By Ali. Updated September 23, 2026. Every rule here was checked against the published rules listed at the end.
What you're trying to do
You and your partner build books: seven cards of the same rank. A book with no wild cards is worth 500, and one with wild cards is worth 300. The round ends when a player gets rid of every card in both their hand and their foot, which is called going out, and their team earns 100 for it.
A game is four rounds. Each round your team has to lay down a first meld worth a set number of points, and that number climbs every round. Add up the scores after the fourth round, and the highest total wins.
Hand and Foot has no rulebook that every table follows, so a few rules differ from group to group. This page teaches the version Bicycle and The Mahjong Line teach, and the common alternatives are gathered under agree before you deal.
The cards
Four people play in two teams, with partners across from each other. You need five decks with their jokers, 270 cards in all, shuffled together.
Melds are built from the ranks 4 up to ace. Threes are never melded, and they have their own section.
What each card is worth
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| Ace or 2 | 20 |
| King, queen, jack, 10, 9 or 8 | 10 |
| 7, 6, 5, 4 or a black 3 | 5 |
| Red 3, as a bonus | 100 |
These values count for your team when the cards are on the table, and against your team when they're still in a hand or a foot at the end of the round.
Setting up and dealing
- Deal each player 11 cards face down. That stack is their hand, and they pick it up.
- Deal each player another 11 cards face down. That stack is their foot, and it stays face down and unseen until the hand is gone.
- The rest of the cards go face down in the middle as the stock. Turn its top card face up beside it to start the discard pile.
- If that card is a wild card or a three, bury it in the stock and turn up another.
- Play starts to the dealer's left and moves clockwise.
Lay any red threes from your hand face up in front of you before your first turn, and draw a card from the stock to replace each one.
Taking a turn
- Draw two cards from the stock. Instead, you can take the top seven cards of the discard pile when you're allowed to, as explained under taking the pile.
- Meld if you can and want to: start new melds or add to your team's melds.
- Discard one card, and your turn is over.
If you draw a red three, lay it face up with your team's melds and draw another card in its place.
Melds and books
A meld is three to seven cards of the same rank, laid face up in front of your team. Your team's melds belong to both partners, and you never add to the other team's melds.
- Every meld has more natural cards than wild ones, so a full book of seven can hold at most three wild cards. A book made entirely of wild cards is the one exception.
- Your team can't have two unfinished melds of the same rank. Finish the book first, then start another of that rank if you like.
- A meld stops at seven cards.
At seven cards a meld becomes a book. Square it up and put a red card on top if it's clean, or a black card if it's dirty, so everyone can see which it is.
A clean book: seven kings and no wild cards. Worth 500, on top of the cards' own values.
A dirty book: four 9s and three wild cards, the most a book can hold. Worth 300.
A wild book: seven wild cards in any mix. Worth 1,500, though not every table allows one.
Your team's first meld
Each round, the first cards your team lays down have to add up to a minimum, counted from the card values above. The minimum climbs with each round.
| Round | First meld |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | 50 |
| Round 2 | 90 |
| Round 3 | 120 |
| Round 4 | 150 |
- You can lay down several melds at once to reach it.
- Red threes and book bonuses don't count toward it, only the cards' own values.
- Once either partner has met it, you both meld freely for the rest of the round.
Counting a first meld, step by step
Say it's round 2, so your team needs 90. You're holding three kings, three aces and three 5s.
Add them up: 30, 60 and 15 make 105, which clears 90, so all three melds go down together. Without the aces you'd have 45, nowhere near enough.
Taking the discard pile
Instead of drawing two cards from the stock, you can take the top seven cards of the discard pile, or the whole pile if it holds fewer than seven. To do it:
- the top card must not be a black three,
- you must hold two cards of the same rank as that top card, and
- you must meld those three cards at once, before the rest of the pile goes into your hand.
Taking the pile: show two natural 9s, meld them with the 9 on top, then take the next six cards into your hand.
If your team hasn't met its first meld yet, that meld has to reach the round's minimum. The top card of the pile counts toward it, but the six cards underneath do not.
A black three on top stops the next player from taking the pile, and only that player. Once another card covers it, the pile is open again.
Picking up your foot
When your hand is empty, your foot becomes your new hand. How you get there decides when you play it:
- Meld your last hand card and you pick up your foot at once and keep playing, ending the turn with a discard from it.
- Discard your last hand card and you pick up your foot, but you play it from your next turn.
Until you are in your foot, you cannot go out. Anything still sitting in your foot when someone else goes out counts against your team, red threes included.
Red and black threes
- Red threes are bonus cards. Lay each one face up as soon as you get it, whether from the deal, the stock or your foot, and draw a card to replace it. Each is worth 100 on the table, and 100 against you if it's still in your hand or foot at the end.
