After the cards are shuffled, 11 cards are dealt to each player (15 cards to each player in a 2-player game). The remaining cards are placed face-down to form the stock pile. The first card on the stock pile is turned over to form the discard pile.

The player left of the dealer starts the game by drawing two cards from the stock pile. They can decide whether or not they would like to place melds on the table and then place a card on the discard pile to end their turn. The game is then taken in turns in a clockwise direction.

The Discard Pile:

Players can draw the face-up card from the top of the discard pile when they can meld it with at least two matching cards from their hand or with melds they have already placed on the table. This meld or drawn card must be played immediately and the remaining cards in the discard pile must be drawn. Exceptions to this rule are black threes which can never be drawn from the discard pile and wild cards which freeze the discard pile (see below).

Frozen Discard Pile:If a player discards a wild card (Joker or Two) at the end of their turn, the discard pile is "frozen". Players may only draw from the discard pile if the top card can be melded with a natural pair in their hand.

Wild Cards:

Similar to Rummy, the wild cards (Jokers and Twos) in Canasta Fun can be used to form melds. They can be used to replace any card of any rank. Unlike Rummy, once wild cards are melded and placed on the table, they cannot be moved or exchanged. When a wild card is discarded, it locks the discard pile for one turn. The player can then only draw from the discard pile if they can meld it with at least two natural cards.

The Black Threes:

If a player places a black three on top of the discard pile, it blocks the discard pile and the next player and they must draw from the stock pile. Black threes can only be placed on the table when a player "goes out". Black threes cannot be melded with wild cards (Jokers or Twos). The next player must draw from the stock pile. The black three remains on top of the discard pile until a player is able to meld it. Black threes can only be played when a player "goes out". Black threes cannot be melded with wild cards.

The Red Threes (bonus cards):

Red threes that are dealt or drawn from either the stock or discard piles are placed face-up on your team's table. Red threes cannot be melded with any other ranked card (including wild cards) and cannot be melded with your opponent's cards. The red threes serve as bonus cards and their values are added to the player's score that played them when the round ends. If neither of the players in the team has placed melds on the table by the time the round ends, the red threes count as minus points. If a red three is the first face-up card to form the discard pile, another card is drawn from the stock pile and placed on top of the red three to begin the discard pile. Players automatically receive another card if they draw a red three from the stock pile. Each red three played is worth 100 points. Red threes are played automatically in Canasta Fun.