How to Play Andar Bahar

Andar Bahar is a popular card game that is said to have its origin in the southern part of India. Also known as “Katti”, or “Mangatha”, it is an easy card game that grew in popularity across the country. A traditional card game, Andar Bahar was played without wagering any money.

Today, many of the top online casinos offer Andar Bahar to be played with real cash. While any number of players can enjoy this game with just a deck of cards anywhere, anytime, the online casino version is a more convenient option for players looking to gamble.

Andar Bahar in a Nutshell

For a novice, here is Andar Bahar in a nutshell – A deck of cards is shuffled, and one card is cut from the deck and placed facing up. The remaining cards are then placed one at a time on either side of the cut card – left (Andar) and right (Bahar). A player has to predict on which side (Andar or Bahar) will a card similar to the cut card appear.

Basics of Andar Bahar

Andar Bahar is played with a standard deck of 52 cards and the probabilities for either Andar or Bahar to win are 50%. Here is how the game starts –

The dealer begins a round of Andar Bahar by cutting a card from a shuffled deck and turning it face-up. This card can be considered as the trump or the joker and is placed in the middle. As previously stated, the two sides – left and right of the trump card are called Andar and Bahar respectively. In Hindi, Andar translates to inside while Bahar as outside.

Now, the dealer will proceed to alternately place the remaining cards from the deck on the Andar and Bahar side. This is the time for the player to place a bet on the prediction – Andar or Bahar – where will the card identical to the joker land?

A round of Andar Bahar where the dealer continues to place the cards from the deck on either side of the trump card – Andar and Bahar – continues until the next joker appears. The length of this game is usually short – no more than 5 minutes. The rounds continue with cards being reshuffled and dealt again.

Basically, all a player needs to do in a game of Andar Bahar is guess where the next trump card will land – simple as that!

Andar Bahar Terminology

Unlike other table games that require you to know a bunch of terminologies to understand how the game works, Andar Bahar has just two Hindi words –

Andar, which translates in Hindi to ‘inside’ and is usually the left spot on the table

Bahar, which translates in Hindi to ‘outside’ and is usually the right spot on the table

Andar Bahar Rules

Though the game is pretty straight forward and looks simple, there are few rules a player must know before playing Andar Bahar online.

  • An Anglo-American pack of cards is used for the game
  • A card is cut from the pack to serve as the trump or joker
  • The trump card must be visible to all players
  • Players must place bets on whether an identical card will appear on Andar or Bahar side of the table
  • Dealer must start placing card alternatively on Andar and Bahar sides until the next Joker lands on either side
  • The dealing must start from Andar if the trump card is from black suit (clubs or spades)
  • The dealing must start from Bahar if the trump card is from red suit (hearts and diamonds)
  • If any additional bets are involved, dealer must deal two cards at a time

Here is an example to understand the rules –

  • The dealer shuffles the deck of cards and cuts one – 8 of hearts – this is now the trump card and placed facing up.
  • Player places a bet on Andar, i.e. making a prediction for the next trump card to appear on Andar.
  • Dealer starts dealing from Bahar (since trump card is hearts) and soon an 8 of spades lands on Andar.
  • Player wins the bet. If the player bets on Andar and the trump card appears on Bahar, the player will lose the bet, the cards re-shuffled and dealt again for the next round.

Winnings in Andar Bahar

While there is a 50-50 chance of winning in Andar Bahar, the betting odds offered are 1.90 for Andar and 2.00 for Bahar.

What do these odds mean?

If you place a INR 1,000 bet on Andar and your bet wins, your winnings will be INR 1,900.

Whereas, if you place a INR 1,000 bet on Bahar and your bet wins, your winnings will be INR 2,000.

In other words, Andar returns 90% plus your bet amount while Bahar returns 100% plus your bet amount.

The minimum amount a player can bet in Andar Bahar depends on the online casino and may vary.

A traditional, quick, and easy-to-play card game that has been around for ages, played with or without money, Andar Bahar, now with different online casino versions doing the round, is certainly here to stay and grow bigger in the times to come.

Play Andar Bahar Online