Teen pathi and the teen hazaar rules

LUCK …. ALCOHOL … MONEY… throw in the occasion to dress up and host parties … the combined high of all these is what make the Diwali Taash parties a huge hit.

Are these parties legal?  Well.. most of these parties fall into the grey area of  'The Public Gaming Act', where the gambling parties take place in residential houses where the house owner is not paid commission for using his premises, thereby escaping the definition of a 'gaming house’. So the games go on and getting better and bigger.

First off.. there are various kinds of games - Teen pathi, poker, black jack, the Indian rummy etc Each group have their own favorite.

Then there are various kind of groups. The serious ones who play as if their life depended on it and those when they play can be mistaken for oldies from the local neighborhood laughing club and I am proud to say that my group is the latter category.

Lastly we have all kinds of people -  those who beg, borrow or steal ( the Kedi Anna types) and those who demand and sometime resort to extortion ( the Goonda Raj types )  . Those who are unfazed when they lose and those who hit the ceiling when they or their spouse win. We have seen the beginners luck and some old timers getting lost and stuck . At some instances an odd couple sweep the stakes. Trust me.. it is nice to win .. Diwali or not. Who ever made up the theory 'Its better to lose in Diwali card party to win the whole year through' must have be a doting grandma or a loser with a sour grape approach

We play Teen Pathi in our group (I am still figuring out how this pathi differs from pathi as in hubby. Liking Teen pathi is like endorsing menage a trois or quatre!! ) We play the normal game and the not-so-normal one which we fondly called variation. We have variations ranging from the oft repeated to some bizarre ones where the dealer himself is confused (.. it is mostly herself) This year the award for the debutant variation went to the Mallu Black Jack where the total is 30 instead of 21.  

This season, yours truly has acquired a new name 'Ram Jethmalini of the group' for acting as a counsel to the distressed. While she happy to be given the honor, she also expects to receive some honorarium.  To begin with, she is planning to release a book by next Diwali - Teen pathi and the teen haazar rules .. gonna cost you only teen sau. 

Happy Pathi
   
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