Hi Canasta Lovers,
I bumped into Lissy at Publix last week (Paradise is a very small town.) Lissy usually comes up with some pretty interesting card concerns to discuss and, as usual, she didn't disappoint. She related to me that she was playing at a table where one team needed 155 points to meld. Player A melded incorrectly with 150 points but showed three wild cards on her various melds before she had to pick up her cards. She was penalized the usual 10 points for her mistake. When her partner, Player B's turn came around she picked a card and then laid down six wild cards (two big jokers and four deuces). The other team said that she was cheating and that move was not allowed because she knew from her partner's mistake that she could complete the canasta. My initial thought was that is not illegal, who would not lay down 6 wild cards and worst case, she was making lemonade out of lemons.
It was an interesting enough issue, however, that I started asking random goddesses what they thought. The results were mixed, about half saying it was a legit move and the other half saying it shouldn't be allowed. One goddess told me it was a "written down rule!" " Written down where?" I asked. Nobody knows. My suggestion to break the tie would be to make it a table rule to be discussed before playing. BTW if it goes for joker canastas it should hold true for clean aces also.
What perplexed me even more, though, was thinking your opponents were cheating. I like to think that all the Canasta Goddesses here in Paradise and beyond are nice, honest girls who just want to get together for an afternoon of canasta and conversation. We do not play for big enough stakes or celebrity to sully our reputations at a card table.
Whew, now I will get down off my soapbox in time to wish all of my followers, their mothers, daughters, aunts and friends a very happy Mother's Day and a healthy summer season beyond.
With much love,
Barbara
Monday, April 27, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
No Good Deed....
Hi Canasta Lovers,
A few weeks ago I bumped into my first canasta student (see Lissy's Lesson 4/12/13) at the hair salon. As we both getting "beautified" we started talking about our favorite game. Lissy mentioned that she had taken on the thankless task of scorekeeping and suggested that I talk about the ins and outs, the ups and downs and the rights and wrongs of scorekeeping.
It is important, obviously, that the scorekeeper can add and subtract quickly. She should also have very acute hearing as many numbers are called out to her at the same time as cards are being shuffled and dealt, the previous hand is being heatedly dissected, phones are ringing and candies are being unwrapped.
It is also important that the scorekeeper is well acquainted with the table rules used by her particular group. It is important to know which special hands are acceptable and how much it is worth. Score pads can be made up with the value of the special hands, the value of the threes, etc. Is a regular pairs hand the same value as a pairs hand made with wild cards (AKA Palm Beach Pairs)?
The scorekeeper must also keep track of who the next dealer is. Many score pads have a column where you can write in the dealers initials ahead of time which is great if you are only playing with four players, it gets a little sticky with five or six players. For the scorekeeper playing with more than four players can become a scorekeeping nightmare, hence the Whip Out! If a special hand is made when playing with only four players a check mark is made on that team's side of the score pad, at the end of the game the check marks are added into the base score. When playing with five or six players you should bring lots of singles, that way only the players involved in that hand will "whip out" their dollars to pay the other team and the score keeper doesn't have to do anything but smile.
The scorekeeper must have a thick skin! Someone is always looking over your shoulder for a mistake or to make a correction. It is very annoying and unnerving. I like to equal out the scores after each hand, that way you don't carry a mistake for the whole game or God forbid the whole afternoon because when the girls are done playing they want to collect their winnings and go home. If scorekeeping becomes too much for your delicate sensibilities (and it can) the only thing to do is hand your pad and pen to another player and relax for the rest of the game. Then they, too, will learn that no good deed goes unpunished.
It is the time of the year to wish all my Jewish followers a sweet Passover and all my Christian followers a Happy and Blessed Easter., and to all Canasta Goddesses, their families and friends I wish Peace on Earth.
Much love to all, Barbara
A few weeks ago I bumped into my first canasta student (see Lissy's Lesson 4/12/13) at the hair salon. As we both getting "beautified" we started talking about our favorite game. Lissy mentioned that she had taken on the thankless task of scorekeeping and suggested that I talk about the ins and outs, the ups and downs and the rights and wrongs of scorekeeping.
It is important, obviously, that the scorekeeper can add and subtract quickly. She should also have very acute hearing as many numbers are called out to her at the same time as cards are being shuffled and dealt, the previous hand is being heatedly dissected, phones are ringing and candies are being unwrapped.
It is also important that the scorekeeper is well acquainted with the table rules used by her particular group. It is important to know which special hands are acceptable and how much it is worth. Score pads can be made up with the value of the special hands, the value of the threes, etc. Is a regular pairs hand the same value as a pairs hand made with wild cards (AKA Palm Beach Pairs)?
The scorekeeper must also keep track of who the next dealer is. Many score pads have a column where you can write in the dealers initials ahead of time which is great if you are only playing with four players, it gets a little sticky with five or six players. For the scorekeeper playing with more than four players can become a scorekeeping nightmare, hence the Whip Out! If a special hand is made when playing with only four players a check mark is made on that team's side of the score pad, at the end of the game the check marks are added into the base score. When playing with five or six players you should bring lots of singles, that way only the players involved in that hand will "whip out" their dollars to pay the other team and the score keeper doesn't have to do anything but smile.
The scorekeeper must have a thick skin! Someone is always looking over your shoulder for a mistake or to make a correction. It is very annoying and unnerving. I like to equal out the scores after each hand, that way you don't carry a mistake for the whole game or God forbid the whole afternoon because when the girls are done playing they want to collect their winnings and go home. If scorekeeping becomes too much for your delicate sensibilities (and it can) the only thing to do is hand your pad and pen to another player and relax for the rest of the game. Then they, too, will learn that no good deed goes unpunished.
It is the time of the year to wish all my Jewish followers a sweet Passover and all my Christian followers a Happy and Blessed Easter., and to all Canasta Goddesses, their families and friends I wish Peace on Earth.
Much love to all, Barbara
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