However, a meld can never have more wild cards than cards of the actual rank (EXAMPLE: P1 can add Jokers and 2's to their meld of three 9's, but they cannot add any more than three Jokers and 2's because they only have three non-wild cards in the meld). 2's and Jokers are wild cards and may used to help start a meld or be added to an existing meld.To start a meld, a player must have at least three or more matching rank cards (EXAMPLE: P1 starts a meld by placing down three 9's).Cards are scored according to their rank and quantity. In Canasta, the goal is to be the first team to score 5000 points via their card melds (sets of cards).
