Samba Canasta scoring

Card values

Bonuses

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 1,000 for all six, if your team has at least two canastas or Sambas. Otherwise subtract 100 per laid-out red three. Each player still holding red threes incurs a 750 penalty, regardless of how many they hold. Subtract other cards at normal values.

Who wins?

When either team reaches 10,000 at the end of a round, 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 Samba score example

Understand both red-three checks

Team A has two completed combinations, so its two exposed red threes earn 200. Team B has only one completed canasta, so its two exposed red threes cost 200. Opening the team is not enough to turn those exposed cards into bonuses in this version of Samba.

There is also a separate penalty for a player left holding red threes. One player holding one or several costs 750. If both partners hold any, the team loses 1,500. Do not multiply 750 by the number of red-three cards. The example assigns this penalty to one Team B player and counts that player's other remaining cards separately.

A Samba bonus and a match target answer different questions

A seven-card natural sequence earns 1,500 in addition to its card values. A six-card sequence earns only its card values, even if the missing seventh card would be an obvious extension. Completed matching-rank canastas use their natural or mixed bonuses; they do not earn the Samba bonus merely because they are played in the Samba game.

Add the example's signed round scores to the previous totals. If Team A previously had 7,100, its new total is 10,370. If Team B previously had 10,000, its new total is 9,630. Team A wins that comparison after the round. Crossing the target does not interrupt a turn in the middle of play, and a negative round can reduce a cumulative total.

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.