For the first Diwali in their new home in Salt Lake, Rana, 29, and Mou, 28, are hosting a poker party. The “optimum” poker group of six to seven friends are invited. The minimum stake is Rs 500, with no upper limit. On the menu are light bites and serious sips.

Move over teen patti, it’s party time-poker time this Diwali.

Thanks to Facebook applications like Poker Palace and Texas HoldEm Poker and cult films like the Clooney-Pitt Ocean’s series, city slickers are raring for a “royal flush” this Diwali.

To get started, all you need is a poker set — and a poker face. “Lots of youngsters are playing it online, so the poker set has become a must-buy. Sales have soared five times in the run-up to Diwali,” says Gautam Jatia of Starmark. The South City store had stocked up on poker sets eyeing a rush, but with the chips flying off the shelves, it had to place a re-order.

At Crossword, sales have gone up by 35-40 per cent this week. “We ordered extra stocks for Diwali”, says Supratik Sen, the floor manager at Elgin Road.

For the young and the restless, the jargon — “big blind” to “burn and turn” — is as addictive as the game with quirks galore. The strategising is an added kick. “You play the person and not the game,” says 23-year-old Ankush Dhelia, who has even hosted a tournament for charity with 150 poker players.

Poker sets, which come with a pair of dice and special decks, are priced by the number of chips. At Crossword, a vintage set with 300 chips and a wooden box will set you back by Rs 5,499, a 200-chip set will cost Rs 3,999, while a regular 100-chip set costs Rs 2,399. At Starmark, you can pick up a 200-chip set for Rs 1,299, a 500-chip set for Rs 3,179, or a 100-chip set for Rs 999.

“It’s more fun to play with real money, however nominal the amount. Or else, anyone can bluff (an important aspect of the game) or borrow extra chips with nothing really to lose, and the game loses its edge,” feels Dhelia.

And a few could even dare to bare. “I really enjoyed the Friends episode on strip poker where Joey loses it all! Let’s see if my friends are game,” laughed Sampurna, one of the invitees at Rana’s Diwali party.