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Canasta
Riverwood Canasta Club
Canasta is an old card game with many versions. It first appeared in Uruguay in the 1940’s and reached the USA in the late 1950’s and became an instant hit. It was one of the earliest clubs formed at Del Webb Ponte Vedra. It is not a difficult game but is friendly, fun and challenging. It is normally played as a foursome with two partners.
There are many variations of Canasta. In our club we play Triple Play, introduced to the club by Saundra Ritz in 2014. It is played with 6 decks. Lessons are available: ask any board member.
The other version we are playing is Samba, newly introduced to the club in 2024. It also uses 6 decks and is more complicated version of canasta. Unlike Triple Play, in which only cards of the same suit may be melded, Samba also allows sequences of 3 or more cards in the same suit to be melded. A seven-card sequence is a Samba and is a high point canasta. Lessons may be given if a player is interested in learning "the thinking man's canasta".
Everyone wanting to play canasta, either permanent or substitute, must be a paid member (dues are $12 per year). Sign up in the canasta binder and put your check with your cell phone number, in the first pouch in the binder.