The Complete Guide to the Playing Card Game Pitty Pat

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Learn the rules for this simple and addictive card game

Co-authored by Cheyenne Main Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: August 21, 2025 Fact Checked

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Objective

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Setup

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Rules & Gameplay

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Winning Strategies

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Variations

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Video

Pitty Pat is an easy card game that’s similar to Rummy or Conquian. It’s popular in New Orleans and is said to be the national card game in Belize. To play, all you need is a deck of 52 standard playing cards (with the Jokers removed) and 2 to 4 people. Players compete to be the first to get rid of all the cards in their hand by pairing them with the card on top of the discard pile. Keep reading to learn all the rules for this fun simple game!

How to Play Pitty Pat

Deal 5 cards to each player and put the rest of the deck in a stockpile. Flip over the top card in the stockpile to make a discard pile. Take turns trying to match cards from your hand to the rank of the card on top of the discard pile. The first person to discard all 5 cards in their hand wins the game!

Section 1 of 5:

Pitty Pat Objective

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Match the cards in your hand with the top card of the discard pile.

Section 2 of 5:

Pitty Pat Setup

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1
Shuffle the deck and deal 5 cards to each player. Gather 2 to 4 players and sit around a table. Choose someone to be the dealer and ask them to shuffle a deck of 52 playing cards with the Jokers removed. ^{[1]
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- Pitty Pat is a great game for young children, but it’s also fun for older players.
2
Put the deck in the center of the table and turn over the top card. The deck in the center of the table is called the “stock” pile. Place the turned-over card next to the stockpile—this is called the “upcard.”^{[2]
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- The upcard is also the start of the discard pile.

Section 3 of 5:

Pitty Pat Rules & Gameplay

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1
See if the upcard matches a card in your hand. The player to the dealer’s left goes first. Compare the upcard to the cards in your hand—if you have a card of the same rank (like 2, 3, or Queen), discard it on top of the upcard. Discard an additional card from your hand on top of that. Your turn ends, and the player to your left takes their turn.^{[3]
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- If the upcard is a 7 and you have a 7 in your hand, you put the 7 on top of the upcard. You then decide to discard an Ace. The Ace becomes the new upcard for the next player.
- Alternatively, place the upcard with the matching card from your hand on the table in front of you. This allows others to see what’s been matched and decide which cards to discard.
2
Turn over a new card if you can’t match the rank of the upcard. If you don’t have any cards in your hand that are the same rank as the upcard, take a new card from the stock and flip it over face-up on top of the upcard.^{[4]
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- If you have a card that matches the upcard: Place it on top of the upcard. The next player takes their turn.
- If you still can’t match the upcard: You don’t get to discard a card from your hand. The turn passes to the next player.
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Play continues until a player runs out of cards. If the stock is empty, reshuffle the discard pile, place it in the center of the table, and flip over an upcard from the new stock. When someone runs out of all 5 cards in their hand, they’re the winner!^{[5]
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- Alternatively, decide how many games you’d like to play in your session. Keep track of who wins each game on a notepad or with chips—whoever wins the most games wins.
- In online versions, you bet money on each game. This value can be increased or decreased as the game progresses. The game is over when a player runs out of money.^{[6]
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Section 4 of 5:

Strategies to Win Pitty Pat

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Pay attention to the cards played so you can choose what to hold onto. Since there are only 4 cards of each rank in the game, paying attention to what cards other players discard can let you know which cards to discard and which ones to keep in your hand.
- For example, if you know there are 3 Jacks under the upcard in the discard pile and you have 1 in your hand, you know you probably can’t match it to anything and can discard it.
- If you know that no one has discarded any Aces, you might keep the Ace in your hand. When an Ace becomes an upcard, you can discard it.

Section 5 of 5:

Pitty Pat Variations

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1
Allow players to match the suit or the rank. In the original game, you only match the rank of the card in your hand to the upcard. However, in this variation, you can either match the rank (like 4, 6, or King) or the suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades).^{[7]
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- For example, if the upcard is a 4 of hearts, you can either put down a 4 or any card from the heart suit.
- Alternatively, make it so that the players have to match the suit of the upcard with a playing card of the same suit in their hand.
2
Try to match the cards in your hand instead of matching the upcard. In this variation, each player tries to make pairs by drawing cards from the stock. Start by drawing a card from the stock or the discard pile. If you have 2 cards of the same rank, put them on the table in front of you. Discard any card from your hand, and the play continues to the next player.^{[8]
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- When a player runs out of all their cards and has 3 matching pairs on the table in front of them, they win!^{[9]
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