The game of three-card poker, or teen Patti as it is popularly called in India, enjoys almost a cult status as far as Bollywood films are concerned. Maybe it is a take on the casino scenes in umpteen number of James Bond films, or maybe it is an original Bollywood idea, but the fact is that there is no dearth of Hindi flicks with clichéd scenarios where the hero and the villain confront each other across a gambling table set in a murky and dangerous casino. Who can forget Amitabh Bachchan's marvelous casino scenes in films like Hera Pheri, Khoon Pasina, The Great Gambler, etc? Or Rajesh Khanna in Bluff Master?

If you are a Bollywood good guy, then it is your natural prerogative to win at cards. This is how almost every Bollywood hero manages to destroy the villain - the three aces - in film after film. Amitabh Bachchan to Rajesh Khanna, to Shahrukh Khan, Dilip Kumar, Salman Khan, Satrughan Sinha, Ajay Devgun, etc – every one of them has flourished three aces in the face of their rivals across the table, much to the enjoyment of movie goers. But Bollywood is only portraying what is part of our culture; during Diwali season it is a tradition for us to try our luck at Teen Patti.

Sadly outside the glitzy world of Bollywood, in real life games, bagging the coveted three aces in a three card poker match is very difficult. When people like you or me are playing the game, we can't hope to demolish all our rivals at the poker table in one flamboyant show of a three aces hand. In fact, it is imperative that you don't allow yourself to get carried away by the idea that you might get dealt a very superlative set of cards. You have to keep in mind that the best you can hope for is an average set of cards. What you can make of your average set of cards depends on your capacity to bluff your way through the game.

In traditional teen patti, before each hand every player involved must place the ante or minimum stake into the pot. One of the players is a dealer, who deals until everyone has three cards and the players then bet on who has the best three-card hand. Each has the option to look at their hand before betting (playing seen) or to leave their cards face down on the table (playing blind). In order to remain in a hand, all blind players must bet at least half as much as all seen players and either the same amount or more than other blind players. Betting process begins from the player on the left of the dealer, and as the dealer rotates so does the order of the betting.

Of course, the unbeatable hand in three card poker is three aces. The next best hands ranked from low to high are - Pair, Flush/color, straight, straight flush, and three of a kind/trio. Like most poker games, the outcome of any teen patti game depends on the capacity of a player to bluff and read his/her opponents. The quality of your hand does matter, but your confidence matters even more. Even if you hold a weak hand, if you can make your rivals feel that you are holding a great hand, then you may force them to fold and leave the pot to you. The legendary Amitabh Bachchan did just that in the film Hera Pheri.