Dehla Pakad: how to play and capture the tens
Also called Dehla, Dehla Pakad card game, Catch the Tens
Dehla Pakad means “catch the tens”. It's a four-player partnership game where tricks pile up in the middle, and the only cards that really matter are the four 10s.
To take the pile you must win two tricks in a row by yourself, so timing your high cards matters as much as holding them.
Where the name Dehla Pakad comes from
Dehla is the ten card and pakad means catch or grab. The game shares its 5-card trump call with Court Piece, but uses Double Sir collection: tricks stay in the middle until someone wins two in a row.
How to play Dehla Pakad
Players, teams and cards
Four players play in two fixed partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other. A standard 52-card deck is used, with no jokers.
Cards rank from high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Play passes anti-clockwise round the table, as it traditionally does in India and Pakistan.
Dealing in two stages
- The dealer shuffles and gives every player 5 cards.
- Trump is decided by looking at those 5 cards only, before anyone sees the rest of their hand.
- The dealer then deals the remaining 8 cards each, so everyone holds 13.
Playing a trick
- The player who decided trump leads the first trick. After that, whoever won the last trick leads.
- Everyone must follow suit if they can.
- A player with no card of the led suit may play any card, including a trump. Playing a trump like this is called cutting (katna).
- The highest trump wins the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
Calling trump
There is no bidding. The player after the dealer looks at their first 5 cards and names the trump suit, then leads the first trick once all 13 cards have been dealt.
The pile in the middle (Double Sir)
- Finished tricks are not picked up straight away. They stay face down in a pile in the middle of the table.
- When the same player wins two tricks in a row, they take the whole pile for their team.
- Partners do not combine: if you win one trick and your partner wins the next, the pile stays in the middle.
- Whoever wins the 13th and last trick takes whatever is still in the middle.
Winning a round: capture the tens
The four 10s (dehlas) decide the round. A team that captures 3 or 4 of them wins. If each team has two, the team that captured more tricks wins.
Capturing all four tens is a Kot, the biggest win in the game.
Winning the game
Each round won is worth one point, and Kots are counted separately for bragging rights. The first team to win 7 rounds wins the game. If the dealer's team loses a round, the same dealer deals again.
Dehla Pakad FAQ
- How do you win a round of Dehla Pakad?
- Capture at least three of the four tens. If both teams have two tens, the team that captured more tricks wins.
- Can partners combine to take the pile?
- No. The same player must win two tricks in a row. If you win one and your partner wins the next, the pile stays in the middle.
- What happens to the pile at the end?
- Whoever wins the 13th and last trick takes everything still in the middle.
- What is a Kot in Dehla Pakad?
- Capturing all four tens in one round.