Hand and Foot: The setting, gameplay, item, and scoring of Hand and Foot

Do you know how to win in the game of Hands and Feet? The following article describes the setting, gameplay, item, and rules for this version of the game. The Hand and Foot card game is also called Hand and Foot Canasta, which is related to the normal North American Canasta in which each player is dealt two sets of cards: the hand and the foot. Although there are many variations and consequently no standard set of hand and foot rules, a typical game involves four people playing in pairs.

Startup

Players on the same team sit across from each other and use a total of 270 cards, which equals 5 decks along with 2 Jokers per deck. You can use any simple method that you would use in other card games to choose the team that deals first. Each player receives 13 cards that are reserved for later use. An additional set of 13 cards is then dealt to each player and kept in their hands for play.

The game

Once the cards are dealt, the remaining cards are placed in the center of the playing surface and the first card is turned over. Play goes to the left of the dealer or clockwise.

Each player draws two cards from the kitty or stock pile. When a player gets a meld that is a group of three or more of the same number, including jokers (as long as the jokers do not exceed the number of natural cards), the cards may be set. If a partner sets a meld, the player now does not have to make a minimum meld obligation; instead, the partner simply adds playable cards to the partner’s combination.

The object

A team is required to lay down (or merge) 50 points to pass the first round by forming groups of 7 cards called Canastas. By drawing 2 cards and discarding one, the game continues as each team earns as many points as possible.

When all the cards in the ‘hand’ have been played, now is the time to lift the ‘foot’ and continue making melds and baskets.

The initial round ends when a player can ask permission to “go out”. To “go out” it is required that the pairs have a clean basket and a dirty basket. A clean canasta is simply 7 cards with no jokers, while a dirty canasta can contain jokers equal to or less than the number of natural canasta cards. The goal is to build canastas (seven cards) by combining at least 3 cards (three of a kind or a set of three with a pair and a joker). Except for jokers, playing cards can be added to finished canastas.

the score

Card Values:

1. Jokers (Jokers) — 50 points 2. Deuces (Jokers) — 20 Points 3. Aces — 20 Points 4. Eight to King — 10 Points 5. Three to Seven — 5 Points

At the end of each round, the number of points each association must gather to achieve the merger increases by a certain number of points, as illustrated

1. Round 1……..50 stitches 2. Round 2……..90 stitches 3. Round 3……..120 stitches 4. Round 4…. ……150 points

There are a number of variations of the hand and foot instructions that can be found by searching for Hand and Foot online. Also, online hand and foot play is a popular variation of live hand and foot play.