Teen Patti Moments

This might be old news for some of you but I just ran across an old article about Mahima Choudry being the spokesperson for Teen Patti Party.com.  Of course, for someone who is not involved in the Bollywood scene, the name probably means nothing.  However, anyone who is remotely interested in Bollywood would at least recognize that Mahima Choudry is a leading actress in this part of the world.

You would also probably know something about Teen Patti Party, which we have covered some time ago.  Since its inception in June of 2005, this web site has provided a venue for South Asians to connect with each other through Teen Patti.  The South Asian diaspora  is well known all over the world.  From the United States to the United Kingdom to other parts of Asia, you can be sure to find a South Asian community somewhere.  With that in mind, the people behind Teen Patti Party have provided a venue for these people wherever they may be located.  And what binds them?  The love for the local Indian game Teen Patti.

What does the Ms. Mahima Choudry have to say all about this? “I feel that TeenPattiParty.com is a fantastic way for online gamers to connect with each other, no matter where they live.”  That’s what I was thinking too…anyhow, I have been trying to trace whatever happened with their deal – whether or not she is still affiliated with them.  Unfortunately, I have not gotten anything.  Help, anyone?

I know I was in a rut when I wrote the last post so I was very excited when I saw this press release online the other day:

CineMaya Media Group, Inc. has been hired by Indian online gaming leader, TeenPatti.com, to launch an aggressive worldwide media campaign for the three card gaming site and its brand new, free browser-based product, requiring no downloads. For generations, Teen Patti has been the number one card game for Indians around the world, and TeenPatti.com makes it possible to enjoy it online 24 hours a day.

The strategic campaign will be created and managed by CineMaya’s new Indian division, CineMaya Media India, and feature an advertising blitz utilizing both on and offline exposure for TeenPatti.com employing viral online marketing, Internet banners, billboards, and print advertising, with the ultimate goal of increasing brand identity and expanding TeenPatti.com’s base of online players.

This is indeed good news for all teen patti lovers out there, whether they are located in India or in other countries.  I believe that this is one move that could actually turn things around for teen patti.  Although a large part of the campaign will still probably be focused on India ands its neighboring areas, this could be the start of something huge for the game.

What does the marketing group has to say about this?: “Having worked with TeenPatti.com previously, we are honored and excited to be selected again as their marketing agency to lead this campaign.  We have enjoyed a history of servicing industry leaders in their respective sectors, and TeenPatti.com is no exception. With the number of Internet users rapidly increasing in India, we believe the timing of TeenPatti.com’s new product launch is ideal, and their brand should be well received by the masses as India’s number one card game continues to flourish.”

I can’t wait for the results.

People in the Western Hemisphere may not have heard about it, but there was this great LG promo early this year which involved teen patti.  Residents of India probably remember it though.  To give you an idea, here is a press release from way back in January:

LG Electronics has unveiled a promotional campaign for all its retailers across the nation called - “Teen Patti Khelega Kya”. Under this promotional scheme, on every sale of a desktop PC, the retailer gets a reward card having similar looks of a playing card. These cards are marked Ace, King, Queen and Jack.

Every Desktop PC, depending on the model, has a reward card pasted inside the top flap of the carton box. An LG My PC with Intel Celeron processor will have a Jack, Single core CPU models will have Queen and Dual core models will have a King. The C2D processor models will have an Ace.

R. Manikandan, general manager, Sales and Marketing - IT Products, LG Electronics, said, “This new reseller scheme named ‘Teen Patti Khelega Kya’ is even more innovative and is first of its kind in the industry. While wishing all the partners a very happy new year, we also wish them more prosperity through this most innovative and hassle free scheme on LG My PC.”

I was just thinking that if teen patti got more of this sort of exposure, maybe we would have more web presence.  I don’t know, maybe the lack of activity in the teen patti online world is getting me down a bit.

As of today, if we compare the number of web sites dedicated to teen patti to that of other card games, we definitely would find a lack on our side.  This is perhaps due to the fact that teen patti is still emerging as a card game in the western part of the earth.  Compare that to other card games such as poker and blackjack, which have been around for so long.

In any case, teenpattiparty.com is one such web site, dedicated to this 3-card game.  From time to time they have special promotions which are meant to attract people to play teen patti.  One such incentive is their 200% deposit bonus.  Once you deposit, you will receive 200% of your initial deposit in promo bucks.  More so, they have daily freeroll tournaments wherein players have the chance to win $100.

If you are that good at teen patti and you think you want to win something bigger than $100, then join tournaments for a fee.  For this kind of play, you have the chance of winning $200 everyday.  The fee is a mere $2.20 and the top 8 finishers get to share the prize pool.  In case only 10 players join the tournament for the day, teenpattiparty.com will make up for the lacking prize money so that the top 8 finishers are guaranteed $200.  You can also rebuy for $2 if you want to continue on playing and increase your chances of winning even more.

For more information, visit their site at http://www.teenpattiparty.com/.

When I first got into Teen Patti, I understood that no matter how interesting I found the game to be, it just has not reached the same heights as poker.  It was a fact I was willing to accept easily.  I didn’t think that it would be featured in a movie like Lucky You and other numerous “poker movies.”

I was proven wrong when I read about the new movie to be released in India.  Believe it or not, there is a movie to be made called Teen Patti.  Now I should not really be that surprised, if you think about it.  Teen Patti is essentially an Indian game.  As we have discussed before, this card game originated from that part of the world.  More than that, India has one of the most prolific movie and entertainment scenes outside of Hollywood.  They even have their own version of it, which is known all over the world as well – Bollywood.  So if ever a movie were to be made about Teen Patti, why not in India?

