How To Play Traditional Indian Betting Games

Story by George Oborne on 2011-09-28 15:42:53

India has a long history of gambling and has a number of unique and enjoyable games that people have betted on for centuries.

The majority religion in India is Hinduism and betting is a strong part of the cultural tradition in Hinduism. Indeed, in the small state of Arunachal Pradesh where Gambling is illegal, an exception is made once a year over the festival of Diwali. The five day festival, which is a national holiday in India, sees the Arunachal Pradesh state issue a number of betting licences. The game Jhandi Munda is played and it is often thought that one's fortune at the betting tables during Diwali can be indicative of how one's fortunes will pan out through the following year.

Despite betting being illegal, gambling for small stakes still goes on between friends. Below is a list of games that are played throughout India. There are many games played and the ones listed are just a few of the most popular.

 

Andar Bahar

Andar Bahar is a very simple card game played in India, it is also known as Katti. The odds of winning at Andar Bahar are 50/50. The dealer cuts a card from a standard pack of cards and it is left out on display. The dealer then begins to deal the rest of the pack in two columns. One column starting on his left and the other column starting on his right. The aim of the game is to guess which column the same numbered card will reappear in. There is a slight advantage to bet in the column which the dealer starts first. However, it also advisable to only play with friends as con-men are likely to dupe you if you play them in the street, whilst casinos take a heavy house edge, often giving you odds as short as 4/5 (bet 5 Rupees to win 4 Rupees) on both outcomes.

 

Indian Dice

Indian dice is a very simple game. It involves the use of five dice which are thrown and bet on. The betting is similar to that of poker with the possible winning hands five of a kind, four of a kind, full house, a set, two pair, a pair or high dice. This can be played at a casino, where the different permutations pay out the gambler a different amount of his stake, two pair for example may pay out half of the stake, a set might return the stake, four of a kind ten times the stake etc.

It can also be played between friends or against competitors where players can bet depending how good they believe their hand to be in comparison to others. Straights are not generally played in India but it can be agreed between players to include them before games if such are rules to apply.

 

Jhandi Munda

Jhandi Munda is a gambling game which involves rolling a number of dice, usually six, and betting on which faces will show up. There are six different icons that appear on different faces of the dice. The icon that shows up the most number of times is the winning face.

You can see it being played here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoBAkhsAyY8. It is very popular in the state of Arunachal Pradesh and is traditionally played during the festival of Diwali.

Jhandi Munda is the only legal form of gambling in Arunachal Pradesh. Permits to host a betting kiosk cost around 10,000 rupees and they are only valid for three days during Diwali. It appears that the game is taken very seriously and people wager large sums of money when playing Jhandi Munda and stories of punters mortgaging households and losing valuables such as cars are not uncommon. There are no restrictions on who can bet and it is not unusual for young children of both sexes to partake.

 

Matka

Matka is a very popular game in Mumbai and in Gujarat.

It originated as a game called Ankadar Jugar, when people would bet on the closing price of cotton in the New York stock exchange.

It became popular in the 1970s when Rhatan Khatri ran the matka racket in Mumbai. He was known for his honesty and had the daily cards drawn by well known celebrities or sometimes random members of the public. His relations with high society gave him credibility and there was a campaign to make him Prime Minister after the death of Indira Ghandi.

Since Rhatan Khatri retired in the late 90s matka has seen a drop in popularity. The mafia has taken control of the game and punters do not know whether the draw is fixed or not and it is thought that it usually is.

The way the game works is similar to a lottery. There are two draws of three numbers per day, these are called the opening draw and the closing draw. They are drawn at 9pm and at midnight respectively. They are drawn from a pack of cards with numbers zero to nine. So a typical draw might be 469. The numbers of the draw are added up, so it would be 19 in this case. The last number is taken and so the opening number would be 9 (as you just take the second number) so the draw would be represented like this: 469 9X.

The next draw takes place at midnight and is the closing draw, it might be 257, which would make the closing number 4 (from the 14) and the full draw would be displayed as 469 9X4 257.

People bet on all of these outcomes at various odds. People bet on the two three digit numbers. They bet on the opening and closing numbers (In this case 9 and 4). They also bet on the opening and closing number combined (In this case 94). Finally they bet on the sums of the opening and closing draws (In this case 19 and 14). So you have odds that vary from 9/1 to 999/1.

 

Lucky Seven

Lucky Seven is a very easy card game. It involves a pack of cards with all the cards above the number seven removed. The cards are then shuffled and then seven cards are laid out. The cards are then turned over from left to right. The aim of the game is to get all numbers A-7 to come up without repeats. Bets are taken on when a repeat will come up as well as on less likely outcomes such as whether the 'Lucky Seven' will be completed.

