Hand and Foot is an expanded version of Canasta for 2-6 players using 5-6 standard decks. Here is a complete guide to the rules, from setup to scoring, so you can start playing right away.

What Is Hand and Foot?

Hand and Foot is a Canasta-style partnership card game that adds a unique twist: each player gets two piles of cards — a “hand” and a “foot.” You play through your hand first, then pick up your foot pile and continue. The goal is to form melds (groups of matching cards), build books (completed melds of 7 cards), and outscore the opposing team.

Hand and Foot became hugely popular in North America in the 1980s-90s and remains one of the most-played card games in social card clubs and online platforms.

What You Need

  • Players: 4 (2 teams of 2) — partners sit across from each other
  • Decks: 5 standard decks including jokers (~270 cards)
  • Objective: Score the most points across multiple rounds by building melds and books
  • Game length: 60-120 minutes

The Deal

  1. Shuffle all 5 decks together thoroughly
  2. Deal 11 cards face-down to each player — this is their hand
  3. Deal 11 more cards face-down to each player — this is their foot
  4. Players pick up their hand pile only. The foot pile stays face-down and untouched until later
  5. Place remaining cards in the center as the draw pile (stock)
  6. Turn one card face-up to start the discard pile

Card Values

Card Point Value Role
Jokers 50 points Wild card
Twos (2s) 20 points Wild card
Aces 20 points High natural card
8, 9, 10, J, Q, K 10 points Natural cards
4, 5, 6, 7 5 points Natural cards
Black 3s 5 points Blocks — cannot be melded
Red 3s Special Penalty (see below)

Wild cards (Jokers and 2s) substitute for any natural card in melds.

How to Play

Turn Structure

On each turn, a player:

  1. Draws 2 cards from the draw pile (or picks up the discard pile under certain conditions)
  2. Melds cards — lay down new melds or add to existing team melds (optional)
  3. Discards 1 card face-up onto the discard pile

Forming Melds

A meld is 3 or more cards of the same rank laid face-up on the table:

  • Must contain at least 2 natural cards (non-wild)
  • Can contain wild cards (Jokers and 2s), but wilds can never outnumber naturals in a meld
  • 3s cannot be melded — black 3s are blockers, red 3s are penalties

Example valid melds:

  • Three Kings (all natural) ✓
  • Two 9s + one Joker ✓
  • Four 7s + two 2s ✓

Building Books

A book is a completed meld of 7 cards:

  • Clean book: 7 cards with NO wild cards — worth 500 bonus points. Typically marked by placing a red card on top.
  • Dirty book: 7 cards including at least one wild card — worth 300 bonus points. Typically marked by placing a black card on top.

Once a book is complete, stack it neatly with the indicator card on top. You can continue adding cards beyond 7 for extra points, but the book type (clean/dirty) doesn’t change.

Picking Up the Discard Pile

To pick up the discard pile, you must:

  1. Hold 2 natural cards of the same rank as the top discard card (a natural pair)
  2. Immediately meld those cards with the top discard card
  3. Take the entire discard pile into your hand

The pile is frozen (harder to pick up) when it contains a wild card or red three.

The Foot Pile

When your hand pile is completely empty, you pick up your foot pile and continue playing:

  • You can empty your hand by melding all remaining cards
  • Your last hand card can be your discard (you then pick up your foot on your next turn, or immediately in some rule sets)
  • Once you’re playing from your foot, gameplay continues normally

Getting into your foot early is a strategic advantage — it means more cards to work with.

Going Out

To end a round, a player must:

  1. Their team has at least one clean book AND one dirty book
  2. They have played through their foot pile (already picked it up)
  3. They ask their partner’s permission (“May I go out?”)
  4. If partner agrees, they meld remaining cards and make a final discard

The round ends immediately. All other players count their remaining cards as negative points.

Scoring

At the end of each round:

Item Points
Clean book (7 natural cards) +500
Dirty book (7 cards with wilds) +300
Going out bonus +100
Cards melded Face value (see card values above)
Cards left in hand/foot Negative face value
Red 3s in hand -500 each

The game typically ends when a team reaches 5,000 points (varies by house rules).

Initial Meld Requirements

Your team’s first meld of each round must meet a minimum point threshold based on your running score:

Team Score Minimum First Meld
Below 0 15 points
0-1,499 50 points
1,500-2,999 90 points
3,000-4,999 120 points
5,000+ 150 points

After the first meld, your team can play any valid meld regardless of point value.

Quick Reference

  1. Deal 11 cards each for hand, 11 for foot
  2. Draw 2, meld if you want, discard 1
  3. Build toward clean and dirty books (7-card melds)
  4. When hand is empty → pick up foot
  5. Go out when your team has 1+ clean book, 1+ dirty book, and you’re in your foot
  6. Red 3s = -500 each. Don’t get stuck with them!

Ready to play? The best way to learn is by doing.

Ready to play? Try Hand and Foot for free on Rare Pike — no download needed.