In today’s busy world, no one has the time to sit back and relax. But to recharge themselves and face another hectic day at work, it’s important to take out some time for recreational activities. After all, it is impossible to get things done when your mind is in a rut. The question arises, what recreational activity to indulge in? Reading books is not everyone’s cup of tea, and going to a movie or the amusement park might feel like work if you are already tired. Most people prefer to relax in the comfort of their own homes. So, what all options for recreation does one have when one is at home?
This is where card games come in. Most people might not have board games like ludo or carrom but will have a deck of cards in hand. One pack of cards allows you to play a wide variety of games: from Go Fish to Teen Patti. Each card game has different rules and different setups, but one thing is common- the fun. No one can deny that card games are a great way to enjoy yourself with your friends and freshen your mind. Neither is there a need for an elaborate setup nor are there very complex rules to be kept in mind. Once you understand the basic working of the game, you can become a pro with just a little more practice.
Among the horde of card games, one of the most popular variations is Teen Patti. It originated in India and is greatly enjoyed by people who like to play card games. The game has a huge fan base, not only in India but across the globe. Obviously, the game is known by different names in different regions, like tri-card, or flush, but the love for the game remains the same. Let us take a look at the game in detail so that you can learn more about the game.
History
There is no sure-shot record of how the game originated, but historians have wagered their guesses, and most of them paint the same picture. Card games were more popular across Europe and other Western nations. India and Eastern nations were more popular for their dice games and board games. Even our mythology tells us stories of Parvati playing dice with Shiva, and the brilliant dice-playing skills of Shakuni in Mahabharata.
Thus, historians believe that card games came to India when colonization started taking place. Dutch invaders and Britishers came to India and brought their card games with them. Teen Patti is believed to have originated from the three-card brag game popular in England. It was a game where players would win the match if they had the best hand among all the players. If players lacked good cards, they could always brag their way to victory. Teen Patti is very similar to three-card brag, and people generally agree that the game evolved from there. Three-card brag was believed to be the third most popular card game in Britain in the 19th century.
The Gameplay
As suggested by the name, the gameplay revolves around three cards held by the player. To start the game, players need to deposit an entry fee, which helps to raise the ante amount. This means that winners get a cash prize, which makes the game more competitive. Since players are always excited about their possible prizes, they put more effort into winning the game.
Players choose a dealer among themselves who needs to deal three cards, face down, to all the players. Unlike most games, where one card is dealt to the players at a time, Teen Patti requires dealers to deal all three cards to the players at once. No one can see the cards, not even the players to whom the cards are dealt. Players can choose to see their cards or not see their cards before continuing.
The player sitting to the right of the dealer starts acting first. They might choose to see their cards and play seen or play without seeing their cards, which is called playing blind. If the player does not see their cards, they can continue to raise the ante amount, according to the rules decided by the group. But if the players have seen the cards, they can choose to fold, which means they can exit the match if they think their card value is too low. Players can also ask for a sideshow, which means two consecutive players playing seen, might show their cards to each other. The one with the lowest card value would be removed from the game. The player with the highest hand wins. For the players playing blind, it becomes a matter of staying in the game for the longest by bluffing their way through.
How to Choose the Dealer in the Competition?
To choose a dealer among all the players, each player needs to draw a card. The player with the highest card is made the dealer. The game is started by the player on the left of the dealer. But most people like to choose their dealers through their own methods. This method is the most popular, but you can as easily use another method to choose your dealer.
Value of the Cards
There are no complex rules and regulations to be followed in Teen Patti, but players need to learn about the different possible hands. Since the winner is decided based on the highest-value cards, one needs to know the value of each card and different combinations. Teen Patti has a hierarchy of cards which have the highest value in the game. Here is a list of the card sequences that hold the highest value in a game of Teen Patti:
Trio or Three of a Kind
If a player gets a hand consisting of three cards having the same rank, they have a trio, which is the highest hand in the game. A trio of three aces would be the highest hand, and a set of twos has the lowest value. If you have a trio of cards, you can take your chances with raising the ante.
Straight Flush
If a player has three consecutive cards belonging to the same suit, they have a straight flush. After a trio, a straight flush is the highest-value hand in the game. For example, cards eight, nine and ten of hearts would make a straight flush. In case you have a wraparound sequence, like a jack, a king and an ace, it will not be considered a straight flush, but it is valid nonetheless.
