Hand and Foot
How to Play Hand and Foot
Hand and Foot is a four-player melding game for two teams. You shuffle five 52-card decks including jokers — one deck per player plus one extra, not two decks — and deal 11 to a Hand and 11 to a Foot. Each person plays the Hand first. When that pile is gone, they pick up the Foot. Seven of a rank is a canasta. First team to 10000 wins.
This page is kitchen-table US partnership Hand and Foot. Short enough to deal tonight. Not a league book. This is not Canasta. Canasta is two 52s plus four jokers, 11 each, no second pile, race to 5000. Hand and Foot deals one deck per player plus extras, and everyone has a Hand pile and a Foot pile. Two to six people can play; tonight's default is four, partners across. Pick it from tonight with 4 players.
What you need
- Four players. Partners sit across from each other, never side by side. Two, three, five, and six also work — say how before you deal.
- Five standard 52-card decks shuffled together, jokers in. One deck per player plus one extra. Not two decks. Not Canasta.
- Paper with two running totals. Game is 10000.
Sit, pick a dealer, agree on the house
Partners sit across and play as a team. Melds are shared: once your side is on the table, either partner may add to those piles. Cut for the first deal, or point at someone. After each hand, the deal moves clockwise.
Say these out loud before the first card:
- Five decks including jokers. 11 Hand, 11 Foot. If you only brought two 52s, that is Canasta, a different page. Some tables deal 13 and 13 — tonight is 11 and 11.
- Draw two, discard one. Not draw one. Finish the Hand before anyone touches their Foot.
- Initial meld. Your team's first spread must meet a point minimum from the table below. Count card values, not canasta bonuses, for that first drop.
- One canasta to go out, both Feet in play. Partner still holding a face-down Foot? You cannot go out. If your table also wants a clean and a dirty canasta, say so now.
Deal 11 to the Hand, 11 to the Foot
Shuffle all five decks together. Deal clockwise until each player has 11 — that is the Hand, held and played first. Deal 11 more to each person, stacked face down on the table. That is the Foot. Nobody looks at it. The rest is the stock, face down. Turn the next card face up beside it — that upcard starts the discard pile. If the upcard is a red 3 or a wild, turn another card onto it.
If someone has 10 or 12 in the Hand, or a Foot that is not 11, you misdealt. Throw it in and deal again.
Red 3s go down immediately
Red 3s are a bonus, not a rank you meld. If you are dealt one in the Hand, or you draw one from the stock, lay it face up and draw a replacement. They sit with your team's score, not in a meld pile. A red 3 in the Foot waits until you pick that pile up — then it goes down the same way.
Each red 3 is 100 if your side has melded at least once this hand. If the hand ends and your team never melded, those red 3s count minus.
Melds of 3+, canasta of 7
A meld is three or more cards of the same rank. Kings with kings. Aces with aces. Suits do not matter. You do not make runs (7-8-9 is nothing).
Wilds are 2s and jokers. They stand in for a rank. A meld still needs at least two natural cards of that rank, and you never put more wilds in a meld than naturals. You cannot meld 3s with wilds.
A canasta is seven cards of one rank in one meld. Square it up so the table can see it. Natural — no wilds, often called clean — is the better one. Mixed — has wilds, often called dirty — still counts. That is the thing you are building all hand.
Your turn: draw two, meld, discard
Left of the dealer starts. Each turn has three parts.
- Draw two from the stock, or take the discard pile if you can use the top card in a meld right now — two natural cards of that rank from your hand, or one if your team already has that rank on the table. You take the whole pile, not just the top card. Taking the pile replaces the draw-two.
- Meld if you want. First spread for your team must hit the initial minimum. After that, either partner may add to your side's piles or start new ranks.
- Discard one card face up on the pile. That ends the turn unless you went out.
A black 3 on the discard stops the next player from taking the pile. They draw two from the stock instead. Black 3s are not wilds. You only meld them as a set of black 3s, and only when you are going out.
Finish the Hand, then pick up the Foot
Play the Hand until it is empty. Do not peek at the Foot. Do not mix the two piles.
When the last Hand card leaves: if you melded it and you have not discarded yet, pick up the Foot immediately and keep going this turn — meld from it, then discard. If you discarded the last Hand card, the Foot stays down until your next turn. Then you pick it up and play from there.
The Foot is a second Hand, not a bonus. Cards still in it at the end of the hand count against you. Getting it into play is half the game.
Go out after a canasta, both Feet in play
To go out, you empty the Foot — meld the rest, with a final discard — and your team already has at least one canasta, and both partners have picked up their Foot. Partner still sitting on a face-down pile? Play on.
Some tables also require one clean canasta and one dirty canasta. If that is your house, say so. Tonight's default is one canasta and both Feet in play.
If the stock runs out and nobody can take the pile, the hand is over. Nobody gets the going-out bonus. Count what is on the table and what is left in Hand or Foot.
Scoring, in the amount you need tonight
After the hand, count each side. Add melded card values and bonuses. Subtract cards still in Hand or still in an unplayed Foot.
| What | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| Ace or 2 | 20 |
| King through 8 | 10 |
| 7 through 4, black 3 | 5 |
| Red 3 (if your side melded) | 100 each |
| Natural canasta (7, no wilds) | 500 |
| Mixed canasta (7, with wilds) | 300 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Cards left in Hand or Foot | Minus those card values |
| A side reaches 10000 | That side wins |
| Your team's score going into the hand | First meld must be at least |
|---|---|
| 0–2995 | 50 |
| 3000–4995 | 90 |
| 5000–7995 | 120 |
| 8000+ | 150 |
Example: your side has a mixed canasta of kings, a meld of three aces, and two red 3s. Both Feet are in play. You go out. That is 300 for the canasta, aces 60, red 3s 200, going out 100, plus the other cards on the table, minus nothing left in Hand or Foot. Write the total on the pad and deal again. Race to 10000.
Three people — everyone for themselves
Three is a real Hand and Foot table. Do not invent a dummy. Do not sit someone out. Everyone for themselves: same Hand, same Foot, no partner. Shuffle four decks including jokers (one per player plus one extra). Deal 11 and 11. Each person keeps their own melds and their own score. To go out you need a canasta and your own Foot in play. Paper with three names. First to 10000.
Two people is head-to-head the same way — three decks, 11 and 11, no partner. Five or six: one deck per player plus one extra, everyone for themselves, or at six you can make three pairs. Say it. Then deal. Pick three from tonight with 3 players.
Night-one habits
- Empty the Hand. The Foot is the rest of the game, and leftover Foot cards hurt.
- Do not go out while partner still has a face-down Foot.
- The first canasta matters more than a pretty extra meld.
- Black 3s are for stopping the next player, not for filling a canasta.
- Three people is a real Hand and Foot table. Deal. Everyone for themselves.
You know enough to deal. Keep this page beside the pad. Four people is a tonight pick. There is no Hand and Foot trainer on CardPractice — this how-to is the product. If you wanted two decks, 11 each, and 5000, that is Canasta.