Anyhow, the star of the movie is Amitabh Bachchan, who will play a gambler.  At the moment, the movie is still in its pre-production stage.  The fact remains, however, that Bachchan – a pillar in Bollywood – would have to brush up on his card gaming skills to pull off this role.  Admittedly a terrible card player, Bachchan would have the challenge of his life with this movie.  In any case, it is something to look forward to.

Here’s the last installment of this mini series.  Let us look at the show and its intricacies.  I think it is best explained by this site called pagat.com:

The rules for a show are as follows:
•    A show cannot occur until all but two players have dropped out.
•    If you are a blind player, the cost of a show is the current stake, paid into the pot, irrespective of whether the other player is blind or seen. You do not look at your own cards until after you have paid for the show.
•    If you are a seen player and the other player is blind, you are not allowed to demand a show. The seen player can only continue betting or drop out.
•    If both players are seen, either player in turn may pay twice the current stake for a show.
•    In a show, both players’ cards are exposed, and the player whose hand is higher ranking wins the pot. If the hands are equal, the player who did not pay for the show wins the pot.

If all the players are seen, then at your turn, immediately after betting the minimum amount (twice the current stake), you can ask the player who bet immediately before you for a compromise. That player can accept or refuse the compromise.
•    If the compromise is accepted, the two players involved privately compare their cards, and the player with the lower ranking cards must immediately fold. If they are equal, the player who asked for the compromise must fold.
•    If the compromise is refused, the betting continues as usual with the player after the one who asked for the compromise.

In the last post we ended with how much you are supposed to bet.  So again, these are the 2 scenarios:

•    If you are a blind player, you must put in at least the current stake and not more than twice the current stake. The current stake for the next player is then the amount that you put in.
•    If you are a seen player you must bet at least twice the current stake and not more than four times the current stake. The current stake for the next player becomes half the amount that you bet.

Now just because you chose to be a blind player in the beginning does not mean that you cannot change your mind.  When your turn to bet comes around, you can actually decide to be a seen player.  From that point on, you have to play seen, though.

So the betting process just continues in the same manner.  This goes on until one of two things happen:

•    All players have folded and there is only one player remaining.  In this case, he is obviously the winner.  He then wins all the money in the pot, without regard to the cards he is holding.
•    All players have folded except for two.  If one of these remaining players pay for a show, both of them should then expose their cards.  The cards are then compared to determine the winner.

Let’s look into the show in the next post with more detail.

In the last post we looked at the different hands in teen patti.  Now it is time to learn something about how to bet in a game of teen patti.  It is pretty simple, too.  The betting starts with the player who is positioned to the left of the dealer.  Each player then takes his turn in betting, going in a clockwise manner.  The rounds of betting can go for as many times as needed.  Each player has the option to put an additional bet into the pot in order to stay in the game or to not add any bet and fold.  If a player folds, he is not part of that hand anymore – much like poker in this respect.

How much does one’s bet need to be?  This depends on the current stake and whether a player is playing blind or seen.  Remember, in teen patti, when one plays blind he does not see his cards.  On the other hand, one playing seen has taken a look at his cards.  As such, players playing seen have to bet twice as much as those playing blind.

In the beginning, the stake is what each player puts in the pot as the ante.  Let us call this one unit.  So if the betting round starts with you and you are playing blind, the amount that you have to bet should be at least equal to one unit but not more than two units.  Once you have bet, the current stake changes to what you have put in.  Say you put in 2 units, the next player has to bet depending on 2 units.

(to be continued)

In the last post we had an overview of teen patti rules and game play.  In this second installation of our tutorial series, let us take a look at the hand rankings as employed in this game.  In order to do that effectively, let me emphasize the fact that in teen patti, only three cards are used to make a hand.

The highest possible hand is called the trio.  A trio is composed of 3 cards of the same rank – basically 3 of a kind.  The highest trio is composed of 3 Aces while the lowest has 3 twos.

The next hand is a straight run.  Similar to poker, this hand has 3 consecutive cards of the same suit.  The highest straight run is composed of an Ace ,a two, and a three.  The lowest straight run is composed of a 4, a 3, and a 2.

After the straight run comes the normal run.  This is just like the straight run but the cards need not be of the same suit.  Just like the straight run, the highest and lowest combinations are A-2-3 and 4-3-2 respectively.

Next we have the colour.  This is basically a hand with 3 cards of the same suit.  The highest colour is composed of an Ace, King, and Jack.  The lowest is a 5, a 3, and a 2.

Then we have the pair – just like the pair in poker and many other card games.  Of course in teen patti, you would have an odd card.

The last and lowest hand is the high card.  This is basically any hand that does not fall under any of the above categories.

We have touched upon the basics of teen patti in the previous months and we have even talked about its origins.  I think that it’s about time that we focus on the inner workings of the game in detail so that those who really want to grasp the concepts would be able to do so.  This post is going to be the first of several in this series.

Teen patti is also sometimes spelled Teen pathi so do not be surprised if you meet that variation.  It is played with 3 cards, which is also called Flush in India.  If you know the British game 3 Card Brag then you would find it easy to understand teen patti.

You need a standard 52 card deck.  There is really no limit (higher or lower) to the number of players but the ideal number would be anywhere from 4 to 7 people.  The ranking of the cards is “normal” – similar to most other card games – with Ace being the highest and Two being the lowest.

Similar to poker, players have to determine a minimum stake which everyone has to put into the pot before the game begins.  The dealer will then give 3 cards to each player.  What happens next is that the players bet on who has the best cards.  Each player can either play seen (look at the cards) or blind (leave cards face down).

That is essentially what teen patti is all about.  In the next post, let us look into the hand rankings in more detail.