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Canasta


Game awards	Canasta Groove Rank 5 - 500 Red 3s Lost Your Marbles Rank 13 - 1,300 Red 3s Hair Dryer Rank 33 - 3,300 Red 3s Cake Rank 43 - 4,300 Red 3s Scooter Rank 50 - 10,000 Red 3s Bongo Drums Rank 60 - 11,000 Red 3s Juke Box Rank 70 - 12,000 Red 3s Canasta Diner Rank 80 - 14,000 Red 3s Cruisin' Dice Rank 90 - 16,000 Red 3s Super Scooper Rank 100 - 26,000 Red 3s

Challenge badges	Canastavision (9/1/04) Make 20 Canastas Fantasta Canasta (1/5/05) Meld out before your opponent(s) 20 times Canasta Club (8/10/05) Win 8 games (5,000 points per game) Canastaville (12/14/05) Earn 6,000 tokens (includes spins) Cool Cat (3/15/06) Make 7 Canastas with no wilds Threes Please (1/24/07) Get 30 Red 3s Freeze 3s (7/11/07) Get 50 Red 3s Canasta Master (12/19/07) Win 25,000 Canasta points Tune In and Meld Out (4/16/08) Meld out before your opponent(s) 12 times

Premium badges	Zippy's Badge (animated) Loyal Friends book Get 33 Red 3s Cool Hand (animated) Card Masters book Make 40 Canastas in 4-player games
Mix & Match	Soap Opera EXPIRED Mix & Match (thru 11/14/07) Win four 4-player games in 1 hour Housewarming EXPIRED Mix & Match (thru 1/15/08) Earn 5 jackpot spins Love Scene EXPIRED Mix & Match (thru 3/11/08) Meld Out before your opponent(s) 25 times 7000 Calorie Mix & Match (thru 12/9/08) Win 7,000 tokens (includes spins) Canasta Basket Mix & Match (thru 5/12/09) Win five games with a "Frozen Pile"

Badge tips

Be sure to select a room on the 4-player tab for badges that specify 4-player games!

For Canasta Basket, be sure to select "Players cannot ever pick up discard pile" in the table options!

You can play Canasta with humans or Pogobots (or any combination in 4-player games) for any type of Canasta badge. Take turns making badge progress if playing 2-player with a friend or cooperative partner.

For badges that need Canastas, focus on making those by picking up the pile often and don't worry about winning the game.

Alternately, for badges requiring you to meld out first, refrain from picking up the pile unless you know you can get rid of its cards - focus instead on going out first.

If you're going for Red 3s or Canastas against Pogobots, hands will often last longer if you set table options to require 2 Canastas to meld out.

If you're going for Red 3s or working on ranks, you can extend hands by not melding out (even if you can) until all four Red 3s have been dealt.

To earn Threes Please or Zippy's Badge faster, always draw new cards and never pick up the discard pile to increase your chances of getting the Red 3s.

Canasta points for the Canasta Master badge are earned in the game, not to be confused with tokens or spins. A game ends when one player or team reaches 5,000 points so this one requires five winning games (possibly four if you get high scores). If you lose, it'll take a few more games.

The first time you win the Soap Opera Premium badge, if you remain at the same table and keep playing you'll win it again (and its accompanying tokens) every time you win a hand. Note: there's no guarantee this glitch will continue to work.

For game win badges, refer to Game tips.

Game tips

ALWAYS read a game's How to Play, and also check for a Hints or Tips tab and/or Tutorial. They do help! Click to watch the Canasta tutorial.

You don't get rank (or badge) credit for your Red 3s until you finish a game.

Canastas with no wild cards are worth 500 points versus 300 for Canastas that include wilds, so one or two "natural" Canastas will build your score up fast.

Jokers are worth 50 points each if still in your hand when your opponent goes out, so use them for melds before using your wild 2s. Aces and 2s are worth 20 points each so try not to get stuck with them either. These cards will also help you reach a high opening meld requirement if you think your opponent(s) may be getting ready to go out. Example: a simple 3-card meld of two aces and a joker is worth 90 points!

When playing with a human partner against two Pogobots and the bots are far ahead (or if they get all the Red 3s), you & your partner can each stand and take the bots' seats. Be sure "Allow players to replace computer players" is checked in the table options, and be sure to stand & change seats one at a time or the table will close.

To block your opponent(s) from picking up the discard pile, discard a Black 3 or wild card, then pick up the pile when it comes back to you. If you (or your partner) can't pick it up, continue discarding Black 3s and wilds until you can pick it up (and you'll get all your wilds back). Be careful though: sometimes this backfires and your opponent(s) end up with it all.

Pogobots aren't as bright in Canasta as in some games and you can often beat them whether playing 2- or 4-player games. In 4-player games their lack of smarts can work against you though, as your bot partner will often meld out with a lower score than what the opposing team has on the board.

Pogobots won't pick up the pile before it has 10 cards in Social or Beginner rooms, and they discard 4s, 5s, 6s and 7s early on. This means you can also discard your low cards and if you pick up the pile before your bot opponent(s), it will often contain ready-to-meld Canastas of those low cards.

Three or four Black 3s can be melded, but only if you lay them down when you meld out and have no discard.

More about Canasta

When playing 4-player games, each person on a team gets credit for Canastas and Red 3s that either player gets.

Clicking CTRL and a card will "raise" or highlight all matching cards in your hand. You can toggle all cards in your hand "up" or "down" by clicking SHIFT and any card, which is convenient to check if you have enough points for an opening meld (and to put your cards back again if not).

A new table option was added in April 2008, allowing players the ability to pick up the discard pile or not. Be sure to set this option to the game style you prefer when starting a game, and look for a blue "frozen" symbol when joining tables.

Many players play differently than the game tips suggest (or the way Pogobots play) when it comes to picking up the discard pile, holding cards versus melding them, etc. Even if you can beat the bots every game, you'll be up against tougher competition against humans. Play some friendly, unrated games with humans before deciding to work on upping your Canasta rating.

Some Canasta partners will use instant messages to let each other know what cards they have or need. This is considered cheating by Pogo rules, but it's not reportable as it can't be proven. At best it's unethical, but there's no need to raise a stink and name the players in the lobby. If you feel your opponents are secretly communicating, simply finish the game, leave the table and find another.

If you experience freezing or if your cards start to disappear, clear your browser's cache & cookies, and/or reboot your computer. Don't run any other programs than necessary when playing this game. Adding RAM or upgrading your graphics card can also help. Pogo's Help section has additional suggestions and system settings for smoother game performance.

It's possible to finish a game even with invisible cards. When it's your turn, click the area where the Draw pile sit, then click anywhere in the area of your hand and the Discard button. It's tough to win like this, but at least you can make it to the end and get credit for your Red 3s.

This game's How to Play shows canastas with wilds as being worth 100 points, but they tally up as 300 in the game.

This game ranks up evenly at 100 Red 3s per rank thru Rank 45. Rank 46 requires 1,500, and the next four ranks require 1,000 each.

50 additional ranks and five rank badges were added to this game in August 2007.

Thanks to swimming for sending additional Canasta tips!

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