It is a very popular game with children and is often played by groups of young children who do not bet on the game.

 

Passa

Passa is a special dice game, where the dice do not take the form of ordinary dice and have just four sides.

The sides represent a one, a three, a four and a six. One then bets whether a Hare will occur or whether a Jeetae will occur. Both are 50/50. The dice are then rolled until the two sides facing up match, so they will represent either a 11, 33, 44 or a 66. The 11 and 33 represent a Hare and the 44 and 66 represent a Jeetae. It is seen in a similar vein to tossing a coin and therefore can be used to decide more things than just the outcome of a bet.

 

Rummy

Rummy is a very popular game played throughout India. You can play with up to ten players, 2-6 players play with 2 packs of cards and if you play with seven or more players then you should use three packs of cards. You should play with the jokers left in the packs.

The seating positions are decided by dealing cards and seating people in order from highest to lowest. The lowest card sits to the right of the highest and the lowest card begins dealing. The job of dealing is then passed right. Seating positions should be refreshed every two to three rounds.

The dealer then deals to his left and deals thirteen cards to each player. The dealer places the pack face down and then lays one card face up on the table. This card then represents the joker card and is kept out of the pack, however, all other cards of that value in the pack then become jokers. The dealer then turns over one more card face up and the game is ready to begin.

The aim of the game is to get runs, sets and straight runs. Jokers can be used to represent any card but cannot be used in straight runs unless they are representing themselves. Runs are three or more numbered cards in a row, sets are three or more cards of the same suit and straight runs are three or more cards of the same suit with consecutive numbers. Aces can be played either before the two or after the king, however king, ace, two would be an invalid run. The aim is to have all of your 13 cards as sets and runs, however, before you call rummy you must also have a straight run and also have at least two runs (one of these can be the straight run).

The player to the left of the dealer makes the first move. He can either pick up the face up card or take one from the top of the pack. He must then return one card on the face up pile, if he has picked up the face up card he cannot put that same card back down. This trend then continues until someone calls rummy.

Players are able to 'pack' or fold if they do not fancy remaining in the game. If a player wants to pack before he has even picked up a card then he must pay 10 points to the winner. If a player packs after picking a card then he must pay 40 points to the winner. The winner is the person who calls rummy. Everyone else must then pay him the value of their cards (A,K,Q,J = 10 points; all other cards are worth their face value). If a player has a straight run in his hand though, he does not pay for the cards in that straight run or in any other runs in his hand. The value of each point is decided prior to the start of the game.

A final rule is that if a player calls rummy after picking up just one card then the other players pay just half the value of their hands to the winner. However, if a player calls rummy before he has even picked up a card then everyone else pays the winner twice the value of their hands.

This is the most popular version of the game and there are many more variations that people play.

 

Sequence

Sequence is a poker game which is very similar to 7 card stud poker. The dealing and betting is exactly the same.

The difference is that there are wild cards. If the number two is dealt face up then it becomes the wild card for that hand. However, if after that a three is dealt then the two ceases to be a wild card and the three takes it place. If after this a four is dealt, then the four takes the place of the three as a wild card. The pattern continues like this.

So, if a hand was dealt 4d 5d Au 2u Qu 3u 9d (u=dealt up, d=dealt down), then the wild card would be three.

If the hand was 2d 4d 3u Ku 8u 4u Kd, then there would be no wild card as there is no 2 facing up and it is required that a 2 appears face up to begin the wild card sequence.

The wild card can represent any card the player wants.

 

Sweep

Sweep is a card game which is played in the North of India. The game requires two teams of two who sit in the same formation as one does when playing bridge.

The game starts with each player receiving 12 private cards and with four cards face up in the middle of the table. The cards all have a different value, The spade cards are worth their face value from A=1 to K=13. Each ace is worth one point and the king of diamonds is worth 10 points. All other cards are worth nothing. The aim is to create a 100 point lead over the other team, this is called a 'Baazi'.

Each turn involves a player putting one card into the middle, which serves one of the following purposes: a) To become a 'loose card' b) to establish a house c) to break a house d) to cement a house e) to capture a loose card/house/cemented house.

Now I know that was complete gobbledegook so I am going to try and explain each of these various terms for you.

Loose Card: A loose card is one of the cards on the table that are face up and not accompanied by other cards. If you cannot do b)c)d) or e) then you will have to play a new loose card.

House ('Ghar' in Hindi): A house is a pile of cards that add up to between 9 and 13. So if a 4 is on the table then you could place a 6 down to create a 10, which would be a house. However, to create a house you MUST have a card of the value of that house in your hand, meaning you 'own' that house. So, if you put a 6 on top of a 4 then you need to have a 10 in your hand. This is because houses need to be able to be picked up, so by having the 10 in your hand you can ensure that at least you will be able to pick it up if no one else can.

