The minimum first meld in canasta

What is the minimum meld in canasta?

Before a side can put anything on the table in a hand, its first meld must reach a minimum count, and the minimum rises with the side's score. The standard table is 15 points when your score is below zero, 50 from 0 to 1,495, 90 from 1,500 to 2,995, and 120 from 3,000 up.

Only card values count toward it, not bonuses: jokers 50, twos and aces 20, kings down to eights 10, sevens down to fours 5. Red threes do not count. A player may lay down several melds in the same turn to reach the number.

The rising minimum is canasta's catch-up rule. A side that is far ahead has to hold more before it can open, which gives the trailing side time to build.

Hand and Foot uses the same idea by round instead of by score, most often 50, 90, 120 and 150. Score All shows each canasta side's current minimum beside its total, and in Hand and Foot it shows the minimum for the round you are on, from the list you set for the game.

Where it applies

Related: Canasta scoring · Hand and Foot scoring

The app works this out for you and shows it on the console as you play. All scoring rules →