Special Canasta Hands in Modern American Canasta
Quick answer
Special canasta hands are 14-card hands from Modern American Canasta that you lay down all at once instead of melding the usual way. pagat.com lists three kinds: the straight (3,000), seven pairs (2,500 without wild cards, 2,000 with twos, sevens and aces) and garbage (2,000). You may lay one down only if your team hasn't melded yet, and it ends the hand.
Special hands belong to Modern American Canasta, not the classic game
If you learned canasta from a box of cards or from our classic rules, you have never seen a special hand. They come from Modern American Canasta, where each player holds 13 cards. After drawing you hold 14, and if those 14 cards form one of the listed patterns, you may show them and end the hand on the spot.
They are long shots. You plan for one when your opening hand is already close, for example when it holds many pairs.
You may lay one down only before your team melds
- Your team must have nothing on the table. If you or your partner has melded, special hands are off.
- You lay it down right after drawing from the stock, all 14 cards at once, with no discard.
- The completing card can't come from the discard pile.
- It may use cards of a rank the other team has closed in a natural canasta, cards nobody else could meld.
- It ends the hand for everyone.
The special hands, card by card
Straight: 3,000 points
One card of every rank, ace to king, plus one joker. This is the only special hand that uses a three: you may keep one three in your hand to make it.
Example, 14 cards: Ace of spades, Two of hearts, Three of clubs, Four of diamonds, Five of spades, Six of hearts, Seven of clubs, Eight of diamonds, Nine of spades, Ten of hearts, Jack of clubs, Queen of diamonds, King of spades, Joker.
Seven pairs (no wild cards): 2,500 points
Seven pairs of natural cards. No jokers, no twos, no threes.
Example, 14 cards: Four of hearts, Four of spades, Five of diamonds, Five of clubs, Seven of hearts, Seven of spades, Eight of diamonds, Eight of clubs, Nine of hearts, Nine of spades, Ten of diamonds, Ten of clubs, Queen of hearts, Queen of spades.
Seven pairs with twos, sevens and aces: 2,000 points
Seven pairs that include a pair of twos. A pair of twos is only allowed when the hand also has a pair of sevens and a pair of aces. No jokers, no threes.
Example, 14 cards: Two of hearts, Two of spades, Six of diamonds, Six of clubs, Seven of hearts, Seven of spades, Nine of diamonds, Nine of clubs, Jack of hearts, Jack of spades, King of diamonds, King of clubs, Ace of hearts, Ace of spades.
Garbage: 2,000 points
Two four-of-a-kinds and two three-of-a-kinds. No wild cards and no threes.
Example, 14 cards: Four of hearts, Four of spades, Four of diamonds, Six of clubs, Six of hearts, Six of spades, Six of diamonds, Jack of clubs, Jack of hearts, Jack of spades, Jack of diamonds, Ace of clubs, Ace of hearts, Ace of spades.
One check on the pairs with wild cards: a pair of twos is only allowed alongside a pair of sevens and a pair of aces. So 2-2, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 8-8, 9-9, A-A is not a special hand: it has no sevens.
A special hand replaces your whole score for the hand
The team that lays down a special hand scores only the special hand's value, with no going-out bonus and no card count. The other team scores its hand the normal way.
| Special hand | Points | Card value if counted |
|---|---|---|
| Straight | 3,000 | 175 |
| Seven pairs (no wild cards) | 2,500 | 110 |
| Seven pairs with twos, sevens and aces | 2,000 | 160 |
| Garbage | 2,000 | 135 |
The last column shows why special hands are worth chasing: the garbage hand above has just 135 points of cards, but it scores 2,000.
Every rules card lists them a little differently
There is no single rulebook for Modern American Canasta. Clubs and leagues publish a rules card, often updated every year, and other cards list more hands or different values. Some name a “Miami pairs” or a “zip code” hand, and some score garbage higher than pagat does. Before you play:
- agree which rules card your table uses, and keep it on the table;
- check the exact pattern and value of each hand on that card;
- check whether a hand may use wild cards or threes.
On this site: our online canasta plays Classic Canasta, which has no special hands. Hand and Foot fans: special hands aren't part of that game either; see our Hand and Foot rules.
If you like Canasta, try
Hand and Foot
2–6 players · 90 min · Learn in a game or two
Canasta’s big-family cousin: play your hand, then pick up your foot.
Phase 10 rules
2–6 players · 60 min · Easy to learn
Rules, the list of all 10 phases and free score sheets.
Gin Rummy
2 players · 20 min · Easy to learn
Build runs and sets, then knock when your leftovers are low.
Questions people ask
What are special hands in canasta?
Special hands are 14-card hands in Modern American Canasta, such as a straight or seven pairs. A player whose team has not melded yet may lay the whole hand down after drawing. That ends the hand, and the team scores a fixed bonus instead of the usual count.
Are special hands part of classic canasta?
No. Classic Canasta, the game on pagat.com, Bicycle Cards and our site, has no special hands. They belong to Modern American Canasta, the version many clubs and leagues play from a yearly rules card.
Can you pick up the discard pile to make a special hand?
No. The card that completes a special hand must be drawn from the stock. You may not use a card from the discard pile.
Can your partner have melded before you lay down a special hand?
No. A special hand is only allowed while your team has nothing on the table. Once either of you melds, special hands are off for that hand.
Can you use threes in a special hand?
Only in the straight, which needs one card of every rank, three included. Normally you must lay threes down at once; the straight is the one exception that lets you keep a single three in your hand.