Hand and Foot Card Game Rules

What Is Hand and Foot?

Hand and Foot is a North American card game in the rummy family, usually described as a variant of Canasta. Each player gets two sets of cards: a “hand” to play from first and a “foot” to switch to once the hand is empty. Teams build sets of the same rank, called melds or books, and try to complete books of seven cards.

It is usually played by four people in two partnerships, though other player counts are common with house adjustments. There is no single official rulebook, so details vary from family to family and between published sets. This guide covers the most widely used version and flags where rules commonly differ.

Quick Answer: Is There a Hand and Foot Rules PDF?

There is no single official PDF, because the game grew through word of mouth. Many sellers of cards and game accessories publish their own printable sheets, and they do not always agree. The summary below is meant to be easy to copy onto one page, and the rest of the article explains each point.

One-page summary

• Players: usually 4, in partnerships sitting across from each other.
• Cards: several standard decks plus jokers, often one more deck than the number of players.
• Deal: each player gets an 11-card hand and an 11-card foot.
• Rounds: four, with minimum opening meld values that rise each round (commonly 50, 90, 120 and 150).
• Wild cards: jokers and 2s.
• Books: three or more cards of one rank. Seven cards makes a completed book.
• Clean book: no wild cards. Dirty (mixed) book: contains wild cards.
• Red 3s: bonus cards, usually worth 100 points each.
• Black 3s: cannot be melded and are usually used to block the discard pile.
• Going out: finish the hand and foot and meet the round’s book requirements.

What You Need

• Two or more standard decks with jokers. A common guideline is one more deck than there are players, so five decks for four players.
• Paper and pen for scoring.
• Enough table space for each team’s books and a shared stock and discard pile.

Setup and Dealing

Shuffle all decks together and split the pile into two or more stock piles with a gap for the discard pile. In many groups, each player deals their own cards: you take two piles of 11 cards from the stock. One pile is your hand and the other is your foot, kept face down until you need it.

Some groups give a bonus if a player draws exactly 22 cards for the deal, and some rotate dealing instead. Treat these as house rules and agree on them first.

Turn one card face up to start the discard pile. If it is a wild card or a red 3, many groups bury it and turn another.

Card Values

Values differ slightly between groups. A commonly used set is:

How a Turn Works

1. Draw. Take two cards from a stock pile. Many groups also allow you to pick up cards from the discard pile if you can immediately use the top card in a meld.
2. Meld (optional). Lay down sets of three or more cards of the same rank.
3. Discard. End your turn by placing one card on the discard pile.

Red 3s are laid down as soon as you get them and replaced from the stock.

Picking Up the Discard Pile

Rules for this vary the most. In a common version, you may take a group of cards from the top of the discard pile, often seven, if you can meld its top card using natural cards from your hand. Other groups require taking the whole pile. A black 3 on top usually blocks the pile.

Melds and Books

A meld is three or more cards of the same rank. Suit does not matter. Wild cards can fill in, but there is usually a limit so wild cards do not outnumber natural cards in a meld.

• A book is a meld of seven cards.
• A clean book has no wild cards and scores more.
• A dirty book includes wild cards and scores less.
• Some groups also allow a book made only of wild cards, which scores the most.

Only one meld of a given rank can be in progress for a team at a time. Partners add to the same melds.

Minimum Opening Meld

Each team’s first meld in a hand must reach a minimum point value, which rises each round. A common schedule is 50, 90, 120 and 150 points. Once a team has opened, later melds have no minimum.

Picking Up the Foot

When a player plays or discards the last card of their hand, they pick up their foot and play from it. Many groups say that if you meld your last hand card, you pick up the foot immediately and continue your turn. If you discard your last card, you take the foot at the start of your next turn.

Going Out

To go out, a team usually needs a set number of books, a typical requirement being at least two clean books and two dirty books. Both partners should usually have played from their foot. Many groups also require asking your partner “May I go out?” and accepting a simple yes or no.

The round then ends and scores are tallied.

Scoring

Scoring commonly includes:

• The value of every card in your team’s melds.
• Bonuses for completed books. A common set is 500 for a clean book and 300 for a dirty book, with a larger bonus for a wild-card book.
• 100 points for each red 3.
• A bonus for going out, often 100.
• Minus the value of cards left in both players’ hands and feet.

After the fourth round, the team with the highest total wins.

Common House Rules

• Different round counts or a point target, such as playing to a set score instead of four rounds.
• Different dealing bonuses or rotating the dealer.
• Whole-pile pickups instead of a partial pickup.
• Singles or three-player versions, which may relax the going-out requirements.
• Variants with a third pile, sometimes called “Hand, Knee and Foot”.

Whatever you choose, write it down before the first deal.

Hand and Foot vs. Canasta

Hand and Foot borrows ideas from Canasta, including melding sets and wild cards, but it uses many more cards, gives each player a second pile to play after the first, and uses round-by-round opening requirements. Canasta is typically played with two decks and scores differently. If you enjoy the rummy style of play, you might also like Five Crowns, which has a different structure but a similar meld-and-discard rhythm.

Tips for Beginners

• Agree on pickup, going-out and scoring rules before dealing.
• Keep a running tally of which books your team has started.
• Be careful with how many wild cards you commit to a single book.
• Keep your foot in mind: strong cards in the foot can change your plan once you reach it.

If you enjoy partnership card games, try Euchre or Kemps, which both reward teamwork.