Andar Bahar is one of the simplest card games you can find, anywhere. It is so simple and direct, you won’t need more than a few minutes to understand how it works. The game originated in the south of India and spread to the north, becoming the most popular table game of cards on the subcontinent.
It is often debated whether Andar Bahar, or Katti, is an ancient traditional game or a game younger than baccarat or blackjack, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you can play it anywhere with a single deck of cards, with any number of players, and with the simplest rules. As the Indian online casino market grows in importance and popularity, this game has become a mainstay across live dealer casinos. If you're interested in finding out more about how to play Andar Bahar, you've come to the right place.
Our Andar Bahar tutorial will cover the basic rules, player moves, and payouts of this game.
You do not need to bother with complicated strategies, as Andar Bahar is a game where all you need to do is make educated guesses and leave it for chance to decide.
Rounds are rather simple and short, but the game can be played for hours. It requires only one standard deck of 52 cards. Any number of players can join the table. Before the dealer starts dealing, the players are expected to place their bets on either Andar (left) or Bahar (right). These are just the positions of the betting boxes, however. The positions on the actual game table are one above the other.
The next stage is the dealer drawing one card randomly from the deck and placing it in the middle. This card is sometimes called the “Joker” and is crucial for determining the winner. Note that the Andar Bahar Joker card cannot be an actual Joker – it’s merely called that but is always a standard playing card.
If that card is red, the dealer starts placing the first card on Bahar and the next one on Andar. If the first card drawn is black, the dealer starts by placing the next card on Andar and follows it with the next card on Bahar.
Importantly, most live casino Andar Bahar games use a different system for determining which pile receives the first card. In most cases, Andar always receives the first card in online variants of the game. This is very important because it affects winning probability and payouts.
The players do not receive any cards. At this point, they are just observers.
The objective is to guess on which side a card that matches the Joker will appear. The dealer will draw cards and place them on the Andar and Bahar piles, alternating between the two. For example, they place one card on Andar, then Bahar, then Andar, and so on until the round is over.
When a card of the same value is dealt to one of the two piles, the round ends and that side is considered the winner. The card suit is irrelevant for this game.
If you bet on the winning pile, you win. If not, you lose. There are only two betting options and two possible outcomes in Andar Bahar.
There are two bets you can stake your money on – Andar and Bahar. All main bets are roughly even money with just under 50% likelyhood of winning. When the chips are down, Andar Bahar is much like a coin toss.
Payouts for the two Andar Bahar bets will differ slightly depending on where the first card is drawn (the first after the initial card).
Betting on the side that draws the first card pays 0.9:1. Betting on the side that draws the second hard pays an even 1:1. This is true regardless of the rule variant. For instance, if an online Andar Bahar game always draws Andar first, then Andar will always pay 0.9:1. In fact, that’s why this rule was implemented in the first place. It’s much more consistent than if the payouts were to change every round.
We’ll give you a simple Andar Bahar tip: the side that draws first wins 51.5% of the time. The other side wins the remaining 48.5%. This small disparity is also the source of the house edge in Andar Bahar.
Speaking of the house edge, Andar Bahar RTP also depends on which bet you’re making. The side that draws first has 97.85% RTP, assuming the table uses standard rules. The side that draws second has an RTP of 97%.
In other words, Andar is the superior bet in most live casino variants of this game. The difference is almost negligible, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
On top of regular bets, some game producers will offer side bets to make the gameplay more exciting. Specific versions allow for players to bet on the main card itself, but the usual side bets include wagering on guessing the winning card’s suit or predicting whether its value will be above or below a certain number. Ezugi’s Andar Bahar offers a total of 8 side bets that allow players to try to predict how many cards will be dealt before the winning card is dealt.
We can’t talk in detail about all of these – you can find such details in our game reviews. However, the most common Andar Bahar side bet involves guessing how many cards will be drawn before the round is concluded. It’s pretty straightforward – you just put some money on the number range you think is right. Different options have different win probabilities and different payouts. Check out the Number of Cards side bet paytable below for the details.
Number of Cards Side Bet | Payout | RTP |
1-5 | 2.5:1 | 94.87% |
6-10 | 3.5:1 | 97.67% |
11-15 | 4.5:1 | 92.97% |
16-25 | 3.5:1 | 98.10% |
26-30 | 14.5:1 | 94.53% |
31-35 | 24.5:1 | 94.29% |
35-40 | 49:1 | 94.84% |
41+ | 119:1 | 95.08% |
A quick look at this table should tell you why we’re talking about a side bet in our basic Andar Bahar tutorial. Specifically, the 16-25 range comes with a 3.5:1 payout for a total RTP of 98.10%! As it turns out, this bet is actually better than the main Andar Bahar wagers! Keep this in mind when devising your strategy.
Even though Andar Bahar can only be found at selected casinos at this point, more and more websites are adding this trending game to their portfolios. It is not a part of portfolios of industry-leading brands such as Playtech and Evolution!
Picking the right casino will make the game available and easy to access from anywhere in the world. Furthermore, top-notch live dealer casino offers can boost your bankroll with bonuses and promotions!
Don’t know which casino to play Andar Bahar at? Here are some of our suggestions!
1xBet Live Casino is one of the top places where you can play live dealer Andar Bahar and benefit from the welcome bonus (live dealer games count towards wagering conditions).
Dafabet Casino is another valid suggestion, an Asian-facing casino that sports the brilliant version of the game made by Super Spade Games. In the case that you want to spend Bitcoins on cards, 7Bit Live Casino will make that possible for you.
Betwinner is also one of the venues that offer a live casino version of the popular Indian game and its platform is available in over 50 world languages.
There’s more to learn about how Andar Bahar works – these were just the bare essentials! If you’re looking for more info, check out these pages:
Andar Bahar is a very simple game with only two betting options. The dealer draws a card called the Joker, and then proceeds to alternatingly draw cards to two card piles called Andar Bahar. Whichever pile draws a card of the same value as the Joker first wins.
No, Andar Bahar is not similar to blackjack in any way. Both games are played with standard playing cards and both are available at online casinos. That’s where the similarities end.
You can play Andar Bahar online for real money by registering at an online casino that hosts live Andar Bahar tables. There are dozens of casinos that offer this Indian card game these days, and you can find our suggestions for the best ones on this page.
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As the Creative Director of LiveCasinos, Milos and his team at MM Editing handle everything from content creation and publishing to SEO, promotion, and strategic planning, making sure readers get the most out of their experience.
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