3 Dead Men
A new spin on the Indian classic, Teen Patti
(a.k.a. Indian Poker or Flash)
Quick Facts:
3 - 10 Players
10 minutes
Medium Difficulty
Objective: Win with the best 3-card poker hand
1. Objective
This game involves a unique betting structure and you need poker chips or some type of counting units (chocolate chips will work if you don’t eat them all). Goal is to stay in with the best 3-card poker hand and win the pot.
2. How to Play
1. Ante or Original Stake
All players contribute one chip to start the pot. This is known as the original, or first stake. This stake needs to be matched or doubled each time as betting continues around the table.
2. Dealing
Each player is dealt 3 face-down cards (do not look at them right away).
3. Betting
Betting moves clockwise around the table until there are only two players left and one of them calls a “show” (more on this later).
i. When it is your turn to play, you have these options:
1. Call: Match the current stake
2. Fold: You are out of the round and surrender any chips you added to the pot.
3. Raise: Double the current stake.
7. Betting continues until there are only two players left. These players can continue to bet against each other until one of them matches the current stake and says “show!”
8. After “show” is called, both players reveal their hand and the higher hand wins the pot.
4. Players can play “blind” (without seeing their cards) or “seen” (after viewing them).
5. You can look at your cards at any time to become “seen,” however, you can’t go back and make yourself “blind” again.
6. “Seen” players have to pay twice as much as any player who stays in the round “blind.” For example, a “seen” player must put in 4 chips in order to call a blind player who put in 2 chips. The advantage of playing blind is that you only put in half of the current stake compared to a person who has looked at their cards. The downside of playing blind is that you don’t know whether you have a good hand or not!
3. A Quick Summary
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Every player antes an original stake
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Players can switch from blind to seen at any time, but not vice versa.
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Blind players pay half of what seen players pay
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On your turn you either call, raise or fold.
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After two players are left, either can request a show
4. Hand Rankings
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3-of-a-kind: $100, $100, $100 is the best hand.
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Straight: Straights are in denominational order as follows:
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$100, $50, $20 (highest straight)
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$50, $20, $10
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$20, $10, $5
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$10, $5, $1 (lowest straight)
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Pair: A pair of $100s is the highest pair. The extra card plays, meaning that the card not part of the pair will break a tie. For example, $20, $20, $10 beats $20, $20, $5
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Total value of hand: If you don’t have one of the above combinations, add up the 3 cards in your hand. For example, $100 + $50 + $10 = $160 which is the highest value hand (that is not a 3-of-a-kind, straight or pair). $20 + $5 + $1 = $26 and is the lowest hand possible.