Teen Patti, also known as Flash, is a card game that originated in India and became popular in South Asia. The game is so popular in India that a Bollywood movie was made called ‘Teen Patti’, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley.
Different from most casino games due to that the players play against each other instead of against the house, Teen Patti is played in homes,card rooms and casinos nationwide.
How to play Teen Patti
The game starts with one of the players dealing cards in counter-clockwise direction. The initial dealer is decided in the process called ‘cut-or-seat’ ,where all players put up an ante and get random cards. The winner wins the pot and is the dealer. In subsequent hands the winner always is the dealer the next hand.
In every hand, all players have to put up an ante, and the two players left of the dealer put up the small and big blind. After the ante and the forced blind bet(s), the regular betting starts with the next player putting his bet amount to the pot.
The total bet can be divided into two components – the call and the raise, both being usually called as Chaal. Each player has to place a bet that is at least equal to the previous player’s bet, with the option of raising the bet. This bet then becomes the (new) current level of bet (Chaal).
A crucial difference with the game of Poker is that every time a bet is placed it’s a new bet, disregarding of what amount was previously bid. Here is an example to clarify: in poker, when a player A bets 2 and player B raises to 4, player A has to call an additional 2. In Teen Patti, when player A bets 2 and player B raises to 4, Player A has to put in 4 to make the call. All bets should be in even amounts.
Teen Patti Betting Limits
Betting limits apply to the amount a player may bet or raise, and come in four common forms: fixed limit, spread limit, pot limit, and no limit.
In a game played with a fixed-limit betting structure, the maximum raise amount generally equals the last bet amount (current level of bet). Thus, the maximum raise amount is equal to the call amount, and the maximum bet is double that of the last bet.
A game played with a spread-limit betting structure allows a player to raise any amount within a specified maximum (subject to other betting rules). For example, a game with a “$1000 spread-limit” allows each player to call and then raise up to a maximum of $1000. A simpler approach is to bet up to a maximum amount equal to the spread-limit. So in the above example, the maximum bet (call + raise) is limited to $1000.
A game played with a pot-limit betting structure allows any player to raise up to an amount equal to the size of the whole pot before the raise. A game played with a no-limit betting structure allows each player to raise the bet by any amount.
Moves in Teen Patti
Blind Play
When you play blind, you have not seen your cards and place your bet by guessing the strength of your card combination and of other players. Place a higher bet if you have faith in your luck and your card combination will be stronger than other players! If you want to play it safe and not take risks, place bet for a smaller amount.
Play/Chaal
You can choose to see your cards at any time and then place a bet (when it’s your turn) depending on how strong you think your card combination is. You can pack if you think your card combination is not strong enough. Though you can pack out of turn, it’s not considered courteous to do so. There is a variation to this rule in which you are only allowed to see and fold your cards when it’s your turn.
Sideshow
If you have seen your cards, you can ask for a sideshow after placing your bet. You can ask for a sideshow with the previous player (who placed the last bet). That player must not be “blind” for this to be allowed. On asking for a sideshow, you will get to see the other player’s cards. You win if your card combination is stronger than your opponent’s. You lose otherwise
Backshows always happen at the current bet level. If there are only 2 players left in the hand then the show may happen differently.
Pack/Fold
At any point during the game, if you think your card combination is not strong enough, you can pack and that’s the end of the hand for you! If you pack, you forfeit all the money you have placed as bet till then.
Show(down)
The betting will go on like this until one of two things happen:
- All but one player pack. The sole remaining player wins the money in the pot, regardless of what cards he/she holds.
- All but two players pack. In this case, during his/her turn, one player pays for a “show”. At this point, both player’s cards are exposed and compared and the higher ranking hand wins the pot.
The following are the rules for a “show”:
- Seen player can ask for a show with blind player for four times the current bet.
- If both players are seen then either may ask for a show by paying 2 times the current bet.
Note: A blind player cannot ask for a show/sideshow.
Ranking of Hands in Teen Patti
There are two ways teen patti is played. One is by using a standard 52-card deck and another is by adding the two Joker cards, which are used as wild cards. In both the versions, the ranking rules card are same: Aces are the highest rank and 2s lowest. The object of the game is to have the best three-card hand and to maximize the pot before the showdown. Any hand of a higher category beats any hand of a lower category.
Three of a Kind/Trio/Trail
Three of the same cards. Three aces are the highest and three twos are the lowest. This hand is widely called ‘Trail’, which in some other areas the name of straight (and straight is instead called ‘Round’.)
Three consecutive cards of the same suit. In the areas where a Trio is called Trail, this hand is called ‘Pakki Round’ (pure round).
The order of ranking from highest to lowest is A-K-Q, A-2-3, K-Q-J, Q-J-10 and so on down to 4-3-2.
Straight/Sequence/Trail/Round
Three consecutive cards not all in the same suit. In the areas where Trio is called trail, Straight is referred as Round.
A-K-Q, A-2-3, K-Q-J, Q-J-10 and so on down to 4-3-2
Pair/Double
Two cards of the same rank. Between two pairs the one with the higher value is the winner. If the pairs are of equal value then the odd/kicker card determines the winner. Therefore the lowest pair is 2-2-3 and the highest is A-A-K.
No Pair/High Card
If two players share a common high card, the next highest card is used to determine the winner. The best high card hand would be an AKJ .
If two players get cards of same value then winner is declared based on the color/suits of the cards.Priority of suit as per Indian traditional rules is Club, Diamond, Heart, Spade.
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