Canasta Canasta is played each Friday at 11:30 AM, and every other Wednesday at 11:30 AM, with a lunch break about 12:30 PM. A social but competitive event and is well attended. Open to all members with cash prizes for the winners. Couples Canasta is played once a month on the second Wednesday at 7:00 PM with scoring and rules the same as the Friday game. Make dinner reservations for 5:30 PM. Scroll down for most recent game results! Canasta Director Nancy Collins 426-2187 Tip For Play - At the beginning of play, it's sometimes wize to let the discards add up before opening with a 90 count meld. The opponents may discard something to allow the discards to be picked up and open at that time. Of course, if the opponents open, you should also open. Tip For Play - You can start making black canastas when the deck gets down to the last twelve cards. Showing all your cards to your partner just before that happens is a good idea. Your partner may have cards to make a natural (red) canasta, which scores 500 points and can meld accordingly. Also, the opponents may go out and leave you holding a lot of good cards. Tip For Play - To make wild card canastas, never hold any wild cards in your hand when working on the first canasta. When starting the second wild card canasta, start by melding three and holding a fourth wild card. When you make the first meld of three, partner knows you are holding one in your hand and can add accordingly. If you are unable to complete the second canasta, you will have one wild card left in hand to make a black canasta. Tip For Play - The more experienced players sometimes hold their fours, fives and sixes because we less experienced players tend to hold the big numbers and discard the smaller cards, making it possible to pick up the discard pile. Click here to learn how to play Canasta, Smyrna Yacht Club Style! Current Highest Recorded Scores On Friday! 1 - Betty Noland - 49,620 - November 7, 2008 2 - Wini Barongi - 49,435 - May 15, 2009 3 - Sue Strickland - 49,045 - August 1, 2008 4 - Pegge Garriques - 48,900 - June 11, 2010 5 - Sarah Reetz - 48,725 - May 12, 2006 6 - Ann Blackwood - 48,510 - August 1, 2008 7 - Cathy Nagle - 48,330 - October 16, 2009 Current Highest Recorded Scores On Wednesday! 1 - Linda Syrotiak - 49,065 - August 4, 2010 2 - Mary Miller - 48,840 - September 17, 2008 3 - Linda Syrotiak - 48,800 - March 17, 2010 4 - Dianne Bowman - 48,255 - November 19, 2008 5 - Joyce Kramer - 47,970 - August 8, 2007 6 - Georgia Dennis - 47,475 - July 23, 2008 7- Vera Prada - 47,440 - November 19, 2008 8 - Sue Strickland - 47,425 - July 11, 2008 9 - Connie Willeki - 47,270 - May 21, 2008 10 - Gayle Frasch - 47,225 - February 6, 2008 Currrent Hi\ghest Score for Couples Canasta - - recorded May 12, 2010 - Gayle Frasch, 38,260, 2nd Highest Recorded April 15, 2007- Mary Monnier , 37,055 . . . 3rd highest September 9, 2009 - Maggie Housley, 36,990 . . . 4th Highest January 13, 2009 - Donna Enos . . . 36,395, 5th & 6th Highest tied, March 11, 2009 - Dot Kelley, 36,265, March 10, 2010 - Bob Garriques, 36,265 . . .. Friday Canasta Director, Nancy Collins 426-2187 Wednesday Canasta Director, Nancy Collins 426-2187 August Hostess Mary Randall Wednesday Couples Canasta Director, Ann Stratton 386-409-3151 August Hostess, Vera Prada   Recent Results Friday Winners August 27, 2010 1 - Pegge Garriques, 43,845 2 - Carol Wilkinson, 43,250 3 - Tina Hallinan, 43,185 4 - Carol Normond, 43,025 Couples winners August 11, 2010 1 - Pegge Garriques, 34,350 2 - John Kelley, 33,545 3 - Dianne Bowman, 32,595 4 - Nanch Collins, 32,410 Friday Winners August 6, 2010 1 - Sarah Reetz, 44,660 2 - Linda Syrotiak, 43,450 3 - Nancy Collins 4 - Ann Mearkle, 40,575 5 - Pegge Garriques, 40,375 Wednesday Winners August 4, 2010 1 - Linda Syrotiak, 49,065 2 - Nancy Collins, 45,390 3 - Mello Iopollo, 42,150  Learn to play Canasta, Smyrna Yacht Club Style! Basics One deck of regular playing cards, including two jokers, is needed for each player. For a four player game, the four decks, including eight jokers, are throughly shuffled (mixed). The two opposite players are partners for the game. Each player selects fifteen cards face down, and then selects eleven cards face down. These are passed to the player on the left. The fifteen cards becomes the playing hand for the left hand player. The eleven cards are placed in front of the left hand player and become the "pennies". More on "pennies" later. Each player selects three cards face down and these are placed on the bottom of the draw pile which is the remainder of the unselected cards. The twelve cards on the bottom are the "bone pile" to signal the approaching end of the game. To Start Play Each player places any red threes, from the fifteen card playing hand, on the table. These are valued at 100 each, 800 when four have been melded, in the final score. The player who places the first red three on the table begins play. If no red threes have been melded, a deck should be cut to determine which player begins play. Card values: Jokers are wild cards, value 50, Twos are wild cards, value 20, Aces are value 20, Eights to Kings, value 10, Four to Sevens, value 5. The first player draws two cards from the pile. PLUS AN EXTRA CARD FOR EACH RED THREE THIS PLAYER HAS MELDED. This player makes a meld of 90 points or more and discards one card face up. The play proceeds to the left and continues. Note: Any red three drawn from the pile earns another one card draw. Note: Melds are three cards of any denomination. No meld can be made by a side until the first meld totalling 90 points or more is made. Canastas are seven cards of any denomination. Canasta Values: Wild Card Canastas = 2500 points, Canastas of Sevens = 1500 points, Natural Canastas = 500 points, Unnatural Canastas, containing wild cards = 300 points. When a player completes a natural Canasta, after discarding, the player earns the "pennies". The eleven cards in front of each player. These are added to the playing hand and play proceeds. Each partner must earn their own "pennies". Any three in the "pennies" is melded but does not earn an extra card from the pile. At each turn, a card may be drawn from the pile or the discards may be picked up and added to the playing hand IF a meld of 90 points can be made with the top discard card or has been made. To pick up the discard pile, the player must have two or more cards of the same denomination in hand. These are placed on the table, the top card from the discards is added to complete the meld. At this time, the player discards and places the remainder of the cards in the playing hand. Whenever a black three or a wild card has been discarded the discard pile cannot be picked up by the next player. Also, if there are more than four cards in a meld by the opponents, a discard of that denomination freezes the discard pile and the discard pile cannot be picked up by the next player. Play proceeds until the pile is exhausted or a player goes out when the pile reaches the final twelve cards. Unnatural Canastas, with wild cards, cannot be made until the deck reaches the final twelve cards. You may go out, meld all your cards, if the discards are to the final twelve and you have a wild card Canasta, a Canasta of Sevens and at least one unnatural Canasta. No discard is needed. A 100 point bonus is added to your partnership score. Upon completion of play. Tabulate your points. 2500 for wild card Canastas. 1500 for Canastas of Sevens. 500 for natural Canastas. 300 for unnatural Canastas. 100 for each red three - 800 for four. Plus the points for each card melded, except red threes which have no value in the card count. And The Winner Is???