Andar Bahar India's Popular Poker Substitute

When it comes to the world of iGaming and online casinos, India is starting to spread its influence far and wide as the country experiences an unprecedented period of economic growth. And when it comes to the category of card games, there has been nothing new on the scene for many years. 

The card games that have dominated online casinos for the last 15 to 20 years have, on the whole, remained unchanged. However, there is a new card game that originated in India called Andar Bahar. It is a game of chance that is becoming popular for betting and for playing for fun. Not only are people playing it amongst one another but you can also play andar bahar online at 10CRIC Casino.

An introduction to Andar Bahar 

One of the reasons for the game’s increasing popularity is how simple they are. There is no steep learning curve for players to ascend in order to be able to play it competently and this lack of a learning curve is really attractive for people who are looking for a new online casino game to play that’s new and different without having to spend time trying to understand it first. And to show how simple it is to play, we are going to quickly run through the rules so that you have a bit more of an understanding as to what Andar Bahar is.

How to play 

The first thing to know is that when you’re playing Andar Bahar, on the table you need two boxes. Aptly, these are named Andar and Bahar respectively, and you only need a single deck of cards to play this game. You also require an impartial and neutral dealer who kicks off proceedings by placing a card in the middle of the table, which is known as the joker but may not necessarily be a joker card. This is following a shuffle so the chances of what card it can be can vary tremendously.

What to bet on

Now that it’s betting time, as a player, you have only two options to bet on to start off with and that’s whether the card that was selected as the ‘joker’ will land in either the Andar or Bahar box. So for example, if a 9 of hearts comes out as the joker, you will be betting on whichever box you think it will land in. The dealer will then draw a card from each box alternately. If you bet on the joker and it lands in Bahar and you’ve chosen this on the first round, then 25% of the total betting amount is paid out. Evens are paid out if you opt for Andar.Andar.

If, however, the joker fails to appear after the first two cards have been drawn respectively, into both the Andar and Bahar boxes, you and the other players now have the opportunity to place what is called a ''second bet’. At this point, a second pair of boxes is introduced with a name for both Andar and Bahar, with the tag 2nd bet also included to avoid confusion. Likewise, the dealer will make sure that he deals alternately between the two boxes. The winnings apply to the boxes the same as with the first card drawn. If the joker fails to appear, the dealer continues to draw until it appears and then even bets. 

Exploded in online popularity 

So, now that you have an understanding of how the card game works, just how popular is it and how widely is it being adopted in online casinos, not just amongst those who like playing online in India but further afield? Well, since its origin and conception in southern India, it spread across the country quite rapidly and is now available to play at a lot of the major casinos online. It was quickly adopted once online casino operators started seeing how popular it was, with its simplicity and accessibility really standing out to the mainstream.

Easy to pick up 

It appeals to a lot of online gamblers a lot more than poker due to it being much less complex. When it comes to poker, not only are there different variants such as Texas Hold'em and 3-card but when you choose one of these, you then have a massive learning curve to not only understand the rules of the game but also to become good at it, which requires not only playing the right cards at the right time but also being able to read whether other people are bluffing or not. All of which can be very overwhelming and can sometimes put people off wanting to learn and pick up the game.

In contrast, Andar Bahar is extremely easy to pick up and the odds aren’t stacked against you. There is no skill but it’s purely a game of chance and when it comes to betting options, they are very limited, which means that you can’t end up going wild and losing a lot of money unless you are stacking a lot of money on a single bet, which should always be discouraged anyway. It is a game that is seen as fair to the player and not stocking the odds against them and it’s for this reason that we have seen it become adopted in all of the major online casinos. 

In Summary

Hopefully today has given you an overview as to what the game of Andar Bahar is all about, how to play it and the reason why it has exploded in popularity and is now a common sight across all of the top online casinos. It is, in fact, totally different from poker, as it’s purely a game of chance. Poker instead focuses a lot on skill but also on chance. 

And so, if you lack skill when it comes to poker, you’re immediately at a disadvantage. And therefore, you are more likely to lose money against other players unless you build your skill level. Whereas the benefit of playing Andar Bahar is that you’re at no disadvantage whatsoever, and you’re purely relying on chance.