Teen Patti

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Card order and hands
3. Betting in short
4. Setup
5. A deal, step by step
6. Show
7. Side show
8. Winning the game
9. Tips for beginners
10. Variants

Overview

Teen Patti ("three cards") is India's favourite poker-style game. Everyone gets just three cards and bets on having the best hand – or pretends to. The twist: you may bet blind, without looking at your cards, which is cheaper, or look at them and play seen, which costs twice as much. The pot (all the chips bet) goes to the last player left in, or to the better hand when the last two compare cards in a show.

• Players: 3–7 are best, each for themselves.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck without jokers, and chips (or counters, matches, buttons) – the same number for everyone, e.g. 100 each. You play for chips, not money.

Card order and hands

Cards rank A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2; suits are all equal. Your three cards form one of these hands, from best to worst:

Any hand of a better type beats any hand of a worse type – the lowest sequence beats the best colour. Between hands of the same type:

• Trails: the higher rank wins; A-A-A is the best hand of all.
• Sequences (pure or not): A-2-3 is highest, then A-K-Q, then K-Q-J, Q-J-10 … down to 4-3-2. (K-A-2 is not a sequence.) Tables differ on this point – some rank A-K-Q above A-2-3 (see Variants), so agree on it before you play.
• Colours and high cards: compare the highest cards; if equal, the second-highest, then the lowest.
• Pairs: the higher pair wins; if equal, the odd card decides.

Betting in short

All chips bet go into the pot in the middle. Instead of a raise-and-call system as in other poker games, Teen Patti uses a current stake – the amount the next player has to bet – which changes with every bet:

• Blind player (hasn't looked at their cards): bets 1 to 2 times the current stake. The new current stake is the amount they bet.
• Seen player (has looked): bets 2 to 4 times the current stake. The new current stake is half the amount they bet.
• Pack (fold): give up. Put your cards away face down; the chips you have bet are lost, and you take no further part in this deal.

You can look at your cards whenever it is your turn – from then on you are a seen player.

Setup

1. Everyone gets the same number of chips. Pick a first dealer; the deal passes to the left after each hand.
2. Everyone puts in the boot – a small fixed stake, here 1 chip. This starts the pot. The current stake is now 1 chip.
3. The dealer shuffles and deals everyone three cards face down, one at a time, starting on the left. Leave them face down on the table for now.

A deal, step by step

1. The player to the left of the dealer starts; play goes clockwise. On your turn, either bet (as a blind or seen player, see above) or pack. Before deciding, you may look at your cards.
2. Betting goes round and round – there is no fixed number of rounds – until one of these happens: - All but one player pack. The last player wins the whole pot without showing any cards. - A show: only two players are left, and one of them asks for a show (see below).

Example: Boot 1 chip each from four players, pot 4, current stake 1. Anna plays blind and bets 1 (stake stays 1). Ben looks at his cards and bets 2 (seen: 2–4 times 1; new stake is half, 1). Carla looks and bets 4 (new stake 2). Dan looks and packs. Anna, still blind, bets 2 (stake 2). Ben must bet 4–8 as a seen player; he bets 4 …

Show

A show is only possible when just two players are left.

• If you are blind, you may ask for a show on your turn by paying the current stake into the pot – no matter whether your opponent is blind or seen. You look at your cards only after paying.
• If you are seen and your opponent is blind, you may not ask for a show: you can only keep betting or pack.
• If both are seen, either may ask for a show on their turn by paying twice the current stake.

Both players turn their cards face up, and the better hand wins the pot. If the hands are exactly equal, the player who did not pay for the show wins.

Side show

When all players still in are seen, you may ask for a side show (also called a compromise) on your turn, right after betting the minimum (twice the current stake). You ask the player who bet just before you:

• They may refuse – then betting simply continues.
• If they accept, the two of you compare cards privately. The player with the worse hand must pack at once. If the hands are equal, the player who asked must pack.

Winning the game

Anyone who runs out of chips is out. Play until one player has all the chips, or stop at an agreed time – then whoever has the most chips wins.

Tips for beginners

• Playing blind is cheap, and it puts pressure on the seen players, who have to bet twice as much.
• A pair is already a good hand in Teen Patti – most three-card hands are just a high card.
• With a weak hand, pack early. The chips you have already bet are gone either way.
• Watch who looks at their cards and how they bet afterwards.
• Agree on a maximum bet or pot limit beforehand, so a single deal doesn't get out of hand.

Variants

Teen Patti has countless house rules – agree before you play.

• A-K-Q highest: at some tables (and in the Wikipedia article) A-K-Q is the highest sequence, then A-2-3, then K-Q-J. The main rule above follows pagat.com.
• Higher limits: blind players may bet more than twice, seen players more than four times the current stake.
• Blind limit: you may play blind only for a set number of turns (e.g. three), then you must look.
• Pot limit: no bet may be larger than the pot.
• Muflis (lowball): the ranking is reversed – the lowest hand wins.
• Jokers / wild cards: at some tables, jokers or other cards count as any card you like.
• Four cards: everyone gets four cards and uses the best three.