- Black threes only block. Discard one and the next player can't take the pile. They can't be melded, and each one left in your hand costs you 5.
Going out
Going out ends the round, and your team scores 100 for it. You can go out when all of these are true:
- your team has finished at least one clean book and one dirty book,
- you are playing from your foot, and
- you can get rid of every card you hold, ending with a discard.
The round also ends if the stock runs out and the player whose turn it is can't draw. Nobody scores the 100 in that case.
Table rules vary. Plenty of tables ask for more than one clean and one dirty book, and many make you ask your partner's permission first. See agree before you deal.
Scoring a round
When the round ends, each team adds up its books and bonuses, adds the value of every card it melded, then subtracts the value of the cards left in both partners' hands and feet.
| Bonus | Points |
|---|---|
| Clean book (no wild cards) | 500 |
| Dirty book (with wild cards) | 300 |
| Wild book, where the table allows it | 1,500 |
| Each red three on the table | 100 |
| Going out | 100 |
A round, scored step by step
Here's how round 2 might add up. Your partner went out. Your team finished two clean books (kings and 8s) and one dirty book (five queens and two jokers), has an unfinished meld of three aces on the table, and laid down two red threes. You're in your foot, left holding a 9 and a 4.
| Part of the score | Points |
|---|---|
| Books: 500 each for the kings and the 8s, 300 for the queens | 1,300 |
| Red threes: two at 100 each | 200 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Melded cards: 70 for the kings, 70 for the 8s, 150 for the queens, 60 for the aces | 350 |
| Cards left in your foot: a 9 and a 4 | minus 15 |
| Score for the round | 1,935 |
Write that under round 2 on the score sheet, carry the running total, and deal the next round.
Agree before you deal
Hand and Foot has no standard rulebook, and published rules disagree on the points below. Settle them before the first deal, especially with a new group.
- The deal. 11 and 11, as taught here, or 13 and 13.
- Books needed to go out. One clean and one dirty, as taught here, or two clean, two dirty and a wild book.
- Wild books. Allowed and worth 1,500, required before going out, or not allowed at all.
- Your partner's permission. Some tables make you ask before going out, and the answer is binding. Some also ask that your partner be in their foot first.
- Wild cards in a book. At most three, as taught here, or at most two.
- How many decks. Five no matter how many play, or one deck more than the number of players.
Two, three, five or six players
Four players in two teams is the usual game. Other counts work with two changes: use one deck more than the number of players, and with two, three or five players everyone plays alone. Six can play in two teams of three.
Everything else stays the same, including the deal of 11 and 11, the four rounds and their minimums, and the books you need to go out.
Some groups add a third set of cards, the knee, and build five particular canastas before going out. That game has its own rules: see Hand, Knee and Foot.
Print the rules and a score sheet
Print the one-page Hand and Foot rules card and a score sheet with a row for each round, both free. Our printables page has every sheet on the site.
Common questions
How much is a red 3 worth in Hand and Foot?
100 points. Lay a red three face up as soon as you get one and draw a card to replace it. If it's still in your hand or your foot when the round ends, it counts 100 against you instead.
How many decks do you need for Hand and Foot?
Five decks with two jokers each, 270 cards, for the usual four-player game. The common rule for other player counts is one deck more than the number of players, so three decks for two players.
How many cards do you deal in Hand and Foot?
Eleven for the hand and eleven for the foot, dealt to every player. Some tables deal 13 and 13 instead, so agree before the first deal.
What is the difference between Hand and Foot and canasta?
Hand and Foot is a cousin of canasta, not a version of it. You get two sets of cards instead of one, the game uses about five decks instead of two, you draw two cards a turn instead of one, and a round ends when someone plays their foot empty. Canasta runs to a points target, while Hand and Foot is four rounds.
What is a book in Hand and Foot?
A meld of seven cards of the same rank. A clean book has no wild cards and scores 500, a dirty book has wild cards and scores 300, and a book of seven wild cards scores 1,500 at tables that allow it.
How do you go out in Hand and Foot?
Your team needs at least one clean book and one dirty book, you have to be playing from your foot, and you get rid of every card, ending with a discard. Many tables ask for more books than that, or for your partner's permission first.
Can you play Hand and Foot with 2 players?
Yes. Two, three or five players each play alone, and four or six play in teams. Use one deck more than the number of players, so three decks for two players.
Where these rules come from
Hand and Foot has no single rulebook, and both Pagat and Gamerules say so. We wrote this page in our own words from the rules published by Bicycle and The Mahjong Line, and checked each rule against Pagat, Gamerules and the Hand and Foot section of Wikipedia's canasta article. Where they differ, the difference is in "agree before you deal" above.
If your group plays a rule differently, please tell us through the contact page. Red Threes is independent and isn't affiliated with any of these sites or card makers.