India is the only country that celebrates numerous festivals all year long, and the most crucial part that breathes life into the festivals is the card games. There’s not just one card game that Indians love playing during a festival. Some of the most enjoyed card games include rummy, teen patti, satte pe satta, bluff, court piece, and teen do panch. While these card games are primarily played in a physical face-to-face setting during Diwali or any other occasion, games like rummy and teen patti can also be played online.
Indian rummy and teen patti are perhaps the most popular card games in India, owing to their availability online. The online games enable gamers to enjoy their favorite card games at their convenient time and place. Moreover, taking up a challenge against different online players adds to the thrill and excitement of playing card games.
Also Read: Poker vs Rummy Differences
So, when it comes to playing rummy or teen patti online or face to face during festivals, which card game, according to you, is the more popular one? Well, it may not be difficult to figure that out. But before we place our finger on the most popular one, let’s take a look at both the games.
Indian Rummy
The Indian Rummy card game is a popular rummy variant in India that offers further variants such as points rummy, deals rummy, and pool rummy. Further, pool rummy also comes in the 101 pool and 201 pool rummy variants. Rummy is one of the most entertaining card games that require skills and strategies to win. Understanding rummy rules and gameplay is relatively easy, even for beginners.
Rummy is played with a deck of 52 cards, in most cases, between two to six players. Each player is dealt 13 cards, and the objective is to be the first player to make a valid declaration. A valid declaration requires the player to meld the cards in sequences and sets.
Also Read: Tips for beginners on forming a rummy pure sequence
Depending on whether you are playing points rummy, pool rummy, or deals rummy, the gameplay can differ slightly, but the final objective of melding cards in sets and sequences remains the same. You can read more about all the rummy variants here to understand how each variant is played.
If you are a beginner, you can begin by practicing a few free games before playing rummy cash games with more experienced players.
Teen Patti
If you have played poker before, you may relate to the teen patti card game. Teen Patti is also called Indian poker and is a simplified version of poker. As the name suggests, each player receives only three cards; therefore, the teen patti game is shorter than rummy. The game is played using a standard deck of 52 cards, and Aces are the strongest cards in the game. For instance, if a player has three Aces, it is considered similar to a Royal Flush in poker.
At the start of the game, the players place an ante bet, after which the players are dealt three cards each. The players then decide to either continue or drop out. The players who choose to continue can also choose to go blind or be seen. If a player goes blind, they cannot see their cards. Players who go blind have to match only half of the wagers of other players if those players choose to see their cards. The players can raise or fold their cards as done in poker.
The Verdict
When you compare the popularity of two of these online card games, the online rummy card game is the clear winner. The popularity of online rummy is wider than the teen patti card game. This may be because rummy offers fun variants and requires more skills and strategy to ace the game. Rummy is easily accessible on most online gaming platforms and is played by different age groups.
Moreover, as the teen patti game is similar to poker, the game rules are relatively difficult to understand compared to rummy rules. Playing online rummy cash games is entirely legal in India as rummy is considered a game of skill. On the contrary, teen patti involves a choice to go blind, which is generally classified as luck-based. Therefore, playing teen patti cash games is considered to be illegal in India.
Also Read: Top card games of 2021
Based on the above statements, it is quite evident that rummy is the more popular card game when played online. However, Indians enjoy playing both card games equally during festivals, whether online or in a physical setting, irrespective of the legality. Also, while the other card games like bluff, court piece, and teen do panch are not available online, they are still quite popular amongst the masses and are played by people of all age groups.
