How to play Jut Patti

The goal is to be the first player whose whole hand is made of pairs. A pair, or jut, is two cards of the same rank, or a joker with any card. Each turn you draw one card and throw one, swapping loose cards for partners. The winner collects a fixed stake from every other player.

Each player is dealt 7 cards, one at a time, from a standard 52-card deck with no printed jokers. Dealing starts with the player after the dealer, and the host can choose 5, 9 or 11 cards instead.

The hand size is always odd, and an odd number of cards can never be all pairs. So you can only finish right after you draw.

Then the next card is turned face up: the flipped card, which names the joker. The rest go face down as the deck. The discard pile starts empty, and the player after the dealer goes first. After the first hand, the winner of each hand deals the next.

The joker is the rank one above the flipped card, and all four cards of that rank are jokers for the hand. Suits do not matter. If a 6 is flipped, every 7 is a joker. If a 10 is flipped, every Jack is a joker.

• 6♥Flipped cardFace up and out of play for the hand
• 7♠ 7♥ 7♦ 7♣JokersEvery 7, one rank above

The ranks wrap round from King to Ace, so a flipped K♣ makes the Aces jokers. A flipped A♦ makes the 2s jokers.

The flipped card stays face up for the whole hand and is out of play. A new card is flipped each hand, so the joker changes. On Dashain the joker rank is shown by the deck, and jokers in your hand are marked.

On your turn you draw one card, then throw one card.

1. 1Draw the top card of the face-down deck, or pick up the top card of the discard pile. On the first turn the pile is empty, so you draw from the deck.
2. 2If every card in your hand now has a partner, you win on the spot.
3. 3If not, throw one card face up onto the pile. Any card will do, including the one you just took, or a joker.
4. 4Play passes to the next player.

Between turns you always hold the number of cards you were dealt, and only the top card of the pile can be taken. On Dashain you drag a card from the deck or pile into your hand, then drag your throw onto the table.

A pair is two cards of the same rank, in any suits. Colour does not matter: the 8♠ and 8♥ are a pair, and so are the 8♠ and 8♣. Three kinds of pair count:

• Q♠ Q♦Same rankAny suits or colours
• 7♥ 2♣Joker and any cardWhen the 7s are jokers
• 7♠ 7♦Two jokersThey share a rank, so they pair too

Four of one rank make two pairs. Three of one rank make a pair and a loose card, which needs the fourth or a joker. Runs and sets count for nothing: only pairs matter.

An example: the 7s are jokers, and after your draw you hold these eight cards. The Kings, 4s and 9s are three pairs, and the 7♥ is a joker, so it pairs with the 2♣. That makes four pairs, and you win:

• K♠ K♦Pair
• 4♣ 4♥Pair
• 9♠ 9♦Pair
• 2♣ 7♥Joker pair

You win the moment a draw leaves every card in your hand paired. With 7 cards dealt, that means drawing your eighth card and holding four pairs. The winning card can come from the deck or the pile.

There is nothing to declare. On Dashain the table checks your hand after every draw, ends the hand as soon as it pairs up, and shows everyone's cards.

The hand goes on until someone pairs up. If the deck runs out, every card in the discard pile except the top one is shuffled to make a new deck, and play carries on.

On Dashain, every loser pays the winner a fixed stake: 1 point, unless the host sets 2, 5 or 10. How many loose cards a loser holds makes no difference. With four players and a 1-point stake, the winner gets 3 points and each of the others loses 1.

Points add up over every hand at the table. When the room ends, the end screen turns each total into money at the host's rate and shows who pays whom: here, Bikash pays Asha $3. Dashain never handles money; you settle up among yourselves.

The host sets these options for the table:

• Cards each: 5, 7, 9 or 11 (default 7). Fewer cards make quicker hands.
• Stake: 1, 2, 5 or 10 points from each loser (default 1).
• Dollars per point: $0.10, $0.25, $0.50, $1, $2, $5 or your own amount (default $0.25). It is fixed once the table opens.
• Seats: 2 to 6 (default 4).
• Turn timer: off, 15, 30 or 60 seconds. It is a reminder and never skips your turn.

One deck must cover every hand and the flipped card and still leave cards to draw, so bigger hands allow fewer seats. With 5 or 7 cards all six seats are open, 9 cards allow up to 5 players, and 11 cards up to 4.

Keep your jokers, read the pile, and throw the cards least likely to pair.

• Hold on to jokers. A joker pairs with anything, and a thrown one sits on the pile for the next player to take.
• Break up three of a kind. The third card has one natural partner left (the fourth), while a single of another rank may still have three.
• Count what has gone. Buried cards are out of reach until the deck runs out, so a loose card whose partners are in the pile is a good throw.
• Remember the flipped card. It is out of play, so only three cards of its rank are left to find.
• Watch the picks. Everyone sees what you take from the pile, so a pick shows which rank you hold. Theirs show you the same.

These are the words you will meet at a Jut Patti table.

Jut

A pair: two cards of the same rank, a joker with any card, or two jokers.

Flipped card

The card turned face up after the deal. It is out of play and names the joker.

Joker

Any card of the rank one above the flipped card. It pairs with any card, another joker included.

Loose card

A card in your hand with no partner yet.

Pile

The face-up discard pile. Only its top card can be picked up.

Stake

The points each loser pays the winner at the end of a hand.