Straight or Run
The third highest value is held by a straight sequence. This is possible when a player has three consecutive cards, but they do not belong to the same suit. For example, if a player has three of hearts, four of clubs and a five of spades, they have a sequence.
Flush
A player is said to have a flush when he or she has three cards which belong to the same suit. Sometimes, in rare cases, both players have a flush sequence. If all the cards are similar, players would need to decide on the basis of the suits. If the need arises, suit rankings can be put to use. Usually, suit rankings are assigned alphabetically: clubs have the lowest value, followed by diamonds, hearts and spades.
Pair
There might be times when players don’t get three complementary cards. When there are only two cards which are related to each other, the player is said to have a pair. The value of the hand is decided according to the traditional values of all the cards. This means that aces are valued the highest, and twos are the lowest. So, the highest paid would be two aces and a king.
High Card
If all else fails, and none of the cards is related to each other, the player is ranked according to the highest card in the hand. The highest card would be an ace, with the value decreasing gradually, and 2 being the card with the lowest value.
Different Variations of Competitive Teen Patti
If you think that you can get bored of playing the same game over and over again, think again. Teen Patti has multiple variations, each one more fun than the other. All the variations come with some changed rules or fun additions to make the game more fun. If players agree, they can incorporate one or more variations into their game and make their game more thrilling than the usual Teen Patti games. Here is a list of the most popular variation of the Teen Patti game that are played in competitions all around the world:
Best-of-Four
This is one of the most common variations of the game. The dealer deals four cards to each player. Players have the option to choose the best three cards from among the four cards. This allows players the space to have some control over their hands.
9-9-9
In this version of Teen Patti, the goal of the players is to land a number as close to 9-9-9 as possible. All the face cards, along with the number 10 card are assigned a value of 0, while the rest of the number cards maintain their value. This means aces equal 1, while fives equal 5, irrespective of the suit. So, a player who has a straight flush with the sequence five, six, seven would arrange their cards as seven, six, five. This will make the number of the cards 7-6-5, which is closer to 9-9-9, than 5-6-7.
Sudden Death
In this variation of the game, a pack of 52 cards is divided equally among the players. All the players start dropping their cards one after the other, until the first player shouts, “Stop!”
From the cards left in your hand, pick up the card which has the highest value. All players compare their cards, and the one with the highest card value wins the game.
Wild Draw
A wild card ruins the fun, said no one ever. All card games which employ wild cards in their gameplay are super fun to play. This is applicable for wild draw Teen Patti as well. After the dealer is done dealing the cards to the players, he or she pulls out another card from the deck, at random. The chosen card, along with the other three cards of the same rank, become wild cards for the duration of the match.
Lowball
In this version of the game, the value system for the cards is reversed. This means that the cards with the lower value would be the winning hand. The least ranking combination holds the highest rank and vice versa. Conventionally, a trio of aces would win the game. But in lowball Teen Patti, a trio of twos would become the winning hand.
Low Wild
This variation of the game is a further notch up on the lowball version of Teen Patti. Among all the cards held by each player, the lowest-ranking card in the hand (and all the other cards of the same rank) become wild cards in the hands of the player. Keep in mind that in this variation, the wild card varies from person to person. If the player happens to have two cards which form a pair, which also happen to be their lowest-value cards, the pair becomes a pair of wild cards.
High Wild
This is a reversal of the previous variation. In the high wild, the highest ranking cards (and all other cards of the same rank) from each player’s hand become wild cards, but only in the hands of the respective players. If the two highest cards make a pair, then it is considered a pair of two wild cards.
Two-Lowest Wild
In the two-lowest wild Teen Patti, each player is dealt four cards. The players have to find out the two lowest-ranking cards from their hands. These two cards combined, make one wild card, which is only applicable to the player in question. If a player has two low-ranking cards which make a pair, then the cards are not counted as wild cards.
High-Low Split
Traditionally, teen Patti games are won by the player who has the highest hand. They win the whole pot (the ante amount). Meanwhile, in the lowball variations, the pot goes to the player who has the lowest hand. High-low split games are somewhere in the middle. In these games, the pot is not exclusive to the players with the highest or the lowest hand. Instead, it is shared by the players with the lowest as well as the highest hand.
