意大利凯纳斯特纸牌是凯纳斯特纸牌的一个变种，除此之外，在游戏当中，每个玩家都会有15张扑克牌。以下讲述如何玩这一种纸牌游戏：
玩家人数：总共有四个人，对面双方是合作关系。
组牌：一个组牌至少由三张相同牌点的纸牌组成。
目标：获得12000点得分的组牌，并且形成canastas（七张牌奖金组合）。
纸牌：一般标准的玩法都是由三套牌组成，每副牌有52张纸牌，一共就有162张纸牌，混合在一起玩。请记住，在玩的时候每张牌看起来都是一样的。
分牌：如果在游戏中不仅有一张纸牌是牌点相同但属于不同套装时，套装的排名是黑桃（高），红心，梅花，方块（低）。在游戏当中，按照规定顺时针方向旋转分牌。
任何人都可以洗牌，但由荷官最后一个洗牌。位于庄家左边的玩家有权利负责切牌。
荷官给每位玩家分发15张牌，一次分发一张纸牌，从庄家左边的玩家开始，按照顺时针方向分牌。在游戏当中，直到每个玩家都出完红色3S时，才可以补牌。
当所补的牌显示出来，补牌张数与补牌的点值一致，所补牌牌面朝下放在弃牌包中。这组补牌在游戏当中是永久冻结的。
其次，从庄家左边的玩家开始，依次将相同数量的纸牌分发至玩家手中。纸牌的面值，J为11，Q等于12，K等于13，2或小丑等于20，其它的纸牌点值就等于它的牌面值。
玩法：在每一个游戏回合中，每次都是抽两张牌打出。一个组牌中由所有的2S组成是允许的，但是不能将2S与其他纸牌进行组合，除非你能做出一个平手凯纳斯特纸牌（例如2-2-2-2-2-2-2）。
在玩卡凯纳斯特纸牌的时，当你有百搭牌的时候，是很难打出去的。此外，最初的组派要求规定必须满足在纸牌中没有任何百搭牌。玩家要获得更高的得分，要求如下：在开始的时候，首次组牌得分要等于最低的得分要求，5000至7495等于160分，7500至9995等于180分，超过10000等于200分。
译文
How to Play Italian Canasta
Italian Canasta is a variation of Canasta, except that each player receives 15 cards. Here’s how to play this card game:
Number of players: Four, in partnerships. Pairs face each other.
Melds: A meld is made up of a minimum of three cards of the same rank.
Object: To score 12,000 points by melding cards and forming canastas （seven-card bonus melds）
The Cards: Three standard 52-card decks are mixed together with six jokers, totaling 162 cards. Remember to use card decks that look the same.
Dealing: 7. If more than one card is of the same rank but different suits, suits are ranked from spades （high）， hearts, diamonds, to clubs （low）。 The player who draws the second highest card sits right of the dealer. The deal then rotates clockwise.
Any person can shuffle, but the dealer has the option to shuffle last. The player to the dealer’s left has the option to cut the deck.
The dealer gives each player 15 cards, one at a time, dealing clockwise and starting with the player to the dealer’s left. The Up cardon the stock isn’t turned until each player has discarded any dealt red 3s.
After the Up cardis shown, the number of cards equal to the Up card’s point value are drawn from the stock and placed facedown under the Up cardto create the discard pile （pack）。 The pack below thisUp cardis perpetually frozen.
Next, players in turn from the dealer’s left take the same number of cards from stock and are placed into their hands. The cards are valued at face value except for J equals 11, Q equals 12, K equals 13; A, 2, or joker equals 20.
Playing: At each turn, draw two cards and discard one. A meld of all 2s is allowed, but 2s can’t be used in other melds unless you can make a deuce canasta （e.g., 2-2-2-2-2-2-2）。
You may not go out on a wild card canasta. Also, the initial melding requirement must be met without any wild cards. At the higher scores, the requirements are as follows: score at start of new deal equals the minimum initial meld; 5,000 to 7,495 equals 160 points; 7,500 to 9,995 equals 180 points; and more than 10,000 equals 200 points.