• Home
• Forum
• Forum about rummy

The Canasta Legend

January 27, 2010

 

Four score and ten years ago, and long before you even heard of online rummy, a fever swept across America like a raging fire – a fever so out of control that no one was safe from it.
The doctors were called in but they were puzzled, because you see, the fever was non-fatal. 
In fact, it actually entertained the people so the good doctors decided that this fever might actually be good for the people and took no action other than to describe the fever thus:

The fever was christened “Canasta”.
Soon newspapers and various print media began writing about it.
Back then, there was no “online publication” as, the days of online rummy had not yet dawned.
While researching the news about the fever “Canasta”, the doctors soon realized that “Canasta” was a game – a card game to be precise but like the doctors, the news editors too were puzzled but for a different reason – they found that Canasta actually competed with Mah Jongg and Monopoly for popularity.

Now you have to realize that Mah Jongg and Monopoly were big – big as in everyone who was anyone played these games.
Canasta spread so quickly that various business magazines reported record breaking sales of card decks.
Leading magazines began to do stories on the game and many even published the rules of Canasta. Those who played rummy and these mind you, numbered in the hundreds of thousands, soon realized that Canasta was as high-scoring as rummy.
The more they read about its rules, the more excited they got.

There was a beginning…

With their super sharp noses and amazing network of reporters, the folks in the newspaper and magazine business soon found out that two people were responsible for inventing and releasing the game of Canasta to the public.
These two kindly gents were known as Segundo Santos and Alberto Serrato and they hailed from Uruguay, South America.
The newspaper folks secured an interview with both the gents and the amazing story of the origins of Canasta was revealed.
At this stage I advise you to set your game of Rummy Online aside, fetch that bottle of something nice which you’ve been saving, and settle down besides a warm fire.

I’ll have you know that Alberto Serrato was actually an honest architect by profession and it was he who had named the game “Canasta”.
We’re not sure how the name happened to spring to Alberto’s mind.
Was it divine intervention, was it intuition?
I guess some things must remain a mystery however temporary that might be.
Folks, this story goes back a long way.
How long back does it go?
Oh, I’d say about the time of your grandfather was born – 1939 to be precise.

You see, at that time, there was this card game called “Contract Bridge” that was quite popular. Segundo Sanchez used to play it too. In fact, he was actually a member of one of the big league Jockey Clubs.
Today you play online rummy.
Back then with no internet, the folks would relax with a pack of grimy, dog-eared cards and play a game or two of Contract Bridge.
But Segundo, the bright one, wanted the game to be longer than the hour or two that it took to complete a game of Contract Bridge.

Now in the elite Jockey Clubs I mentioned earlier, the members would play a game of rummy as a kind of warm-up for the game of Contract Bridge.
One fine evening while waiting for his partners to arrive, a glass of rum in his hand, Segundo began to dream…

He dreamt of playing a card game that combined the best parts of Contract Bridge, rummy, and a local rummy variant they called “cooncan”.
Excited about the prospects of inventing a new and potentially exciting game, Segundo began jotting down his dream game.
When his partner Alberto arrived, he explained the outlines to him.
For the next few weeks over several pints of gin or rum I don’t know which, both discussed, played, firmed up the new game borrowing and blending various rules from other games especially rummy.
The new game that was taking shape was a double-deck partnership card game that was very like rummy in that it involved melding but in the new game they could not only add to melds but could also claim the full discard pile.
Segundo and Alberto invited two other partners and after much trial, the new game was born.

How did they come up with a name like Canasta?

I bet you’d love the answer to that one eh?
Well, a few weeks after inventing the game, Alberto and his friends were sitting in a restaurant and playing their new game.
While at it, Alberto noticed a small wicker basket in which they would store their cards.
In Spanish, this basket is called the “Canastillo.” “Canastillo,” Alberto said, and a moment later said “no, Canasta”.
Not to be outdone, the others chipped in with variations of their own but in the end and because Alberto was the inventor of the game, they decided to name the game “Canasta” besides, it was an easy name to say, remember and in general, sounded quite nice.

But how did the game travel to the United States?

You see, there was this nice lady going by the name of Josephine Artayate de Viel who frequently visited New York.
It was she who took this game to the United States – The Regency Club in Manhattan to be precise, and introduced it to her game partners in the club.
The game became so much of a hit that one of the players, a publisher, asked Josephine to codify the rules so he could publish them.
Josephine did so and it was printed immediately.
That folks was when the fever began and it gave birth to the Legend of Canasta.
Today with the wonderful technology of the internet, you can play online rummy against other players in the comfort of your home.

Click Here and try Online Rummy Today