Mastering Teen Patti: Comprehensive Rules and Strategies

Teen Patti is a card game from India that emerged in the 1800s and became extremely popular across South Asian nations. Also known as Indian Poker, Teen Patti combines elements of luck and skill where you must outbid your opponents to have the best hand on the table when all the cards are revealed.

Betsquare reviews all sorts of gambling games, and our experts enjoy Teen Patti, which is fairly straightforward once you’ve grasped the betting options. Indian Poker is an intriguing game that excites players with a blend of strategy and mystery in equal measure.

The Basics of Teen Patti

Teen Patti is played best when you have between three and six players at the table. You’ll need a standard 52-card deck to begin.

Dealing the Cards

First, the dealer will need to shuffle the cards sufficiently, then burn a card to ensure fairness (i.e. discard the top card – don’t set it alight!).

Before any cards are dealt, an ante or boot amount must be put into the centre of the table as a minimum amount that can be won on each hand. Every player must agree upon the boot amount beforehand.

Next, we begin dealing with Teen Patti. The dealer will give each player one card face down, starting with the person on their left and then going clockwise. The dealer will be the last person to receive a card before they can repeat the process for the second card and then again for the third card until everyone has three cards and the card distribution is complete. Both the second and third cards will also be face down.

Understanding the Hand Rankings

What do the Teen Patti hand rankings look like? Teen Patti has a set number of game rules that determine the winners and losers of any round. Here are the rankings listed from best to worst.

 

1. Trail/Trio is when you have three of the same value cards (e.g. 6, 6, 6 of any suit).
2. Pure Sequence is three cards that are in order, like a straight in poker and are of matching suits (e.g. J, 10, 9, all in clubs).
3. The sequence is a straight, but the cards can be of any suit (e.g. 2, 3, 4 in any suit).
4. Flush is when you have three cards of any value all in the same suit (e.g. 5, Q, A in diamonds).
5. Pair matches two card values but in any suit (e.g. 8, 8, 4 in any suit). 
6. High Card is the lowest ranking hand when you have none of the above, but you’re relying on your highest card beating your opponents, assuming they have none of the above hands (e.g. K, 10, 5 of any suit – K is your highest card).

 

Remember that, in Teen Patti, A, 2, 3 is the second most valuable sequence you can get, despite the low values of 2 and 3. The best sequence possible is A, K, Q, and the third most valuable sequence is K, Q, J because you can’t use K, A, 2 as a sequence.

The Betting Rounds

Once all the cards are dealt, it’s time for betting, much like other types of poker. 

Players can decide if they want to play ‘seen’ or ‘blind’, meaning they can choose to look at their cards or not. If you’re going to look at your cards, you would essentially need to wager double the amount that blind players do. You understand your hand, of course, but the amount you could win is proportionately smaller than what a blind player could win.

Suppose you play ‘seen’; you can look at your cards. ‘Blind’ players must keep their cards face down on the table, but changing to ‘seen’ is possible later in the round.

Teen Patti betting rounds are frequent and can involve placing many bets until everyone has folded or until somebody calls for a show, meaning all remaining players must turn over their cards.

Folding is typical if more money than you’re willing to bet has been placed into the pot. Another reason to fold is if you’ve seen your cards and don’t feel they’re strong enough. The remaining person with the highest-ranking cards wins the money in the pot.

Advanced Play: Blind vs. Seen Players

Playing blind involves risk because you’re playing unaware of your cards and betting based on that, but some strategy is involved, too. For example, you won’t need to bet as much if playing blind as a seen player would.

Ultimately, the cards you’re dealt are down to chance and can’t be changed, so this is a reason some people play blind. If you play blind, to begin with and notice players folding, you can change to seen eventually having bet less so far, but your future stakes will be increased.

However, seen player strategies involve inspecting your cards early so you know your hand and can base your bets on this. The main risk is that, even if your hand is strong, you would need to bet double a blind player’s amount, and there’s no guarantee your hand will beat theirs.

Showdown and Winning

Calling for a show is the ultimate factor in determining the winner of a game of Teen Patti unless everybody folds except one person. The Teen Patti showdown involves some rules that might take a bit of practice at first.

When a player calls a show, it requires a blind player to pay the cost of the stake to show and double the stake if they are a seen player who wants to show. The player who didn’t call for the show doesn’t need to pay for the show. The only way to call for a show is if only two players remain. However, a seen player can not call for a show if the other player is blind – they can only continue playing or fold. Seen players can call for a show if the other player is also seen.

Assuming two players are left and all but one player hasn’t folded, the pot is awarded to the player with the best hand on the show. If the hands are the same at the show’s end, the player who didn’t call for the show will take the pot.

Variations of Teen Patti

Occasionally, there are game modifications to the Teen Patti rules. For instance, rather than giving the pot to the show non-caller in a tiebreaker, some people like to award the winner to the person with the highest-ranking suit.

For instance, there’s a slight chance that two players will draw the same card values but in different suits to make a flush. If this occurs, the tiebreaker is based on suit value, with spades being the most valuable, next comes hearts, then diamonds, and clubs being the least valuable. 

If two people have the same pair but in different suits, the highest card each player has remaining determines the winner. If this is the same, we will use the same suit rankings as a sequence.

Otherwise, other Teen Patti game variations are called Muflis, AK47, and 999. Muflis is straightforward and a lot like the lowball version of poker, where the ranking of the cards is reversed, as are their combinations. 

AK47 indicates that Ace, King, 4, and 7 are wildcards, meaning these cards can be changed to suit the other two cards, and you have to form a pair or a sequence. If you have A, Q, Q, then the Ace can become a Queen to form a trio.

The goal of 999 is to reach a total as close to 999 as possible, and the values of the cards change. Face cards and 10 are worth 0, and Ace is worth 1, but all other cards have the value stated. If you draw 2, 3, or 5, these can be rearranged to make 532, which is a low score. Instead, drawing 9, A, J can make 910, a very high score.

Bottom Line

Overall, Teen Patti is an enjoyable game that can create a great atmosphere if you play it at home. You might need to learn some dynamics, but it can be entertaining once you get to grips with them.

Teen Patti and some variations can be played live at online casinos. If you decide to play at a licensed casino instead, make sure that you gamble responsibly and fully understand the risks before playing.

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