Rotating Jokers
In this variation of the game, all the players are dealt the cards, just like the classic Teen Patti. But here, one card is dealt face-up to each player. This card acts as the personal wild card for the player.
If the player folds, the open cards belonging to the player become wild cards that all the other players can use.
Bust Card Draw
This variation is pretty similar to the wild draw variation of Teen Patti. After the dealer has dealt the cards to the players, he or she pulls out another card from the deck at random. This card, along with all the other cards of the same rank, are declared bust cards in the game. This means all the players who get the bust cards have to fold.
Stud
In this variation of Teen Patti, all the players receive a mix of face-down and face-up cards. The cards which are dealt face-down to the players are called hole cards and the cards dealt face-up are called street cards. Therefore, the rest of the players are aware of some of the cards held by each player. Needless to say, players cannot play blind in Stud Teen Patti.
Kiss, Miss, and Bliss
In this variation, each player receives five cards. Players can come up with three different types of “virtual” wild cards:
Kiss: This is a wild card which consists of a pair of numerically consecutive cards. For example, 7, 8 or Q, K is a wild card. But K, A will not be considered a virtual wild card.
Miss: This is a wild card which consists of a pair of cards that has one card missing to complete a sequence. For example, A, 3 or 5, 7 would be valid wild cards. Keep in mind that it should be the middle term which is missing because two consecutive numbers would make a kiss wild card.
Bliss: This is a wild card which consists of a pair of two same-numbered cards, without taking the suit or colour into consideration. For example, two aces or two gives would be a virtual wild card.
Players are free to make any combination of the above three virtual wild cards to win the game. But keep in mind that each virtual wild card can only be used once at every turn.
Cobra
To play this variation of Teen Patti, the players must only have one card. For this, players can choose to receive only one card from the dealer. All the players have to pick their cards up without seeing what their card is. Players have to place the card on their foreheads. This means players cannot know their own cards but can see the cards everyone else is holding.
Blind King and Jack
In this variation of the game, each player gets three to four cards, and there are wild cards which players can use to win the game. The wild cards are the kings or jacks who have a side profile and only one eye is visible on these cards. For example, the jack of spades and the king of diamonds would be turned into wild cards. To set this variation of the game in motion, players need to get a trio. The game continues until another player asks the player holding the applicable king or jack to show their cards.
Are You Getting into the Teen Patti Frenzy?
Thus, after going through this article, you must realise that Teen Patti is a very fun game that can be easily enjoyed by everyone. There are no complex rules to be understood or elaborate material requirements for playing Teen Patti. All you need is a group of people who are willing to play the game with you. Maybe a decade ago, you would need to have a card deck to be able to play, but now, thanks to the internet, you don’t even need that. If you don’t have a deck of cards at your disposal, you can simply look for an online Teen Patti game. There are hordes of Teen Patti games on the internet, and some even come up with variations of their own.
There are a lot of different types of Teen Patti games, and if you get tired of playing the classic version, you can always check out these thrilling options. You can put multiple variations to your own game and make the game more fun. Keep in mind that this is a card game, and you always have the liberty to tweak a few rules here and there to make the game more enjoyable for you and your loved ones. For example, while a dealer is usually chosen by drawing cards, you can simply allow the youngest player of the group to be the dealer. After all, this will not affect the outcome of the game in any way, but the youngest member would definitely enjoy the game more. Isn’t that the purpose of indulging in these card games?
The cherry on top is that nowadays, Teen Patti games are available online too. So, if you don’t happen to have a pack of cards at home, but still want to play Teen Patti with your loved ones, the internet has your back. There are numerous Teen Patti games by different providers, along with different variations of the game as well. All you need to do is download the app, or visit the site where you can play the game. Even if you are alone, you can use any of these sites or apps to join Teen Patti games from across the world and have a gala time. If you are playing the game for the first time, you can simply choose to play the demo version, or watch a tutorial to better understand the nuances of the game.
Unlike poker, which requires a lot of thinking, Teen Patti does not involve any strategizing, which makes it an effortless game. Anyone can play Teen Patti, be it a child or an octogenarian. They just need to take a look at their cards (or not, if they choose to play blind) and be aware of the hierarchy of the card sequences. In Teen Patti, all you can do is hope for better cards than your opponents, so that you can have the strongest hand in the game. Armed with all this knowledge about Teen Patti, get ready for some fun gaming sessions!
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