Teen patti, Hindi for "three cards", is a South Asian card game in which each player receives three cards and bets on having the best hand, with the option to play blind (without looking) or seen. It descends from the British game three card brag and is a fixture of festive gatherings, especially around Diwali, as well as card rooms and live casino studios. The rules below describe the common home and card-room version, followed by the casino twist, for readers aged 18 and above.
Setting up
- Deck: a standard 52-card pack, no jokers in the basic game.
- Players: usually three to six.
- The boot: before the deal, every player puts a fixed amount into the pot. The boot also sets the opening stake.
- The deal: three cards each, face down, dealt one at a time.
Blind and seen players
The feature that sets teen patti apart is the choice to bet without looking. A blind player keeps their cards face down; a seen player has looked at them. Blind players bet less, which compensates them for the uncertainty. In a common version of the rules:
| Player status | Minimum bet | Maximum bet |
|---|---|---|
| Blind | The current stake | Twice the current stake |
| Seen (a bet called "chaal") | Twice the current stake | Four times the current stake |
The current stake is whatever the previous blind player bet, or half of what the previous seen player bet. A blind player may look at any time, but from then on bets as a seen player. Any player may fold, known as "packing", at their turn and lose whatever they have already put in.
Show and sideshow
- Show. When only two players remain, either may ask for a show by paying the required bet. Both hands are turned up and the stronger takes the pot. A seen player facing a blind one generally cannot force the show; the rules on this differ between groups.
- Sideshow. With more than two players left, a seen player may ask the previous seen player to compare hands privately. If the request is accepted, the weaker hand folds; if refused, betting continues as normal.
- Ties. Where two hands are exactly equal at a show, house rules decide; often the player who asked for the show loses.
Because local customs vary, agreeing the rules before the first deal saves arguments later.
Teen patti hand rankings
From strongest to weakest, with the number of ways each hand can be dealt from a full deck of 52 cards (22,100 possible three-card hands in all):
| Rank | Hand | Example | Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trail (set, three of a kind) | Three queens | 52 |
| 2 | Pure sequence (straight flush) | 5-6-7 of hearts | 48 |
| 3 | Sequence (run) | 9-10-J in mixed suits | 720 |
| 4 | Colour (flush) | Three spades, not in sequence | 1,096 |
| 5 | Pair | Two kings and a four | 3,744 |
| 6 | High card | Ace, nine, five, mixed suits | 16,440 |
Within each type, higher cards win: three aces is the top trail, and ace-king-queen is the top sequence. Many groups rank ace-two-three as the second-best sequence, just under ace-king-queen.
Why a sequence beats a colour
Poker players expect a flush to outrank a straight, and in five-card poker it does. With only three cards the counts reverse: there are 720 ways to make a plain sequence but 1,096 ways to make a colour, so the sequence is rarer and ranks higher. The same logic puts a trail above a pure sequence, since there are 52 trails against 48 straight flushes. Rankings follow scarcity, nothing more.
Popular variations
- Muflis: the rankings are turned upside down and the lowest hand wins.
- Joker and wild-card versions: a card turned up from the deck, or a fixed set of ranks such as ace, king, four and seven in the variant called AK47, becomes wild.
- Casino teen patti: live studios and some casinos turn it into a game against the dealer, with an ante, a play bet and side bets on strong hands. There is no bluffing in that form, and the house edge comes from the payout table, much as in pai gow poker, where the house also keeps a structural advantage.
Questions that come up
Is playing blind a good idea?
Blind play keeps your bets smaller while others pay more to stay in, which is why it is popular. It also means making decisions without information, so it is a style choice rather than an advantage.
How is teen patti different from other Asian table games?
In the home game players compete against each other and bluffing matters. Banking games such as pai gow tiles or sic bo set every player against the house instead.
Festive card games can drift into stakes nobody planned on, so agree a ceiling for the evening before the boot goes in. Teen patti for money is for adults only, and laws on real-money card games differ between Indian states and between countries, so check where you play.
