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Frequently Asked Questions & Rules for Teen Patti (Indian Poker)


  • What is Teen Patti?
     It is a popular card game from India. Here is a link to a wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Patti It is a card game that originated in India and became popular in South Asia. It is very similar to 3- card poker.

  • How many Categories/Levels ? There will be two levels, Beginners and Intermediate
    How many players/table? 4 to 8 players each table

  • What is the Card Ranking (Highest to Lowest)?
     1) Trio / Triplets - 3 cards of the same rank Eg: 3 Aces
    2) Straight Run / Flash – 3 Consecutive cards from the same suite Eg: Queen, King, Ace of the same suite (Highest)
    3) Normal Run / Sequence – 3 Consecutive cards from different suite
    4) Color – Any 3 cards from the same suite
    5) Pair / Double/Duplets – 2 Cards of the same rank
    6) Single card – Face Value of the cards (Ace – Highest ; “2” – Lowest )

  • What is the order of Suites ?
    Order of suites (Highest to lowest) : Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds

  • People play Teen-patti in different ways. The intent of the game in this event is to have fun. Hence to avoid discrepancies, we have tried to lay down the rules. On the day of the event, the CRY volunteer assigned to the table will ultimately be the judge to resolve in case of any conflict.

  • What is the minimum buy in amount to start the game?
     $25 - which can be matched by Microsoft if you are a Microsoft Full time employee.
    Note: If you have already pledged on http://give, please bring copy of the receipt and you get chips worth $25

  • Who wins?
     The highest and the second highest chip value players at the end would be the winners.
    Depending on the number of participants, a second winner may not be declared.


    • Rules to be observed

  • Boot / Table/ Start: 1 chip of the lowest denomination to start with by every player (including Dealer)

    Betting Rules:
    1. Dealing / Betting to start clockwise (The Dealer changes clockwise too)
    2. In every turn, a player either bets in or drops out of the game.
    3. Seen player (one who has seen the cards) has to bet minimum twice the betting amount by Blind player (one who has not seen the cards). The max bet is 4 times.
    4. Blind player can bet the current amount. Max bet is twice the current bet.
    5. Blind player can go seen by betting twice the current betting amount
    6. Any player can play at maximum of 3 turns as Blind. Thereafter, the player HAS to go Seen.
    7. Maximum betting amount is $8


    Compromise / Back Show Rules:
    1. A player can ask for Compromise only when there is no player playing Blind & only to the player immediately before him/ her.
    2. A player who has been asked for a Compromise can deny it
    3. In a tie breaker scenario, the person who asked for the Compromise/Back Show loses


    Show Rules:
    1. Normally, the show can be only between 2 players but if 3 or more players mutually agree, they can do ‘Open Show’
    2. Show can be done by the same betting amount if the max bet has been reached. If not, show can be done either by twice the current betting amount or maximum betting amount which is $8, whichever is lower.
    3. In a Tie Breaker scenario, the player who asks for the show loses

    Variations: Below are some variations to spice up the game a bit. Players are free to mutually decide and pick whichever they like only from this list. We might update the list on the day of the event too.
    1. 4 /5/6 cards are dealt per player instead of 3 and the player gets to choose the best three from all the cards in his hand
    2. 2 Cards are dealt instead of 3 and the player can assume any one card that would make the best combination for him.
    3. 3 Cards are dealt in this one but only the card ranking is exactly reversed. So – the player with the weakest set of cards according to the above mentioned order would be the winner. (In Hindi - This is called Muflees ) 2,3,5 (of not the same suite) is the winner in Muflees.
    4. Distribute 5 Cards and Skip Cards (3 & 5 OR 9 and Jack) can be a joker. Similarly, you can have Sequence joker or Double Skip (3 and 6) as joker. (Note: King and 2 are not skip jump, the buck stops at Ace )


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