Teen Patti is simpler to learn than Rummy. Three cards per player, one round of betting, one winner. The rules take about five minutes. What takes longer — and what shapes every decision once you understand it — is the blind and seen betting structure. It’s not complicated, but it’s not obvious either.
This guide covers everything from sitting at a table to calling a show. Already know how to play? [EK7 Teen Patti Tips →] is more useful.
Sitting Down at a Table on EK7
Open EK7 and tap Teen Patti from the home screen. Select a game mode — [Classic / Joker / Muflis / others] — and choose a stake level. The boot amount comes off your balance when you sit down.
The ₹500 welcome bonus is usable here from your first session.
The Start of a Hand
Before cards are dealt, every player puts the boot amount into the pot. That minimum stake is in regardless of what anyone ends up holding — it’s there before a single card is dealt.
Three cards go to each player, face-down, clockwise. Nobody looks yet. The player to the dealer’s left acts first.
Blind and Seen — How the Betting Works
Before you bet on your turn, you choose: look at your cards and become a seen player, or leave them face-down and stay blind.
That choice changes what you pay to stay in each round:
- Blind: pay the current stake
- Seen: pay twice the current stake
Put numbers on it. Current stake is ₹10. A blind player pays ₹10 to stay in the round. A seen player at the same table pays ₹20.
The reason anyone stays blind is pressure. A player betting confidently without seeing their cards forces everyone else to wonder what they’re up against. Trail? Nothing? The uncertainty costs seen players chips — they have to keep paying to find out. A committed blind player can fold out opponents who have decent hands simply by refusing to break.
You can look at your cards any time. Once you do, you’re seen for the rest of that hand.
Turn by Turn
Play moves clockwise. On your turn:
If you’re blind — pay the current stake to stay in, or fold. You can also look at your cards mid-hand if you decide you want to.
If you’re seen — pay twice the current stake to stay in, or fold. You can also request a sideshow with the player who just acted before you. More on that below.
The hand ends one of two ways: everyone except one player folds (that player takes the pot without showing anything), or two players are left and one calls a show.
What Beats What
Trail (Three of a Kind): Three cards of the same rank. Three Aces is the best hand in the game. Three 2s is the weakest trail and still beats everything below it.
Pure Sequence (Straight Flush): Three consecutive cards of the same suit. A-K-Q suited is the highest. 4-3-2 suited is the lowest.
Sequence (Straight): Three consecutive cards, different suits. A-K-Q through A-2-3.
Color (Flush): Three cards of the same suit, not consecutive. Two players both with a color: highest card decides, then second, then third.
Pair: Two cards of the same rank. Higher pair wins. Equal pairs go to the third card.
High Card: None of the above. Highest card wins. Most hands end here.
The ranking that trips up almost every new player at least once: Sequence beats Color. Three consecutive cards of mixed suits outranks three cards of the same suit that aren’t consecutive. Players who’ve played poker assume flush beats straight. In Teen Patti it goes the other way. Worth knowing before your first session.
The Sideshow
This is the option most new players don’t know exists, and most intermediate players don’t use often enough.
If you’re seen, and the player who acted just before you is also seen, you can request a sideshow. They can accept or decline.
Accepted: both players compare cards privately, away from the table. Lower hand folds. The rest of the table sees one player fold — nothing else.
Declined: play continues as normal.
When does requesting a sideshow make sense? When your hand is somewhere in the middle — strong enough that folding feels wrong, not strong enough that you want to build a large pot and go to a show. A successful sideshow removes one player from the field at one round’s cost. That’s often better than staying in through multiple rounds of increasing stakes with a hand you’re not fully confident in.
Blind players can’t request or accept a sideshow.
Calling a Show
Two players left, either can call a show. Both reveal cards. Better hand takes the pot.
Show cost: if both players are seen, it’s twice the current stake. If one player is blind and one is seen, the seen player can demand a show for the current stake.
If both hands are exactly equal, the player who did not call the show wins.
The decision of when to call a show is more interesting than new players give it credit for. Calling ends the round at the current pot size. Waiting gives the pot a chance to grow — and gives your opponent a chance to fold without a show, which means you take the pot without revealing your hand. Most new players call a show the moment two players are left. The better question is: does your opponent look like they’re about to fold, or dig in?
What New Players Get Wrong
The seen player rate. Seen players pay twice what blind players pay. This isn’t incidental — it’s how the game values information. Look at your cards when you have a weak hand and you’ll drain your balance twice as fast as a blind player at the same table. Understand the rate before you decide whether to look.
Calling the show at the first opportunity. Two players left, show gets called immediately. Sometimes correct. But your opponent might fold in one more round, handing you a larger pot without a showdown. The show is a tool, not an automatic next step.
Never using the sideshow. Players who don’t know it exists can’t use it. Players who know it exists but never request one are leaving a genuine option unused. It’s not always right — a declined sideshow changes nothing — but the cost of asking is nothing and the benefit of a successful one is real.
Sequence versus Color, backwards. Sequence beats Color. Consecutive cards of different suits outrank same-suit cards that aren’t consecutive. Say it once before playing and remember it.