How to Play Hand and Foot: The Hand, The Foot, and Canastas
Hand and Foot is a partnership rummy game where each player holds two stacks of cards — a "hand" you play first and a "foot" you pick up once the hand is empty. The goal is to build canastas (seven-card melds) and rack up bonus points across four rounds. This guide walks through the deal, melding, clean versus dirty canastas, the all-important red and black threes, and how to go out — then you can play it free in your browser against bots or friends.
What is Hand and Foot?
Hand and Foot is a North American cousin of Canasta, usually played by four people in two partnerships, though versions exist for two to six players. Like other rummy games, you score by melding sets of matching cards. The twist that gives the game its name is that you are dealt two separate stacks: your hand, which you play first, and your foot, which you cannot touch until your hand is completely gone.
A full game is four rounds. Each round has a higher entry requirement, and your two-team scores are totaled at the end. House rules vary a lot, so the version below describes the most common standard play.
The deal: your hand and your foot
The game uses multiple decks plus jokers — a common setup is five 54-card decks (including jokers) for four players. Each player gets two stacks of 11 cards: one becomes your hand, the other your sealed foot. The rest forms the draw pile, with one card flipped to start the discard pile.
- Hand: the 11 cards you start playing immediately.
- Foot: a second 11-card stack you keep face down and untouched.
- Once you legally play the last card from your hand, you pick up your foot and keep going in the same turn.
A turn, step by step
On your turn you draw two cards from the stock (or take from the discard pile, explained below), then meld if you can and want to, and finally discard one card to end your turn.
- Draw two cards from the stock pile.
- Meld any sets of three or more cards of the same rank.
- Discard one card face up to finish your turn.
You may pick up the top of the discard pile instead of drawing, but only if you immediately use that card in a meld — typically you must already hold two natural cards of that rank. Many house rules let you scoop several cards from under the top card as a reward.
Melds and the initial requirement
A meld is three to seven cards of the same rank (suits do not matter). Runs are not used. The catch is the round's minimum opening count: before your team can lay down anything, your first batch of melds in that round must total at least the required points.
- Round 1: 50 points
- Round 2: 90 points
- Round 3: 120 points
- Round 4: 150 points
Standard card values: jokers are 50, twos and aces are 20, eights through kings are 10, and fours through sevens (plus black threes) are 5. These values count both toward your opening meld and your final score.
Clean canastas, dirty canastas, and wild cards
A canasta (also called a book or pile) is a completed meld of seven cards. This is where the points live:
- Clean (natural) canasta: seven cards with no wild cards. Worth a big bonus, often 500 points. Players square it up with a red card on top to mark it as clean.
- Dirty (mixed) canasta: seven cards that include one or two wild cards, marked with a black card on top. Worth a smaller bonus, often 300 points.
Wild cards are jokers and twos. A meld must always contain more natural cards than wilds — in practice that means no more than two wild cards in a seven-card meld. Some variants also allow an all-wild canasta for a large bonus, but that is a house rule.
Red threes and black threes
Threes are special and trip up new players:
- Red threes are bonus cards. You cannot meld them; instead you lay them aside and draw a replacement. Each is usually worth 100 points if your team has melded — but they can count against you if you have not gotten on the board.
- Black threes are mostly defensive. They are worth 5 points, can only be melded in a narrow end-game situation, and are often discarded to block opponents from taking the pile.
Going out and scoring the round
To end the round, your team must "go out": empty both your hand and your foot, and finish your last card with a discard. Crucially, you cannot go out until your team has the required canastas — commonly at least one clean and one dirty canasta. Courteously, you ask your partner for permission before going out so they can finish their foot.
Add up canasta bonuses, red-three bonuses, a going-out bonus (often 100), and the value of all melded cards. Then subtract the value of any cards still left in players' hands and feet. After four rounds, the higher team total wins.
Quick tips for new players
- Aim for clean canastas early — they are worth far more and unlock going out.
- Do not rush to empty your hand; you only get your foot once, so make the most of it.
- Hold black threes to clog the discard pile when opponents are loading up.
- If rummy melding clicks for you, try the faster Gin Rummy or classic Canasta next.
Play now
Ready to deal your hand and pick up your foot? Play Hand and Foot free in your browser on lovecardgames.com — no signup, no download. Practice against smart bots or invite friends for multiplayer, and explore related rummy games like Conquian, Indian Rummy, and Tonk when you want a new challenge.