Hand And Foot Card Game Rules

Hand and Foot: A Comprehensive Guide to the Rules

Hand and Foot is a fast-paced, exciting card game that combines elements of Rummy and Canasta. It’s a game of strategy, melding, and a little bit of luck, perfect for family game nights or gatherings with friends. This guide provides a complete breakdown of the Hand and Foot rules, ensuring you’re ready to play and win!

What you'll need: Two standard 52-card decks plus four Jokers, a scoring pad, pencils, and at least two players (ideally 4-6 players).

Understanding the Basics: Melds and Scoring

The core of Hand and Foot is building melds. Melds are sets of cards of the same rank (three or more cards of the same number, e.g., three sevens) or sequences (three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive order, e.g., 7, 8, 9 of hearts).

Scoring: Points are earned by melding cards and going out (emptying your hand). Jokers are wild cards, worth 50 points each. Each Ace is worth 20 points, face cards 10 points, and numbered cards their face value.

Gameplay Stages: Setting Up and the First Round

1. Dealing: Each player is dealt 11 cards. The remaining cards form the stock pile. The top card of the stock is turned face up to start the discard pile.

2. The Hand Phase: Players must reach a specific meld point total before they can move into the foot phase. This total is usually set at 50 points. Melds are done by drawing cards from the stock or discard pile and laying them down. Players can only meld in turns.

3. The Foot Phase: Once a player reaches 50 meld points (or more, depending on the agreed-upon rules), they enter the Foot phase, where they are also allowed to meld 2 additional hands of 11 cards each.

4. Drawing and Discarding: In each turn, a player draws one card, either from the stock or the discard pile. After melding (if possible), they must discard one card onto the discard pile.

5. Going Out: A player "goes out" by melding all their cards. This allows a player to discard the remainder of their hand.

Advanced Rules and Strategies: Improving Your Game

• Canasta: This is a critical part of Hand and Foot. A Canasta is a meld of seven or more cards of the same rank. Building a Canasta significantly increases your score. Red Threes are wild cards.

• Going Out with a Canasta: Going out with at least one Canasta is essential for a higher score.

• Picking up the Discard Pile: You can pick up the discard pile only if you can immediately meld at least two cards from the pile.

• Bonus Points: Various bonus points are awarded for achieving specific milestones, such as going out first or having the most melds.

• Variations: The game has several variations, such as the requirement of meld points to start foot, or the number of cards needed in canasta. Always agree on specific rules before the game begins.

Winning the Game

The first player to reach a predetermined score (often 5000, but this is adjustable) wins the game. This score is the cumulative score from all rounds.

Tips for Success

• Strategic Melding: Focus on creating melds efficiently, aiming for Canastas whenever possible.

• Discard Carefully: Don't discard cards that would benefit your opponents.

• Observe Your Opponents: Pay attention to their melds to anticipate their strategies and avoid giving them cards they need.

• Practice Makes Perfect: The more you play, the better you'll become at strategically melding cards and making smart decisions.

Hand and Foot is a challenging and rewarding card game. With this comprehensive guide, you're well-equipped to understand the rules and develop your own winning strategies. So grab your cards and start playing!