How to play Teen Patti: a step-by-step guide
Teen Patti (3 Patti) takes a few minutes to learn and a lifetime to stop enjoying. In short: everyone puts in the boot, each player gets three cards face down, and in turn you bet or pack until one player is left or a show between the last two decides it. This tutorial gets you playing: eight steps from sitting down to taking the pot, then one complete hand played out move by move, with the reason behind every bet.
Looking up one rule, such as who loses a tied show or what the 4X boot means? The Teen Patti rules page is the full reference. This page teaches you to play.
How to play Teen Patti in 8 steps
- 1
Gather the table and agree the boot
You need one 52-card deck with the jokers out, three to six players and something to bet with: chips, counters or matchsticks. Agree the boot, the amount everyone puts in each hand, and any limits on the stake or the pot.
- 2
Everyone puts in the boot
Each player puts the boot in the middle. That is the pot, and the boot is also the first stake: the amount a blind player has to bet to stay in.
- 3
The dealer deals three cards each
Face down, one card at a time, starting with the player next to the dealer. Do not look yet if you want to play blind.
- 4
Decide: blind or seen
Blind means betting without looking. It costs half as much, and nobody can drag you into a side show. Seen means you know your hand, but every bet costs twice as much. You can look at any time.
- 5
On your turn: chaal, raise or pack
Chaal is a bet to stay in: the stake if you are blind, twice the stake if you are seen. Raise doubles the stake for everyone after you. Pack means giving up the hand; what you have bet stays in the pot.
- 6
Ask for a side show, if it helps
With three or more players still in, a seen player can bet and ask the seen player before them to compare hands privately. If they agree, the lower hand packs.
- 7
Two players left: the show
When only two are left, either can pay for a show (a seen player cannot ask a blind one). Both hands are turned over and the better hand wins.
- 8
Take the pot and pass the deal
The winner takes the whole pot: either the last player in after everyone else packed, or the better hand at the show. The deal moves one seat along and the next hand begins.
That is the whole game. Now deal one yourself: the free table opens in your browser in seconds, seats you with four computer players and shows what every move costs.
Deal a free hand →Learn the six hands: the Teen Patti ranking
This is the one thing to learn by heart before your first hand. From best to worst:
- 1A♠A♥A♦TrailThree of a kind. A-A-A is the best hand.
- 2A♥K♥Q♥Pure sequenceA run in one suit. A-K-Q, then A-2-3.
- 35♠4♦3♣SequenceA run in mixed suits, same order.
- 4K♦9♦4♦ColourThree of one suit. Highest card first.
- 5Q♣Q♠7♥PairHigher pair wins, then the odd card.
- 6A♥10♣6♠High cardHighest card, then the next.
Suits never matter, and when two hands are the same kind the higher cards win. Keep the printable Teen Patti sequence chart beside you for your first games, and when you are not sure which of two hands wins, ask the “Which hand wins?” checker.
One hand of Teen Patti, move by move
Four players: you, Meera, Vikram and Kabir, the computer players from our free table. Kabir deals, so you sit next to him and act first. The boot is 50 chips. Everyone puts it in, so the pot starts at 200 and the stake at 50. Everyone gets three cards face down, and nobody has looked.
Round one: everyone starts blind
YouChaal 50
Pot 250
You stay blind and bet the stake: 50 chips.
Why: A blind chaal costs only the stake, half of what a seen player pays. With nothing known yet, there is no reason to pay double to look.
MeeraSees
Pot 250
J♣7♦4♠Meera looks at her cards: J-7-4 in mixed suits, a jack high.
Why: Seeing is free and can be done at any time, but from now on every bet she makes costs twice the stake.
MeeraPacks
Pot 250
Meera packs.
Why: A jack high beats fewer than three hands in ten. Her boot stays in the pot, but packing now saves her the 100 chips a seen chaal would cost.
VikramRaise 100
Pot 350
Vikram stays blind and raises: he bets 100, doubling the stake to 100.
Why: A raise doubles the stake for everyone after him. Blind raises are cheap pressure: Vikram has not looked, but the table has to pay more to stay with him.
KabirChaal 100
Pot 450
Kabir stays blind and matches the new stake: 100 chips.
Why: A blind player always bets the current stake, so Kabir pays 100 now, not 50.
Round two: you look
YouSees
Pot 450
9♠9♦K♣You look at your cards: 9-9-K, a pair of nines.
Why: The stake has doubled, so staying blind is no longer cheap, and a seen player gets the side show. A pair of nines beats more than eight hands in ten.
YouChaal 200
Pot 650
You make a seen chaal: twice the stake, 200 chips.
Why: Seen players pay double. The stake stays at 100, because a seen bet of 200 is the same level as a blind bet of 100.
VikramChaal 100
Pot 750
Vikram stays blind and bets 100.
