Complete Guide to Andar Bahar Live by Playtech for 2026

Andar Bahar is part of a growing number of culturally specific gambling games that are finding global popularity thanks to the widespread adoption of licensed online gambling.

Believed to have originated in Southern India, Andar Bahar is a simple yet engaging card game that is streamed live from Playtech's extensive network of global live dealer studios.

What makes this Asian game enthralling to play and popular with both new and experienced players is its fast pace and easy-to-learn gameplay loop.

The aim of each game is simple: you, as the player, choose whether the winner of the round will be the Andar or Bahar position.

Playing Andar Bahar is very intuitive, with players getting into the swing of things after watching a single hand.

Each round is played with a freshly shuffled shoe of 52 cards. At the start of the betting round, the live casino dealer will pull one card and place it into a section marked “First 3”; this is a special side bet which we will delve into later.

What matters for the base game is that this first card is called the Joker, and it is the card that must be pulled for a winner to be determined.

For New Players: Statistically, there is a 51% chance of Andar winning versus Bahar’s 49%. This is due to Andar being the first card to be dealt each round, giving it a ‘higher number of cards dealt’ advantage.

Once the First 3 spots have been covered, the dealer will pull cards, alternating them between the Andar half of the table and the Bahar half of the table until one that matches the Joker is found. Whether Andar or Bahar wins the round depends on which side of the table the Joker card was placed.

When the Joker has been drawn, not only is the Andar or Bahar winner resolved, but so are the winners of the available side bets.

To help you keep track of the payouts and return-to-player (RTP) ratios of the main and side bets you will encounter in Playtech’s Andar Bahar Live, we have split them into handy tables.

Main Bet Information:

Given the coin toss nature of the main bets in Andar Bahar, the payouts are 0.9 to 1 and 1 to 1, respectively. The slight dip in the Andar payout aligns with its slightly increased chance of winning.

With its fast-paced action and player-friendly RTP, it is easy to see why this card game is so popular with players learning the ropes of live casino gaming and those looking to step away from slots for a while.

Win on First Card Side Bet:

Nothing makes a winning hand feel even more special than getting your reward instantly. The Win on First Card side bet is the ideal cheeky wager to fuel that fire, as it pays out a minimum of 15 to 1 if you win the round as it begins.

While it does make a great celebration, keep in mind that First Card bets have some of the lowest return rates of all the side bets.

First 3 Card Side Bet:

One of the side bets which both online poker and video poker players find intriguing is the ‘First 3’ side bet, where the Joker and the following two cards, which are placed in the ‘First 3’ spots, can be used to make poker hands:

While the payout on the Straight Flush is very attractive, this side bet pool undermines the straight bets, which offer a vastly superior RTP rate.

Number of Cards Side Bet:

This side bet has a bit of a roulette betting feel to it as you try to predict in what number range the number of dealt cards will be before the Joker is found.

If you want to try your luck with this fresh take on ‘card counting’, be sure to use the gameplay stats provided by Playtech. Here you will see how many cards it has taken to find the winning card over the previous 100 up to 1000 hands played.