1: Deal five cards to each player, face down. Everyone looks at their own hand.One regular 52-card deck, for two to four players.
2: Set the rest face down in the middle as the stock. Turn its top card face up beside it.That card is the upcard. It starts the discard pile.
3: The player on the dealer's left goes first, and turns pass to the left.So the dealer plays last.
4: On your turn, look in your hand for a card of the same rank as the upcard.A 9 matches a 9, a queen matches a queen.
5: Have one? Lay it on the upcard. The two cards are a pair.Suits play no part.
6: Then discard any other card from your hand. It is the new upcard.Your turn ends, and the next player tries to match it.
7: No match in your hand? Turn the top card of the stock face up onto the discard pile.One flip a turn.
8: Match the flipped card and you discard as in steps 5 and 6. If not, your turn is over.Either way, the next player plays against the newest upcard.
9: The first player to get rid of every card wins the hand.Play stops there.
Show all 33 rows (24 more)
Three pairs: how a hand goes out 8
1: Every match takes two cards out of your hand: the matching card and one more.Five cards become three, and three become one.
2: With one card left, a match ends the hand. There is nothing else to throw.So an empty hand takes three matches.
3: Pagat describes the aim the same way: three pairs, starting from a five-card hand.Each pair is one card of yours and the upcard under it.
4: A worked hand (ours): you hold a 4, 7, 9, jack and king. The upcard is a jack.First match: your jack goes down, then the 4 as the new upcard.
5: You now hold 7, 9 and king. On your next turn the upcard is a 2, and nothing matches.You flip the stock: a 9.
6: Second match: your 9 goes on the flipped 9, and you throw the king.You hold the 7 alone.
7: A 7 turns up two turns later. Third match: your 7 goes down and you are out.Three matches, five cards gone.
8: Two cards of one rank in your hand (ours): each still needs a match of its own.Only two more cards of that rank are in the deck.
Rulings a table asks about 9
1: Nobody draws. A flipped stock card goes onto the discard pile, never into a hand.It cannot be swapped for a card you hold.
2: Nobody picks up from the discard pile either.The upcard is only there to be matched.
3: A flipped card that matches counts in full: lay your match, then throw one more card.The same as a match on the card the last player threw.
4: Two players may pair the same rank during a hand.No rule page forbids it.
5: Must you play a match you hold? One rule page says you must. Another says you can.Agree before the deal. The standard sheet has you play it.
6: How many players: two to four in two of the sources, two to five in the third.Five players take 25 cards, so one deck is enough.
7: One rule page ranks the ace high. It changes nothing in play.Cards pair only with their own rank.
8: Choosing the dealer: any way you like, such as cutting the deck.A new dealer is chosen for the next hand.
9: Stock used up (ours): shuffle the discard pile, all but the upcard, into a new stock.No source read for this page says what to do, so settle it before you deal.
A version from Belize 7
1: Pitty Pat is known as the national card game of Belize.A site about Belize says the game has many versions and gives the one on this sheet.
2: The deal is the same: five cards each, the deck in the middle, one card face up.That site calls the face-up pile the heap.
3: A match works the same way too: the matching card, then a second card.With no match you turn a card from the deck. No match again, and you pass.
4: The difference: a pair you hold in your hand already counts.Two aces, say, or two kings.
5: Get rid of every card that does not match your pair, and you win.The pair itself never has to be matched.
6: A worked hand (ours): you hold two kings, a 5, an 8 and a 2. The upcard is an 8.Your 8 goes down, then the 2. You hold two kings and a 5.
7: A 5 turns up. Your 5 goes down, only the two kings are left, and you win.Two matches, where the standard game takes three.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-13, in our own words. Pitty Pat is a traditional card game with no governing body, and the pages that describe it are short. The standard sheet was checked on 2026-10-13 against two rule pages: a card maker's rule page, which this site has no tie to, https://www.denexa.com/blog/pitty-pat/, and https://gamerules.com/rules/pitty-pat-card-game/. Both give a regular 52-card deck, five cards each, the rest as a stock with its top card turned up to start the discard pile, the player on the dealer's left first, a card of the upcard's rank discarded and then any other card, one card turned from the stock when nothing matches, the turn passing either way and the first empty hand winning. The first of the two gives two to five players. The second gives two to four, the ace high, a dealer chosen at random, a match that must be played and a new dealer for the next hand, and its answers to readers under the rules say that nobody takes a card from the discard pile, that a flipped card which matches is played like any other match and that two players may pair the same rank. The card game rules site Pagat, https://www.pagat.com/rummy/pittypat.html, gives no rules of play: it calls Pitty Pat the national card game of Belize, for two to four players, and describes the aim as three pairs from a five-card hand. The sheet A version from Belize follows the page Pagat points to, https://www.belizeans.com/pittypat.htm, which says the game has many variations and describes one, where a player holding two matching cards wins after discarding the cards that do not match. That page describes the game as played for a wager; this page gives the play and leaves that out. English Wikipedia has no article on the game. Rows marked ours are this site's own and are not official: the worked hands, the row on two cards of one rank and the stock that runs out. The counts of cards follow from the rules above. Licence: own work
How it works
Pitty Pat is a matching game for two to four players and one regular deck, known as the national card game of Belize. Suits play no part and nothing is scored: when a hand is won, you deal again.
Read the full guide
Playing the Pitty Pat card game: one turn
Say the player before you throws a 6 and you hold a 3, a 6 and a queen. Your 6 goes on theirs, then you throw the 3 or the queen for the next player to match. Had you held no 6, you would flip one card from the stock and match that card or pass.
How to play the card game Pitty Pat where the rules differ
The standard sheet is the game two rule pages agree on. A version from Belize changes the ending: a pair already in your hand counts, so a hand can go out on two matches. Rulings a table asks about covers flipped cards, the discard pile and an empty stock.
In the standard game a pair in your hand is a burden: only two more cards of that rank exist. Throw one.
Questions and answers
How do you play the Pitty Pat card game?
Deal five cards each and turn one up. On your turn, discard a card of the same rank as the upcard, then any other card. With no match, flip one card from the stock and try again. The first empty hand wins.
How many cards do you deal in Pitty Pat?
Five to each player, whatever the head count. One more card is turned face up to start the discard pile, and the rest stay face down as the stock.
How many people can play Pitty Pat?
Two to four, according to Pagat and one rule page. A card maker's rule page seats two to five. One deck is enough either way.
Do you draw cards in Pitty Pat?
No. A card flipped from the stock goes onto the discard pile as the new upcard, not into your hand, and nobody picks up from the discard pile. A hand of five can only shrink.
Is Pitty Pat a rummy game?
Pagat files it with the rummy games and likens it to Conquian, because the aim is three pairs from a five-card hand. Other rule pages also call it a shedding game: the winner is the first player with no cards.