Why: He is still betting half of what you pay, and he cannot be asked for a side show while he is blind.
KabirSees
Pot 750
K♥Q♦5♣Kabir looks: K-Q-5, a king high.
Why: A king high beats a little over half of all hands: an average hand, no more.
KabirChaal 200
Pot 950
Kabir bets 200 as a seen player.
Why: Kabir loves a bluff. Betting an average hand as if it were strong can make better hands pack.
Round three: the side show
YouSide show 200
Pot 1,150
You bet 200 and ask Kabir, the player before you, for a side show.
Why: Three players are still in, you are seen, and so is Kabir, who has just bet: all three conditions for a side show. You cannot ask Vikram, who is blind and not the player before you.
KabirAccepts
Pot 1,150
Kabir accepts. You and Kabir compare cards privately: your pair of nines beats his king high, so Kabir packs.
Why: Only the two of you see both hands. Vikram learns that you beat Kabir, but not what you hold. Kabir could have declined, and then you would simply play on.
VikramChaal 100
Pot 1,250
Vikram, still blind, bets 100.
Why: Two players are left, so a show is now possible. Vikram could ask for one, but he keeps betting blind.
YouChaal 200
Pot 1,450
You bet 200.
Why: You would like a show, but a seen player cannot ask a blind player for one. Your only choices are to keep betting or to pack.
The show
VikramSees
Pot 1,450
A♠6♥2♦Vikram finally looks: A-6-2, an ace high.
Why: Ace high is a decent hand against one opponent, but now he has to pay seen prices.
VikramShow 200
Pot 1,650
Vikram pays 200, twice the stake, for a show. Both hands are turned over.
Why: A seen player's show costs twice the stake, a blind player's costs the stake.
Result
Your pair of nines beats Vikram's ace high. You take the pot of 1,650 chips. You put in 700 of them, the boot included, so you come out 950 chips ahead.
What that hand teaches
- Blind is cheap early. Vikram stayed in for three rounds paying half of what you paid. That is the trade: a blind player pays less but bets without knowing.
- Pack weak hands before they cost you. Meera lost only her boot. Had she kept betting a jack high, she would have lost far more.
- A side show removes one player cheaply. One seen bet settled you against Kabir without waiting for a show.
- Seen players cannot force a blind player to show. You had to keep betting until Vikram chose to look.
- Most pots are won with ordinary hands. A pair of nines took this one. Almost three hands in four are only a high card.
Your first ten hands: a checklist
- Keep the six hands in front of you until you know them without looking.
- Play your first hands seen, so you learn what the cards look like when you bet them.
- Then try staying blind for a round before looking.
- Pack any high card below a king once the betting rises.
- Ask for one side show, so you know how it feels from both sides.
- Watch who asks for a show and what they hold when the cards turn over.
When something comes up that this tutorial does not cover, such as who loses a show on equal hands or what the 4X boot means, the Teen Patti rules page has every rule in full. When you are ready to play better rather than just play, read our Teen Patti strategy guide.
Playing on our free table
The free Teen Patti table deals hands like the one above: you against four computer players, each with a style of their own. The buttons are the moves you have just read about: See cards, Chaal (or Blind while you have not looked), Raise, Pack, and Side show or Show. A button stays dimmed until the rules let you use it, and each one shows what the move costs, so the table teaches you as you play. When the classic game feels easy, try a variation.
Questions from new players
How many cards does each player get in Teen Patti?
Three, dealt face down one at a time. That is where the name comes from: teen patti means three cards in Hindi. Nobody draws or swaps cards in the classic game, so the three you are dealt are your hand.
What does chaal mean in Teen Patti?
Chaal is the bet you make to stay in the hand: the stake if you are blind, twice the stake if you are seen. A player who has looked at their cards is also called a chaal player.
Is Teen Patti the same as poker?
No. Teen Patti is closer to the British game three card brag: three cards instead of five, no drawing and no shared cards, and its own ranking, in which a trail beats a pure sequence and any sequence beats a colour. The blind and seen betting is its own too.
Who plays first in Teen Patti?
The player next to the dealer, the first one dealt to. Play then goes round the table in the same direction as the deal, and the deal moves one seat along after every hand.
Do I have to look at my cards?
No. You can play a whole hand blind, and blind bets cost half as much as seen ones. You may look at any time, but once you have looked you play seen until the hand ends.
How long does a hand of Teen Patti take?
Usually a minute or two. A hand ends as soon as everyone but one player has packed, or when a show settles it between the last two.
What should I learn first?
The six hands in order, from trail down to high card. Everything else, the blind and seen betting, the show and the side show, makes sense after one or two practice hands.
Can I practise Teen Patti online for free?
Yes. Our free table runs in any phone or computer browser with nothing to download or sign up for. You play against four computer players with play chips that cannot be bought or cashed out, and there are no prizes.