Teen Patti Rules: Hand Ranking, Sequence Order and How to Play

Teen Patti, also written 3 Patti, means “three cards”. It is one of India’s most popular card games, a close relative of the British game Three Card Brag. Each player gets three cards from one standard 52-card deck, everyone puts a fixed amount into the pot before the deal, and players then bet on who holds the best three-card hand, either blind (without looking at their cards) or seen. This guide covers the hand ranking, the sequence order, how the betting works, show and side show, the exact chance of every hand and how the live casino versions differ from the home game. The rules below follow the standard version described by the card-game reference site pagat.com; home games often add their own house rules.

Teen Patti hand ranking

From highest to lowest. Any hand of a higher type beats any hand of a lower type.

The chances come from all 22,100 possible three-card hands. One detail surprises most players: a pure sequence is rarer than a trail (48 hands against 52) but still ranks below it. Three aces are the best trail and three twos the lowest.

Teen Patti sequence order

A sequence is three cards in a row, and the ace can be high or low. In the standard rules the order of sequences, highest first, is:

1. A-2-3 (the highest sequence)
2. A-K-Q
3. K-Q-J, then Q-J-10, J-10-9 and so on down to
4. 4-3-2 (the lowest)

That makes 12 possible sequences. K-A-2 is not a sequence: the ace cannot sit in the middle. The same order is used for pure sequences, so the best pure sequence is A-2-3 of one suit. Some groups rank A-K-Q above A-2-3, so agree on it before the first deal; a casino table shows its order in the game rules.

Comparing two hands of the same type

• Trails: the higher rank wins.
• Sequences and pure sequences: follow the order above.
• Colours and high cards: compare the highest card, then the second, then the third. The best colour is A-K-J; the best high-card hand is A-K-J of mixed suits.
• Pairs: compare the pair first, then the odd card. The best pair hand is A-A-K, the lowest 2-2-3.

How to play Teen Patti

1. Agree the boot. Every player puts the same minimum stake, the boot, into the pot. This amount is also the first “current stake”.
2. Deal. The dealer gives each player three cards face down, one at a time.
3. Choose blind or seen. You can leave your cards face down and play blind, or look at them and play seen. A blind player can look at their cards at any later turn, and from then on plays seen.
4. Bet in turn, starting to the dealer’s left. At your turn you either stay in by betting, or pack (fold) and lose what you have already put in.
5. The hand ends when everyone but one player has packed, and that player takes the pot without showing, or when only two are left and one of them pays for a show.

Blind and seen betting

Seen players pay twice as much as blind players to stay in:

Example: the boot is 1 unit. A blind player bets 1 unit, so the stake stays at 1. The next player looks at their cards and must bet at least 2 units; the stake for the following player is still 1. Unlike poker, there is no “calling” to match other players’ totals; each turn is simply a bet of the required size.

Show and side show

• Show: only possible when two players are left. Both hands are turned up and the higher one takes the pot. A blind player pays the current stake for a show; if both are seen, the player asking pays twice the current stake. A seen player cannot ask a blind player for a show.
• Ties in a show: if the hands are equal, the player who did not pay for the show wins.
• Side show (compromise): when every remaining player is seen, you can bet the minimum and ask the player who bet just before you to compare hands privately. They may accept or refuse. If they accept, the lower hand must pack, and on a tie the player who asked packs.

Popular Teen Patti variations

• Muflis (lowball): the ranking is turned upside down and the lowest hand wins.
• AK47: every ace, king, four and seven is a wild card.
• Joker and wild-card games: one card is turned up or drawn, and every card of that rank becomes wild.
• Blind limits: some groups allow only a set number of blind turns before you must look.

Teen Patti online and live casino

The casino versions are mostly different games from the home game: you play against the house, not against other players.

• Evolution’s live Teen Patti: you place an Ante, see your three cards, then either fold or place a Play bet equal to the Ante. The dealer needs Queen-high to qualify; if they do not, the Ante pays 1:1 and the Play bet is returned. If they qualify, the higher hand wins and Ante and Play both pay 1:1. Two side bets, Pair Plus and 6 Card Bonus, pay on your own cards whatever the dealer holds, up to 1000:1.
• Ezugi’s Teen Patti 3 Card: the same idea, with main-game payouts from 1:1 to 5:1, a Pair or Better side bet up to 100:1 and a 3+3 Bonus up to 1000:1.
• Bet on Teen Patti (Ezugi): you do not play a hand at all; you bet on whether Player A or Player B will have the stronger one.
• RNG versions such as Teen Patti 20-20 run as software at your own pace.

Hand order at a casino table can follow Three Card Poker rather than the home ranking, so read the rules screen before the first round. 22bet carries Evolution’s Teen Patti, Ezugi’s Teen Patti 3 Card, Bet on Teen Patti and One Day Teen Patti in its live casino, and RNG Teen Patti 20-20 from JILI, KA Gaming and OneTouch. For the other Indian card game in those lobbies, see our Andar Bahar guide; our poker hands guide covers the five-card ranking.

Play responsibly

Teen Patti for money is for players aged 18 and over. The house edge applies to every casino bet, and blind betting makes it easy to lose track of how much is in the pot. Set a budget before you play and stop when it is spent.