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This page is based mainly on information from Derek Bal.

• Introduction
• Players and Cards
• Deal
• Play
• Scoring
• Variations
• Other web pages on Paiute

Introduction

This Hawaiian draw and discard game has some slight similarity to Knock Poker, but with the difference that it is possible to go out after drawing with a six-card hand.

Players and Cards

Paiute is played by from 2 to 5 players, using a standard international 52-card pack, ace ranking high.

Deal

The dealer shuffles, the player to dealer's right cuts, and the dealer deals five cards to each player, one at a time. After the deal, the next card is placed face up on the table and becomes a wild card - for example if is a three, all the remaining threes are wild for that deal. The remainder of the deck is placed face down on top of the wild card (with part of the wild card still showing) to form the stock.

Play

The play goes clockwise beginning with the player to the dealer's left.

On each turn, a player takes one card: either the top of the face down stock pile or the top card of the face up discard pile. The player must then discard one card face up on the discard pile. If you pick up from the stock you may discard the card you just picked up or a different one; if you pick up from the discard pile you must discard a different card. Therefore until there is a call, players will always have five cards at the end of their turn.

A player who has a winning combination after drawing can call. If the caller is not the dealer, the current round of play is completed, each player up to and including the dealer having one turn to try to make a better winning combination.

A winning combination consists of either five or six cards. It is not obligatory to call when you have a winning combination - you could continue playing and try to improve it - but if you do call you place the combination face up on the table. If it is a five-card combination you then discard your sixth card. If it is a six-card you do not discard on that turn, and the next player as usual may either draw from the stock or take the top card of the discard pile, which is the card discarded by the player before the one who called.

After a player has called, other players in turn around to the dealer can also call if they have a combination that beats the highest combination shown so far.

The winning combinations, in order from high to low, are as follows:

1. Five of a Kind: Five cards of the same rank.
2. Royal Flush: A-K-Q-J-10 of a single suit.
3. Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of a suit. 5-4-3-2-A of a suit is the lowest straight flush.
4. Four / Two: Four cards of the same rank, plus a pair of cards of a second rank - for example 9-9-9-9-K-K. If two players have a four / two, the player with the higher four of a kind will win.
5. Three / Three: Two sets of three of a kind - for example Q-Q-Q-6-6-6. If two players have a three / three, the ranks of the higher three of a kind held by each player are compared to decide who wins.
6. Two / Two / Two: Three pairs, such as J-J-7-7-3-3. This hand is called "paiute" and can only be called on a player's first draw. If two players call a paiute, their highest pairs are compared first, then if these are equal the middle pairs, and if these are equal the low pairs.

Poker players should note that regular straights (five consecutive cards of mixed suits) and flushes (five cards of a suit not in sequence) have no value in this game.

If the stock pile runs out, the cards of the discard pile, other than the top card, are shuffled and stacked face down to form a new stock pile.

Scoring

Some play simply to find a winner of each deal. In this case a score can be kept by recording how many times each player has won.

I am told that in some groups the winner is paid by all the other players on a scale depending on the winning hand, higher hands paying more. I don't know the relative values of the different hands. If anyone reading this is familiar with that form of scoring / payment, could they please .

It is possible though rare, for two players to tie - for example two players have the exact same paiute. I don't know what happens in this case. Maybe neither wins, maybe both win, or maybe the player who called first wins. Again, I hope someone will let me know.

Variations

Some use a deck with jokers, and use these as the wild cards instead of turning up a card after the deal.

Some play that only the cards of the same rank and opposite colour to the turned up card are wild. For example if the five of spades is turned up, only the fives of hearts and diamonds are wild; the five of clubs is a normal five.

Some play that a royal flush is the highest combination, beating 5 of a kind.

Other web pages on Paiute

A short description of Paiute was published in 2002 in the United Poker Forum.