Guide to playing Teen Patti

Teen Patti is a traditional Indian card game, played at family gatherings and above all around Diwali. The name means “three cards” (तीन पत्ती), and the game is a close cousin of the British game Three Card Brag, which is why it is also called Indian poker, flash or flush. This guide covers everything you need to sit down at a table: the deal, the betting, the hand rankings and some simple strategy.

You can practise every rule as you read on our free Teen Patti table, against four computer players with free play chips.

The basics

Teen Patti is played with a standard 52-card deck and no jokers (some variations add wild cards). Three to six players is usual, though two can play. Aces are high, and suits have no rank.

Before the deal, every player puts the same fixed amount, the boot, into the pot. The boot is also the opening stake. The dealer then deals three cards face down to each player, and play goes round the table.

How a hand is played

1. Boot and deal. Everyone puts in the boot and gets three cards face down.
2. Blind or seen. You may play blind, without looking at your cards, or look at them at any time and play seen.
3. Chaal or pack. On your turn you either bet (chaal) or pack, which means folding your hand. A blind player bets the current stake; a seen player bets twice the stake. Either may raise, which doubles the stake for everyone after them.
4. Side show. With three or more players still in, a seen player can bet and ask the previous seen player to compare hands privately. If they accept, the lower hand packs.
5. Show. When only two players are left, one can pay for a show. Both hands are turned over and the better hand takes the pot.

If everyone else packs, the last player in wins the pot without showing their cards. Many tables also set a pot limit: when the pot reaches it, every remaining hand is shown.

Hand rankings

From best to worst, with how often each hand is dealt. When two players hold the same kind of hand, the higher cards win; suits never break a tie.

• Trail: three cards of the same rank. Three aces are the best hand in the game.
• Pure sequence: three cards in a row, all one suit. A-K-Q is the highest, then A-2-3, then K-Q-J and so on down to 4-3-2.
• Sequence: three cards in a row in mixed suits, ranked the same way.
• Colour: three cards of one suit that are not in a row. Compare the highest card first.
• Pair: two cards of the same rank. The higher pair wins; with equal pairs the odd card decides.
• High card: anything else. Compare the highest card, then the next, then the last.

Blind and seen betting

The difference between blind and seen play is what gives Teen Patti its character. A blind player bets half as much as a seen player, so staying blind is cheap while the stake is low, and it keeps opponents guessing. Once you look, every bet costs twice as much, but you gain the right to ask for a side show and the chance to pack a weak hand before it costs you more.

Home games add their own limits. A common one caps the stake, so raises stop at an agreed amount; another ends the hand with a show of all hands when the pot reaches a limit. Agree the boot and limits before the first deal.

Simple strategy

• Stay blind while it is cheap. Many players stay blind for a round or two, then look before the stake climbs.
• Know what a good hand is. Almost three hands in four are only a high card, so a pair is already better than most hands at the table.
• Use the side show wisely. Asking for a side show can knock out a rival, but it also tells the table your hand is decent.
• Bluff sometimes, not always. A confident raise can make better hands pack, but a player who always raises is easy to read.
• Pack weak hands early. Packing costs nothing more than you have already put in.

For more, with the odds behind every decision, read our Teen Patti strategy guide.

Words players use

• Boot: the fixed amount everyone puts in the pot before the deal.
• Chaal: a bet on your turn; also used for playing seen.
• Blind: playing without looking at your cards.
• Seen: playing after looking at your cards.
• Pack: folding your hand.
• Side show: a private comparison of hands between two seen players.
• Show: turning over the last two hands to decide the pot.
• Trail: three cards of the same rank.

The full list is in our Teen Patti glossary.

Teen Patti variations

Once you know the classic game, try the variations, each with its own free table and guide: Muflis, where the lowest hand wins; AK47, where aces, kings, fours and sevens are wild; Joker, where a turned-up card's rank is wild; Hukam, where its suit is wild; and 999, where the hand closest to 999 wins. Many more home variants are on our variations page.

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