How Hand and Foot Works
Hand and Foot is a Canasta variant for four or more players, usually in partnerships, played with multiple decks (typically 5 decks for 4 players, one extra deck per two additional players). Each player is dealt two stacks of cards: a hand played first, and a foot picked up only after the hand is fully melded or discarded. The deal is large — commonly 11 or 13 cards per stack — which is why games run long and scores run high.
Players take turns drawing, melding (laying down groups of 3 or more cards of the same rank), and discarding, trying to build canastas — melds of 7 or more cards of the same rank. A meld becomes a natural (clean) canasta if it has no wild cards, or a mixed (dirty) canasta if it includes wild cards (2s or Jokers). A team "goes out" when one player melds or discards their entire hand and foot; some tables require at least one canasta completed before going out is allowed.
Standard Scoring (the calculator's defaults)
| Card / Event | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| 2 (deuce) | 20 |
| Ace | 20 |
| 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K | 10 |
| 4, 5, 6, 7 | 5 |
| Black 3 (only playable as the very last card, to freeze the pile) | 5 |
| Black 3 stuck in hand at end of round | -5 |
| Red 3, melded, your team went out this hand | 100 each |
| Red 3, melded, your team did not go out | 50 each |
| Red 3 stuck in hand at end of round | -500 each |
| Natural (clean) canasta — no wild cards | 500 |
| Mixed (dirty) canasta — includes wild cards | 300 |
| Going out bonus | 100 |
| Each unmelded card left in hand at end of round | its point value, subtracted |
Common House-Rule Variants
Hand and Foot has no single official rulebook, so house rules vary a lot. Check these against your table before you start scoring — the calculator's defaults match the most commonly cited ruleset, but every field is editable.
Some tables use -100 per stuck red three instead of -500. The calculator defaults to -500 because it's the most frequently cited value, but adjust the "Red 3s stuck in hand" field freely.
A few rule sets add a third canasta tier — an all-wild-card canasta worth 1500 or 1000 — on top of natural and mixed. If your table plays this variant, add it manually to the "Natural" or "Mixed" total, or just add it as extra points before logging the hand.
Many tables require a minimum partnership score (often 100 or so per player, similar to standard Canasta) before a team is allowed to go out. This doesn't change scoring math, only when a hand can legally end.
Standard is roughly one deck per player plus one, with 11 or 13 cards in each of the hand and foot. Some tables deal fewer cards for a faster game — this doesn't change the scoring table, only how long each round runs.
House rules differ on exactly when the discard pile is "frozen" (requiring a natural pair to pick it up) versus open. This affects gameplay, not scoring.
This page summarizes commonly played rules for informational purposes; it is not an official rulebook for any publisher's product.