Canasta Rule Variations

Hand ‘n Foot is very similar to the game of Canasta in which each player is dealt two sets of cards, the “hand” and the “foot.”  If you have played Canasta, you should have no trouble mastering Hand ‘n Foot.  The same Canasta rules apply to Hand ‘n Foot EXCEPT for the following:

*Hand ‘n Foot can be played with 2-8 players, individually or paired, but it is typically played by four players in two pairs of two each.  
*Use one deck more than the number of players; so in a four-handed game, use five decks plus ten jokers.
*Each player is dealt two separate hands of 13 cards each:  the “hand” and the “foot.”
*Draw from the stock 2 cards at a time.
*The discard pile may only be taken by a player with a natural pair matching the upcard, or if they can add the upcard to an existing meld.  
*In Hand ‘n Foot, a canasta (meld of 7 cards) is called a book, and will take one of the following forms:

1.  A red book contains only natural cards (no wildcards). (Some rules refer to this as a clean meld; much the same as a "natural canasta" in Canasta.)
2.  A black book contains a mixture of natural and wild cards. (Some rules refer to this as a dirty meld; it is analogous to a "mixed canasta" in Canasta.)
3.  A wild book contains only wild cards (deuces and jokers in any combination). (Some rules refer to this as a wild meld.)

*Wild cards may be melded as a set of their own.
*Jokers and twos are both wild, and can be mixed freely.
*A mixed meld must always contain more natural than wild cards.
*A book cannot be extended (in most versions).
*A game is played as four hands, with meld requirements based on the hand number.
*To go out, a player must get rid of the last card from their foot, but cannot go out until his side has made at least one wild book.  A player cannot go out by melding black threes, and must ask and receive permission from his partner before going out.
*Each red book is worth 500 points, each black book is worth 300 points, and each wild book is worth 1500 points.
*Any black threes left in your hand incur a 5-point penalty each. *Any red threes left in your hand incur a 500-point penalty each.
*To go out, a side must have completed, at a minimum, a red book, a black book, and a wild book.
*Game is 20000 points.