Beginners

Hi Canasta Lovers,
 I started off  the new year yesterday with two beginner classes. I thought it might be an interesting exercise to follow their progress over the next few weeks. Maybe you Canasta Goddesses can help me over the rough spots ("I will never understand those SEVENS!")

I start out each beginner class with a short history of Canasta. Did you know the game of Canasta originated in Uruguay? The word canasta means basket in Spanish. Canasta is the name of the basket or tray that we keep our draw cards and discards in.  We then discuss what a canasta is and how we go about melding, which brings us to how to count our points.  I have a little quiz sheet  that teaches how to count the points in your hand and what makes them usable.
Example:  "I have an ace, YOU said it is worth 20 points."
                 "Yes ma'am, but you need another ace and a wild card to use it."
                 "I don't get it."
                 "You will!"
First hurdle jumped.

And now we deal. I tell the girls to arrange their hand in numerical order. Suits are not important in Canasta (unless you are wearing a pretty new one.)  I have found that most beginners like to play the first few hands open.  However when so many cards are on the table confusion ensues. What is in your hand? Where are my melds?  Yesterday I had the bright idea of putting masking tape on the tablecloth creating an outer ring where we lay down our hands for all to see, and the inside of the ring is where we meld and work on making our canastas. It seemed to work out pretty well.

Time to deal with those pesky "clean triples" What are they?  "What if I never get one?" Stuff happens! At this point all my students say, "I thought this was supposed to be easy, this is as hard as Bridge." I explain that all the new rules that have been put into place makes canasta a little harder to learn but still so much fun to play.

Next week we will tackle sevens and aces, If two are good why aren't three better? Inevitably some one will make pairs or a joker canasta (remarkable how often that happens to newbies.)  Excitement prevails! Follow us as we move these rookies along the road to the kingdom of canasta goddesses.

Love, Barbara