Thulla (Bhabhi) beginner FAQ: 30 questions answered

Thulla, also called Bhabhi or Bhabi, is a card game for two to six players in which nobody scores points. You try to get rid of all your cards, and the last player still holding cards loses.

They are names for the same family of games. Thulla is the off-suit card you throw, Bhabhi (or Bhabi) is the loser, and in many homes either word names the whole game. Small rules differ from table to table.

Classic matches in Thulla Champions always have four players. A private table with friends can have two, three, four, five or six.

A normal 52-card deck without jokers. In each suit the order from high to low is A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. There is no trump suit.

The whole deck is dealt out. With four players it is 13 each. With two it is 26 each, with three 18, 17 and 17, with five 11, 11, 10, 10 and 10, and with six 9, 9, 9, 9, 8 and 8.

The player holding the Ace of Spades. They must open the round with that card.

No. Every game is dealt fresh, and whoever holds the Ace of Spades in that deal starts.

One round of play in which each player puts down one card, starting with the leader. The first card sets the led suit.

Yes. If you hold a card of the led suit you must play one. The game greys out the cards you may not play.

If you have no card of the led suit you may throw any card you like. That off-suit card is the thulla.

The trick ends at once. Players who had not yet played in that trick do not play. The player holding the highest card of the led suit picks up every card on the table.

The player whose card is the highest of the led suit, which can be the leader. The thrower never picks up, because the thulla card is of the wrong suit.

The player who picked up the pile.

The highest card of the led suit wins the trick. Those cards leave the game and the winner leads next.

Yes. Nobody can be made to pick up cards on the first trick. A player with no spade plays any card as a dead card, and the highest spade, the Ace, wins.

There is no first prize. You win by not being last: every player who gets rid of all their cards is safe. Only the last player holding cards, the Bhabhi, loses.

No. One round is one match. You deal once, play until there is a Bhabhi, and the entry fee is settled at once.

No. If your last card is the highest of the led suit and a later player throws a thulla, you pick up the whole pile and you are back in the game. Your last card is only safe when the trick ends without that.

If every player still in the round plays their last card in the same clean trick, nobody is left holding cards. There is no Bhabhi, everybody wins and every player gets their entry fee back.

When two players are left with no suit in common, the game ends at once and the player who would lead next is the Bhabhi. The result was already certain. See the shootout page for the proof.

Before leading, from the second trick, a player may ask the next player in the round for their whole hand. If they accept, they go out safe and the asker takes all their cards. It is never allowed when only one opponent is left.

Yes, when exactly two players are left. The player who gives up is the Bhabhi and the other goes out safe. Bots never give up.

Fifteen seconds in an online match. If time runs out the server plays a card for you, and after a timeout your next turns get only five seconds until you play a card again.

A bot covers your seat and keeps playing for you. A match that cannot be finished is cancelled and everyone is refunded. Quitting on purpose loses the entry fee.

Yes, you can play free in your browser. The game is supported by ads and by optional purchases, such as removing ads or buying extra coins.

No. Coins and diamonds are game items with no cash value. They cannot be cashed out or sent to other players for money.

Add a friend by their Player ID, open a private table, and invite them or share the table code. A private table seats two to six.

No. A bot sees only what a person at the table sees: its own cards, the cards that have been played, who has thrown a thulla on which suit, and everyone's card count.

Easy plays a random legal card, Medium follows safe habits, and Hard counts cards and plans the endgame. Against three Easy bots a Hard bot is the Bhabhi in about 1 game in 100.

Practise against the bots, count the cards of each suit, remember who throws a thulla on which suit, and read the strategy guide. The endgame is where most games are decided.