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