Teen Patti Game Guide: How to Play, Rules & Every App

Teen Patti, literally "three cards" in Hindi, is a three-card betting game played across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and South Asian communities worldwide. It's built on the same core idea as three-card poker: each player gets a three-card hand, bets go into a shared pot in rounds, and the strongest hand, or the last player still in, takes the pot. It's also known as Flush or Flash in some regions, and "3 Patti" in most app names. If you know poker, Teen Patti vs poker covers the seven differences.

It's traditionally a family game for festivals, especially Diwali, which is a big part of why it translated so well to phones: the rules take minutes to learn, a hand plays out in under a minute, and it works for three players or a full table of six. This page covers the whole game: rules, the Teen Patti sequence, betting, variants and strategy, then compares the apps. Hosting a festival game? See our Diwali family game guide.

Playing at a Diwali party? Our Diwali card games list has nine games for a family table, and the Teen Patti terms glossary explains words like boot, chaal, pack and show.

1. Pay the boot. Before the deal, every player puts a fixed stake into the pot, so there's always something to win. See boot amount in Teen Patti.
2. Deal three cards to each player, face down, one at a time, clockwise from the dealer.
3. Choose blind or seen. Each player can bet without looking at their cards (blind) or look first and bet as a seen player.
4. Bet in turn, clockwise. On each turn you can chaal (call the current stake), raise it, or pack (fold).
5. Ask for a Show when two players remain. Both reveal their cards and the better hand wins the pot.
6. If everyone else packs first, the last player in wins without showing their cards.

The blind/seen choice is what gives Teen Patti its depth. Blind play is half price but you're betting on an unseen, roughly average hand; seen play costs double but lets you fold weak cards. Our blind vs seen guide explains when to look.

Every Teen Patti hand falls into one of six types. If two players reach a Show, the higher type wins; within the same type, higher cards win.

Two things surprise poker players: a Sequence beats a Color (with three cards, runs are rarer), and a Trail beats a Pure Sequence by tradition even though the Pure Sequence is slightly rarer. Among sequences, A-K-Q is highest under most rules, then A-2-3, then K-Q-J down to 4-3-2. The full Teen Patti sequence chart has examples of every hand and the tie rules.

• Show: when only two players are left, either can ask for a Show by paying the current bet. Both hands are revealed and the better one wins.
• Sideshow: with three or more players left, a seen player can ask the previous seen player to compare cards privately. The weaker hand folds; on a tie, the player who asked usually folds. The other player can refuse.

Sideshows are the most house-rule-dependent part of the game, so check the table rules first. Our sideshow guide explains who can ask and when it's worth it.

• Classic: the standard rules and hand rankings above.
• Muflis (Lowball): the ranking is reversed, so the weakest classic hand wins.
• AK47: Aces, Kings, 4s and 7s are wild, making Trails and Sequences far more common.
• Joker: one card is turned up each hand and every card of that rank is wild.
• 999: players arrange their cards into a number; the one closest to 999 wins.
• Best of Four: four cards dealt, best three played.

Each variant changes which hands are strong. See Teen Patti variations before you sit at a variant table.

• Judge your hand by how many players are left: a King-high hand wins about half the time against one opponent and under 5% against five.
• Fold weak High Card hands early at a full table, while it's cheap.
• Play blind only while the stake is low; look once it has doubled.
• Push pairs when only one or two players remain; any pair beats about 74% of hands.
• Set a budget and a stop time before you play, and stick to them.

None of this guarantees a win; nothing does. For the full ten tips with the maths behind them, read how to win at Teen Patti.

You can play Teen Patti online in a browser, with nothing to install, or through an app. Here's how the options compare.

Our free Teen Patti practice table deals real hands against three bots, with virtual chips only, and shows how strong your hand is as you play. It works on phones, laptops and PCs; see Teen Patti for PC for other desktop options.

1. Install only from an official store listing or the developer's own site; never from Telegram files or APK mirrors. Our APK safety guide explains how.
2. Check the developer name in the install prompt; many apps share names like "Teen Patti Master" and "Teen Patti Gold". See is Teen Patti Gold safe.
3. Refuse SMS, accessibility and "display over other apps" permissions.
4. Never pay a fee to withdraw, and never share an OTP or UPI PIN with "support". See is Teen Patti Master safe, customer care scams and how bonuses really work.

Playing Teen Patti is legal; playing it online for money is not. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 prohibits offering, advertising and processing payments for online money games, whether skill or chance. Free and virtual-chip play isn't affected. Full details in is Teen Patti legal in India and real cash vs free play. General information, not legal advice.