All7s Blog | Card Game Strategies & Canasta Tips for Adults

Canasta and Hand and Foot are both melding games from the same family, but Hand and Foot deals each player two hands, supports larger groups, and uses more decks. Canasta is faster and works for two to four players; Hand and Foot is built for four to six players and...

Canasta uses two standard 52-card decks plus four jokers, for a total of 108 cards. If you are playing Hand and Foot, the most common Canasta variant for larger groups, you need up to six decks plus jokers depending on the number of players.

Hand and Foot is one of the most popular Canasta variants in North America. If you already play Canasta, you'll pick this up quickly. If you don't, that's fine too. The rules below will walk you through everything from setup to scoring. The game is best with four pl...