately, without replacement, or keep them. Each laid-out red three scores 100 only if your team finishes with the two required canastas or Sambas; otherwise each costs 100. All six score 1,000 when eligible. A player left holding any red threes costs their team 750. Discarded threes block the next pickup. Black threes may be grouped only when going out, subject to the group wild-card limit.
7. Finish the round
Your team needs two canastas, two Sambas, or one of each to go out. Meld every card or keep a last discard. If you have only one card and cannot go out, keep it and pass instead of discarding. You may ask your partner before making additional melds; the answer is binding. Computer partners agree at this table. Prepare your final meld plan and select any last discard, then use Ask partner & finish round. With no plan, this button looks for a complete legal finish for you.
A stock draw that cannot be made ends the round. Eligible discard pickups may keep play going after the stock is empty.
A last single stock card can be drawn and played normally. The next player may still use a valid discard pickup.
Worked opening: two groups at once
Suppose your opening minimum is 90. Three natural Aces contribute 60 card points and three natural Kings contribute 30. Together they reach 90; neither group reaches it alone. Select the Aces and press Add meld. Select the Kings and press Add meld again. Both groups appear as cards on your side of the table. Press Play melds to submit them together.
Keep enough cards to finish the turn legally. Reaching the opening minimum is not permission to empty your hand before your team's going-out requirements are met. Canasta bonuses and red-three bonuses do not count toward that minimum. Once your team has opened, both partners may add eligible cards to its melds.
Why do these rules say Dutch Samba?
Samba is a family of rules rather than one universal table agreement. This game follows the Dutch version described in the source below. That choice matters especially for red threes, sequence pickups and the requirements for going out. Someone who learned another Samba version may expect a red three to be replaced automatically; that is not what happens here.
Before playing with a physical group, confirm the sequence length, whether completed sequences can grow, how red threes are handled and what a discard can extend. A familiar name for a game does not settle those questions. The online controls apply the defaults on this page consistently rather than switching rules to match each player's expectations.
How do groups and sequences differ in practice?
Four natural Kings and two wild cards can form a group: the natural cards outnumber the wild cards two to one, and there are no more than two wild cards. Two Kings and two wild cards cannot form that group. A sequence has a different test: every card must be a consecutive natural card of the same suit. A Joker cannot repair a gap between 6 of clubs and 8 of clubs.
Aces are high in sequences. Queen, King, Ace of one suit can be a sequence; Ace, 4, 5 cannot wrap around. Threes and twos do not belong in sequences. Once seven consecutive cards make a Samba, it is finished. Keep any eighth card available for another legal use instead of trying to attach it to the completed Samba.
Do two completed combinations automatically end the round?
No. Two canastas or Sambas satisfy the team's completion requirement, but a player must still empty their hand legally to go out. One natural canasta plus one Samba qualifies just as two canastas or two Sambas do. A six-card sequence does not qualify, even though it is close and may already contain useful card points.
If you have one card and cannot finish legally, the pass option lets you keep it after the draw stage rather than make an illegal last discard. Do not interpret that as a general permission to skip any turn. The exact state of your hand and the team's completed combinations determines when that option is needed.