Breaking Houses: To break a house you need to be able to add a card to an existing house to make it a larger house. So, if the person to your right put a 6 on a 4 (to make a 10 house), then you could put a 2 on top of that 4 to make a Q House. This, of course, would require you to have a Q in your hand so that you can 'own' it.

Cementing Houses ('Pukka' in Hindi): This is when you double the value in the house. So, for example, if the person to your left had put a 6 on a 4 and you had two 10s in your hand then you could put a 10 on top and cement the house. Cemented houses cannot be built upon. It is important to note that if you break a house (e.g. adding 2 to a 6 and 4) and there is a card of that value (e.g. a Q) then that newly built house will be immediately cemented. Once again, cemented houses need to be 'owned'.

Capturing: Capturing cards is how you get points, once cards are captured then you put them face down next to you and keep them till the end. You can capture anything on the table if you have a card of that value. So you can capture loose cards, a 4 can capture a 4 for example. However, more than one card can be captured at a time. A 9 could, for example capture a 2 an A and a 6. Houses, both cemented and uncemented can be captured with a card of correct value (so a house of a 6 and a 4 or a cemented house of a 6, a 4 and a 10 could be captured by another 10) . A house and loose cards can be captured at the same time even. This might happen if there is a house of 10 and there are also loose cards of 6 and 4 on the table. You can then pick up the 6, the 4 and the 10 house.

Sweep: A sweep occurs when you capture all the cards on the table. A sweep is worth 50 points except for on two occasions. The first is when a sweep is performed in the first hand and it then receives just 25 points. The second is the last play which receives no points at all.

The aim therefore is to capture as many scoring cards as possible, this is done effectively by capturing other player's houses and by ensuring your own are not captured.

The End:

The play continues with each player playing a single card each turn until all the houses are taken. Once all the cards are put in the last person to capture a house gets all the remaining loose cards.

The scores of each players captured cards are then added up, including sweeps and the cards are dealt again. Once one team has a 100 point lead then they have won a 'baazi'. Games are often played in a 'best of' format with five, seven or nine 'baazis' being played.

I will now finish by discussing the start as it is quite complex and has little bearing on the mechanics of the game, hopefully it will make sense now but may not have done if I had put it at the start of this description.

The Start:

The start is a little odd. The dealer is chosen at random and thereafter the dealer is a member of the losing team. At the start of each round the dealer deals four cards to the player to his right and places four cards face up on the table. The player to the right then must reveal the value of one of his cards (this must be between 9-13, if the player does not have a card from 9-13 then he must be dealt to again) this is called a bid. The player then must either make a house to the value of his bid, play the card of bid value and pick up cards to the same value of the bid or, if he can do neither of the above, he must play the bid card as a loose card.

The rest of the cards are then dealt, leaving all players with 12 cards except for the player who has bid, he will be left with 11. Play then continues to the right.

 

Teen Pathi

Otherwise known as Three Cards, Teen Pathi is almost identical to the game Three Card Brag. In the game an original stake is agreed upon and all players pay the stake before being dealt their cards. Each player is then dealt three cards. The person with the best hand wins. The hands are ranked in the following manner (low to high):

 

High Card

Pair

Flush

Straight

Straight Flush

Three of Kind

There are, of course, a few rounds of betting before hand. Once players are dealt cards they get the option of looking at their cards or playing blind. If you have seen your cards you have to pay twice the stakes of those who are blind to stay in the game. If you are blind, the biggest raise you can make is twice the current stake, if you have seen your cards you can quadruple the stake. At the end of each betting round you get the opportunity to look at your cards or remaining blind.

Betting must continue until there are just two players left and all others have folded. At this point a blind player can pay the current stake to force a show, meanwhile a player that has seen his cards cannot force a show and can either continue betting or fold. If both players are seen then either player can play twice the current stake to force a show. The cards are then shown and the player with the best hand wins.

Teer

Teer is a form of archery played in the Indian state of Maghalaya. The archery is bet on in a similar way to how Matka is bet on. The game sees a number of archers fire 3000 arrows at a target, the number of arrows that hit the target are then counted. The final two digits of the number counted are then proclaimed as that days number. The game can be seen in action here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyYCwqpWHGw&feature=related.

It is common for betters to arrive early and force themselves to sleep. They then interpret their dreams, if they see red in their dream it means number four, or if they see an umbrella then it means number seven. There are complex systems which people swear by and it is hugely popular. It is only legal in Maghalaya and the government make a lot of money from it. Over the last three years they have collected 10 million rand in tax and 2.6 million rand selling licences to bookmakers.