Going-Out Timing
Going out ends the round — sometimes for your team's benefit, sometimes catastrophically not. The decision is rarely about the +100 bonus; it is about denying the opponents their remaining plays while protecting your partner's un-melded cards from the penalty column.
The Canasta Gate
Your team can only go out when at least one clean canasta and one dirty canasta are on the table. The rules engine enforces this — try to close the round without the two-canasta requirement met and the play is rejected. So the first question on every going-out turn is not do I want to close, it is can I close at all.
This requirement makes the canasta gate the rate-limiter of the whole round. If your team has neither canasta complete, the going-out math does not apply yet — you are still building. If your team has both, closing becomes a live option every turn and the decision moves to timing.
A subtle corollary: if your team only has one canasta — clean or dirty — the rules engine will reject a close even if your hand and foot are both empty. Closing on a single canasta is impossible, so any "I am one card from out" math has to start by confirming the second canasta is locked in.
Asking Permission
Etiquette in most house rulesets and tournament play expects the player going out to ask "may I go out?" before playing the closing discard. The partner can answer yes or no. A "no" keeps the round open — the would-be closer plays a non-closing turn instead.
The rule exists because closing while your partner is still holding high-value cards in hand or foot means those cards become penalties for your team. A partner who waves you off is telling you they have ground to cover before the round ends; respect it, even when the going-out bonus is sitting right there.
What you cannot do is ask for permission and tip your partner about the contents of your hand ("I'm sitting on three jokers — should I go out?"). That crosses from etiquette into coaching and most groups consider it cheating. Stick to the yes/no question and let your partner make the call from what they can see on the table.
Counting Partner's Hand
You cannot see your partner's cards. You can absolutely deduce how many they are holding. The mental math:
•
Cards drawn so far this round — every turn each player draws two from the stock or picks up the pile. Track them like a hawk.
•
Cards melded so far this round — visible on the table. Subtract from cards-drawn.
•
Cards discarded so far this round — also visible (in the discard pile, before any pile pickups). Subtract from cards-drawn.
•
Foot flipped? If yes, they have already eaten 11 extra cards. Adjust the running total.
The residual — cards in hand plus foot — is what becomes a penalty if you close right now. Knowing that number is the difference between "close, banking +100" and "close, banking +100 and surrendering -85 in partner penalties for a net -15."
Reading Opponent Canastas
Track the opposing team the same way you track your partner — but for a different reason. Knowing whether the opposing team has hit their canasta gate tells you whether they are themselves a going-out threat.
Opponents one canasta away
They cannot close yet. You have time to extend melds and grow score. Hoarding wilds for your own dirty book is safer than usual.
Opponents have both canastas
They can close at any time. Stop accumulating cards you cannot meld — every card in hand or foot becomes a penalty the moment they go out. Defensive freezes (see the Freezing strategy page) become worth their cost here.
Both teams gated
It becomes a race. Whichever team finishes the gate first owns the going-out decision; the trailing team is stuck building under threat.
Points on the Table vs. Points in Hand
Every card has two possible point values: the positive value it pays once melded on the table, and the negative value it costs as a penalty when stranded in hand or foot at round end. Going-out timing is about flipping the sign on as many cards as possible — for your team, and against the opponents.
Worked case: you hold three jokers and a 4. If you close right now, those four cards subtract 154 points (50 + 50 + 50 + 5). If you stay open one more turn and meld the jokers into a dirty canasta that is already five cards down, the jokers go from -150 to +300 bonus plus their +50 face value each melded — a swing of roughly +600 points on the same hand. The +100 going-out bonus is a rounding error next to that swing.
The inverse case: you hold a 5 and a 7. Twelve points of penalty. Staying open one more turn lets the opponent close and dump their own 40 points of penalty onto you. Close now, even at -12 in your own hand, to deny them the +100 bonus and the chance to clean their hand. Both decisions are correct in context — the math is always the comparison between the swing on your side and the swing on theirs.
The +100 Going-Out Bonus in Context
The going-out bonus is +100. Compared to a clean canasta (+500), a dirty canasta (+300), or even a fully-melded red 3 batch (+100 each, plural), the going-out bonus is the smallest meaningful bonus in the game. It is a tiebreaker, not a goal.
The right mental model: do not close to grab the +100. Close to deny opponents their remaining turns. The +100 is the small reward paid for ending the round at the right moment; the much bigger reward is the difference between the score you bank by ending the round and the score the opponents would have banked if you had let it continue.
If the +100 is the only thing on the line and your partner is loaded, holding the round open is almost always the right call. Let them ask permission again next turn after they have cleared a meld or two.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can my team legally go out?
Your team must have at least one clean canasta and one dirty canasta on the table before any player on your side empties both their Hand and Foot. The closing player then plays a final discard. The rules engine enforces this gate — if the canasta requirement is not met, the play is rejected.
Do I really need to ask my partner before going out?
In most house rulesets and in tournament play, yes — most groups expect the player going out to ask "may I go out?" before playing the closing discard. The partner can hold the round open by saying no, which is the right call when they have low-value cards in hand or foot that would be lost as penalty. The etiquette exists because going out without consulting can cost your partner more than the going-out bonus pays.
How do I read my partner's hand without seeing it?
Track three signals. (1) How many cards they have drawn versus melded in the round — every drawn card not melded is still in their hand or foot. (2) Whether they have flipped to their Foot yet. A partner still in Hand has many more cards stranded than one who has emptied to Foot. (3) Their discards — partners stop discarding the rank they are building, and dump ranks they have given up on. Combined, these tell you their approximate hand size and color of cards left.
Should I go out just to grab the +100 bonus?
Almost never. The going-out bonus is +100. A clean canasta is +500. A dirty canasta is +300. If you are sitting on enough cards to lay down another canasta — or extend an existing canasta meaningfully — closing the round to collect +100 burns the much larger bonus you would have collected next turn. Close the round when closing also denies the opponents their plays, not because the +100 is in itself worth chasing.
When is closing the round the right move?
Three classic spots. (1) An opponent is one turn from clearing their Foot, and letting the round continue means you eat penalties on big hands. (2) You are ahead and the cards left on the table are dwindling — closing locks in your lead. (3) Your hand is thin and your partner's hand is thin; there is nothing more to be gained by staying open and the going-out bonus is unopposed gravy.
Related
Rules
The base rules — canasta gate, going-out mechanics, etiquette.
Strategy: Melding Wilds
How wild deployment shapes the closing canasta math.
Strategy: Freezing the Pile
Defensive freezes that stall a closing opponent.
Going Down by Round
The opening-side math that lets you reach the canasta gate.
Scoring Chart
Every bonus weighed against the +100 going-out bonus.