Teen Patti Vying Games

Teen Patti

This page is partly based on information supplied by Mathew George.

Introduction: players, cards, deal

Teen Patti, sometimes spelled Teen Pathi, means "three cards". It is an Indian gambling game, also known as Flush (or Flash), and is almost identical to the British game 3 Card Brag. An international 52 card pack is used, cards ranking in the usual order from ace (high) down to two (low). Any reasonable number of players can take part; it is probably best for about 4 to 7 players.

Before playing it is necessary to agree the value of the minimum stake (which I will call one unit). Everyone places this minimum stake in the pot - a collection of money in the centre of the table, which will be won by one of the players. The dealer deals out the cards one at a time until everyone has three cards. The players then bet on who has the best three card hand. Each has the option to look at their three-card hand before betting (playing seen) or to leave their cards face down on the table (playing blind).

The ranking of hands

The ranking of the possible hands, from high to low, is as follows.

Trio or Trail - three cards of the same rank. Three aces are the best trio and three twos are the lowest.
Straight run - three consecutive cards of the same suit. Ace can be used in the run A-2-3, which is the highest straight run. Next comes A-K-Q, K-Q-J and so on down to 4-3-2, which is the lowest. 2-A-K is not a valid run.
Normal run - three consecutive cards, not all of the same suit. A-2-3 is the best normal run, then A-K-Q, K-Q-J and so on down to 4-3-2. 2-A-K is not valid.
Colour - any three cards of the same suit. When comparing two colours, compare the highest card; if these are equal compare the second; if these are equal too, compare the lowest. Thus the highest colour is A-K-J and the lowest is 5-3-2.
Pair - two cards of the same rank. Between two such hands, compare the pair first, then the odd card if these are equal. The highest pair hand is therefore A-A-K and the lowest is 2-2-3.
High card - three cards that do not belong to any of the above types. Compare the highest card first, then the second highest, then the lowest. The best hand of this type is A-K-J of mixed suits, and the worst is 5-3-2. Any hand of a higher type beats any hand of a lower type - for example the lowest run 4-3-2 beats the best colour A-K-J.

The betting process

The betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer, and continues with players taking turns in clockwise order around the table, for as many circuits as are needed. Each player in turn can either put an additional bet into the pot to stay in, or pay nothing further and fold. When folding you permanently drop out of the betting and sacrifice any money you have already put into the pot during that deal.

The amount that you have to put in at your turn in order to stay in the game depends on the "current stake", and whether you are playing blind or seen (a seen player is known in Hindi as 'chaal'). Seen players have to bet twice as much as blind players to stay in. At the start of the betting the current stake is one unit (i.e. the amount that each player put in the pot as an ante).

If you are a blind player, you may choose to look at your cards when your turn comes to bet. You then become a seen player and from that turn onwards you must bet at least twice the current stake (or fold).

The betting continues in this way until one of the following things happens:

All except one player have folded. In that case the last surviving player wins all the money in the pot, ireespective of the cards held.
All except two players have folded and one of these players at their turn pays for a show. In that case the cards of both players are exposed and compared. The rules for a show are as follows:

A show cannot occur until all but two players have dropped out.
If you are a blind player, the cost of a show is the current stake, paid into the pot, irrespective of whether the other player is blind or seen. You do not look at your own cards until after you have paid for the show.
If you are a seen player and the other player is blind, you are not allowed to demand a show. The seen player can only continue betting or drop out.
If both players are seen, either player in turn may pay twice the current stake for a show.
In a show, both players' cards are exposed, and the player whose hand is higher ranking wins the pot. If the hands are equal, the player who did not pay for the show wins the pot.

If all the players are seen, then at your turn, immediately after betting the minimum amount (twice the current stake), you can ask the player who bet immediately before you for a compromise, also known as a sideshow. The player before you can accept or refuse the compromise.

If the compromise is accepted, the two players involved privately compare their cards, and the player with the lower ranking cards must immediately fold. If they are equal, the player who asked for the compromise must fold.
If the compromise is refused, the betting continues as usual with the player after the one who asked for the compromise.

Example. Players A, B , C & D are playing the game. They all put 1 unit on the table and D deals. Player A decides to play blind and puts one more unit. Player B sees his cards and folds. Player C plays blind and bets one unit. Player D looks at his cards and puts in 2 units (the minimum amount); the current stake remains at one unit. Player A raises the stake by putting in 2 units. Player C looks at his cards and folds. Player D puts in 4 units (the minimum amount for a seen player since A chas raised the current stake to 2). Player A decides to look at his cards, and having done so he puts in 4 units and asks for a show. Player D shows his cards and the winner takes it all.

Note that the betting process in this game is quite different from Poker betting. There is no concept of equalising the bets, and a showdown is not possible with more than two players.

Variations

Some play with a higher limit on the amount by which the bet can be increased - so a blind player can bet more than twice the current stake, and a seen player can bet more than four times the current stake.

Some players set a limit on how many times a player can bet blind - for example that you could bet blind on your first three turns, but on your fourth turn you would have to look at your cards and bet as a seen player from then on.

Some play that the amount to be paid for a show is twice the minimum bet - i.e. twice the current stake for a blind player, or four times the current stake for a seen player.

Over the years, players have introduced numerous variations, many involving wild cards and exposed cards. The situation seems to be similar to that of Dealer's Choice Poker in that new variants appear all the time as players think up new ways to make the game possibly more exciting or at least different. Some of these variants are clearly inspired by Poker variants, and as in Dealer's Choice Poker, there are several variants that really have nothing in common with the original game (in this case Teen Patti) beyond the fact that they are gambling games played by the same group of players. Several of these variants are described on the Teen Patti Variations page of the TeenPatti Baba website.

Live Teen Patti

Live Teen Patti is a name sometimes given to a casino game very similar to Three Card Poker in which players bet against the house rather than playing against each other. The only differences from Three Card Poker are that Teen Patti ranking instead of Poker ranking is used for the three card hand, and that some casinos offer additional side bets, for example on making a 5-card Poker hand using the player's three cards together with the three cards dealt to the house.

Although this casino game is quite unlike traditional Teen Patti, using the same name is not entirely unreasonable since 'teen patti' is simply Hindi for 'three cards'.