Canasta Rules for 2 Players?

[Kelson]

Hello,

I'm trying to find rules for 2-player Canasta, but I'm having
difficulty finding a good set. Most rules I find are for 4 players (2
partnerships of 2 players each), but I'm specifically interested in how
to play with 2 people. A set of rules with common variants would be
greatly appreciated,

Thanks!

Justin

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[Tuomas T Korppi]

Kelson <kels...@my-deja.com> wrote:

: I'm trying to find rules for 2-player Canasta, but I'm having

: difficulty finding a good set. Most rules I find are for 4 players (2
: partnerships of 2 players each), but I'm specifically interested in how
: to play with 2 people. A set of rules with common variants would be
: greatly appreciated,

Firstly, you should choose a game that suits for the number of players
that you're having. There are a lot of 2 good player games (backgammon,
go, gin) and I strongly recommend that when there are only 2 players,
you choose one of them. Canasta is a partnership game, and
when having only 1 member teams, you'll lose 70-90% of the fun.

However, there are modifications of canasta for 2 players. In all of
them that I've seen, every player is dealt 15 cards. There are
differences in different variations about how many canastas you need to
go out, and how many cards you draw from the deck in your turn.

In the 4 players game one of main reasons for melding is that by melding
a combination you tell to your partner that your team has those cards,
and that maybe you should try to make a canasta out of them. Since in a
2 players game there are no teams, you meld your cards later than in a 4
players game. Apart from natural special cases (taking the pile etc), you
mostly meld only completed canastas.

Variations:

1) 1 canasta needed for going out, 1 card taken from the deck on your
turn. In this game you mostly try to go out quickly. Completing your
hand is relatively easy, and since players do not give out information
by melding, you can never rely on your opponent having bad cards. The
threat of quick going out is just too big, and thus trying to get a big
score is too risky.

This is an ok game, but it's more like mah jong and gin than 4 players
canasta.

2) 2 canastas needed for going out, 1 card taken from the deck. This
variation does not work since the significance of the pile is far too
big. It's practically impossible to go out without taking the pile, and
the player having more cards can defend the pile by extreme measures,
like discarding natural canastas.

3) 2 canastas needed for going out, 2 cards taken from the deck. This is
an ok game, but it is more like samba than canasta, since the number of
your cards grows in a similar way. Anyhow, if you really need a 2 player
substitute for canasta, this is the variation I recommend.

--
http://www.helsinki.fi/%7ekorppi/ TUOMAS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nevermore.
- the Raven

[Tuomas T Korppi]

I forgot to say, the rules that I did not mention are same as in the
usual 4 players game. For its rules, see for example John McLeod's site

http://www.pagat.com

[David Parlett]

Tuomas T Korppi <kor...@cc.helsinki.fi> wrote in message
news:8k4jqk$m31$1...@oravannahka.helsinki.fi...

In the 1954 edition of Teach Yourself Card Games for Two, Kenneth Konstam
says 'It [Canasta] was started as a game for two, and in this form is still
extensively played, but, as it developed in popularity, so it was adapted as
a game for three, four, five or six players'. I haven't discovered the
source of this information, but, since I first played Canasta in its
two-handed form, and found it very workable, I must say I find his story
quite plausible. For a two-handed Rummy game, I much prefer it to Gin.

David Parlett

[Patrick Carroll]

>I first played Canasta in its
>two-handed form, and found it very workable, I must say I find his story
>quite plausible. For a two-handed Rummy game, I much prefer it to Gin.
>
>David Parlett

I agree (but I like Gin too). For a computer version of Canasta, try
www.canasta.com. There's a nice little version by Mark Jan-Harte, playable
on-line or solo vs the AI. It's strictly a two-player version, tho'.

--P. C.,
Minnesota

[Mark-Jan Harte]

Actually, the website is at http://www.canasta.net

Regards, Mark-Jan

p55ca...@aol.compliant (Patrick Carroll) wrote in message
<20000708113350...@ng-fp1.aol.com>:

[Tuomas T Korppi]

David Parlett <dspa...@cwcom.net> wrote:

:>
:> Variations:
:>

: source of this information, but, since I first played Canasta in its

: two-handed form, and found it very workable, I must say I find his story
: quite plausible. For a two-handed Rummy game, I much prefer it to Gin.

Just curious... Which variation did you find workable? In my posting I
pointed out some features of 2 players canasta that I dislike (late melding
etc...). In your game, did these features not appear or did you not find
them undesirable?