A simple trick for tracking Aces and 7s in the discard pile

Keeping an accurate count of how many Aces and 7s have landed in the Discard Pile is essential.

A player who tracks these cards well is far better equipped to judge how toxic the pile is before deciding whether to Pick the Pack. This awareness also helps you estimate your chances of completing an Aces or 7s Canasta, or know how many turns you’d need to spend discarding toxic cards if you did pick it up.

Tracking them is easier than it sounds.

At the start of the hand, the Discard Pile is empty, so take a quick look and mentally note “0–0”: zero Aces, zero 7s. As the cards are discarded, update your count. Since A comes before S, use the first number for Aces and the second number for 7s. As the game progresses, you might find yourself thinking something like “2–3”, meaning two Aces and three 7s have already been discarded. Each time the pack is picked, simply reset your mental tally back to “0–0.”

There’s also an alternative method: treat Aces as tens and 7s as ones. Instead of saying “2–3,” convert that to 23. If another Ace appears, your count becomes 33; if a 7 is discarded next, 34, and so on.

It doesn’t matter which system you choose, the important part is to keep counting!