Teen Patti Rules: How to Play 3 Patti (Complete Beginner's Guide)
Learn how to play Teen Patti step by step: boot amount, blind vs seen, chaal, side show, show and hand rankings, with simple examples for beginners.
Teen Patti (literally “three cards”) is India’s most popular card game. It’s easy to learn — each player gets just three cards — yet it has enough decisions to keep every round interesting. This guide explains the complete rules in the order you’ll meet them at a table, from the boot amount to the final show.
Teen Patti at a glance
- Players: 3 to 6 at most tables (it can be played with 2 to 7).
- Deck: a standard 52-card deck, no jokers (some variations add wild cards).
- Cards per player: 3, dealt face down.
- Goal: have the best three-card hand at the show, or be the last player left in the round.
- Card order: Ace (high) > K > Q > J > 10 … > 2. The Ace can also be low in the sequence A-2-3.
Step 1: The boot amount
Every round starts with each player putting a fixed minimum stake, called the boot, into the middle. This forms the starting pot and makes sure there is always something to play for. The boot also sets the starting stake — the current minimum amount a player must put in on their turn.
Step 2: Dealing the cards
The dealer shuffles and deals three cards face down to each player, one at a time, clockwise. In an app like Teen Patti Pro this happens automatically and instantly. Play then moves clockwise starting with the player next to the dealer.
Step 3: Play blind or seen
This is the decision that makes Teen Patti unique. You can choose not to look at your cards and play blind, or look at them and play seen (also called chaal player).
| Blind player | Seen player |
|---|---|
| Has not looked at their cards | Has looked at their cards |
| Bets 1× to 2× the current stake | Bets 2× to 4× the current stake |
| Cannot ask for a side show | Can ask the previous seen player for a side show |
| Can look at cards at any time and become seen | Cannot go back to blind |
Playing blind is cheaper, which is why some players stay blind for a few rounds to keep the pot growing while risking less per turn.
Step 4: Your options on each turn
- Chaal / Bet: put in at least the required amount (see table above) to stay in the round.
- Raise: bet more than the minimum, which raises the stake for everyone after you.
- Pack / Fold: give up your hand. You lose whatever you have already put in the pot.
- Side show: a seen player can ask the previous seen player to privately compare cards (explained below).
- Show: only possible when two players are left (explained below).
Step 5: Side show
A side show lets a seen player compare cards privately with the seen player who played just before them. The other player can accept or refuse. If they accept, the two hands are compared and the weaker hand must pack. If both hands are equal, the player who asked for the side show packs. A side show is a useful way to knock out an opponent without waiting for the final show.
Step 6: The show
When only two players remain, either one can pay for a show. Both hands are turned face up and the higher-ranked hand wins the whole pot. If the player asking for the show is blind, they pay the blind amount; if seen, they pay the seen amount.
Rule of thumb: you can only ask for a show when exactly two players are left, and a blind player can only show against another player — nobody can see a blind player’s cards before the show.
Teen Patti hand rankings
From highest to lowest:
- Trail (Set): three cards of the same rank, e.g. A-A-A. Three Aces is the best hand in the game.
- Pure Sequence: three consecutive cards of the same suit, e.g. 5♥ 6♥ 7♥.
- Sequence (Run): three consecutive cards in mixed suits, e.g. 9♠ 10♣ J♦.
- Color (Flush): three cards of the same suit that are not in sequence.
- Pair: two cards of the same rank.
- High Card: anything else; compare the highest card first.
For tie-break rules and the exact odds of each hand, see our Teen Patti hand rankings guide.
A sample round
Four players — Asha, Ravi, Neha and Karan — each put in a boot of 10. Asha plays blind and bets 10. Ravi looks at his cards (a pair of Queens) and, now seen, bets 20. Neha sees a weak high card and packs. Karan looks, has a Color, and bets 40, raising the stake. Asha, still blind, bets 20 (half of the seen stake). Ravi asks Karan for a side show; Karan accepts, his Color beats Ravi’s pair, so Ravi packs. Now only Asha and Karan remain. Asha pays for a show: she reveals a Sequence, which beats Karan’s Color, and she takes the pot.
Popular Teen Patti variations
- AK47: all Aces, Kings, 4s and 7s are jokers (wild cards).
- Muflis (Lowball): the hand rankings are reversed — the lowest hand wins.
- Joker / Wild Card: a randomly chosen card rank becomes wild for the round.
- 999: the hand whose card values add up closest to 9 (or 99/999) wins.
Teen Patti Pro includes several of these as separate tables, including Muflis, AK47, Zandu (joker), 3 Patti War and Pot Blind.
Beginner tips
- Learn the hand rankings until you can recognise each hand instantly.
- Use blind play to keep costs low early in a round, but don’t stay blind forever.
- Folding a weak hand early is not a loss — it saves money for better hands.
- Set a budget and a time limit before you start, and stop when you reach either. Read our responsible gaming guide.
Teen Patti rules FAQ
How many cards are dealt in Teen Patti?
Each player is dealt three cards face down from a standard 52-card deck.
What is the difference between blind and seen in Teen Patti?
A blind player has not looked at their cards and bets 1 to 2 times the current stake. A seen player has looked and bets 2 to 4 times the stake. Seen players can request a side show; blind players cannot.
What happens if two hands are exactly equal at the show?
In most rules, if both hands are completely identical in rank, the player who asked for the show loses. Some tables split the pot instead, so check the table rules.
Is A-2-3 a higher sequence than K-Q-J?
Yes. The highest sequence is A-K-Q, the second highest is A-2-3, followed by K-Q-J, Q-J-10 and so on down to 4-3-2.
