Ultimate Andar Bahar (Ezugi) - Strategy and Tips

If this game is news to you, don’t fret – you’ll certainly find yourself in good company!

Wonderful though it is, it does not yet possess the same recognition level as, say, Blackjack or Roulette. Not amongst Western players, at least.

Still, this classic Indian table game has definitely been experiencing a huge surge in interest among Western players of late. As a matter of fact, there have been quite a few Andar Bahar titles released in recent months and years, with a strong offering by 7Mojos being one of the most recent arrivals to the party.

Just because it’s not a household name, though, doesn’t mean this isn’t a game worth knowing! There’s a reason why it’s so popular in its native India, after all, and a reason for all the buzz around it at the moment!

Even though it may seem “exotic” to some players in the West, the truth is that Andar Bahar is one of the simplest of all casino games. It’s more akin to roulette (a game of luck and playing the smart odds) than it is to, say, poker (where skills like bluffing, reading opponents, and calculating pot odds are of greater use).

Whichever way you slice it, though, this game offers some of the best odds available anywhere, with a standard house edge of 2.18% (for Bahar bets).

The goal of the game is to correctly predict which of two piles (Andar and Bahar) will be the first to match the upturned “joker.”

Working with a standard, 52-card deck, the dealer begins each round by flipping over one card in the middle of the table, face up. This card is called the “joker.”

Next, the dealer will turn up one card into the “Bahar” pile, followed by one in the “Andar” pile. Whichever side is the first to reveal a card with the same rank as the joker is the winner, and players who wagered on it will be rewarded.

Because Bahar always draws the first card, the payout for those bets is slightly lower, coming in at 0.9:1. However, offers a slightly superior RTP of 97.82%. In comparison, Andar pays 1:1, and comes in with an RTP of 97.44%.

There are also some tried-and-true side bets, based on the total number of cards that will be drawn before the joker is matched, and the round concludes. Compared to some other casino games, these side bets actually offer decent value, but none of them can match the value of the simple Bahar bet.

For that reason, we suggest avoiding side bets (as per usual for table games).

(For those who want to gain more than an entry-level knowledge, we recommend a deep dive into this  from our excellent Sister Site.)

It’s noteworthy that Andar Bahar is now popular enough to inspire variants among major designers like Ezugi.

Not long ago, any Live Dealer version of this game would be a departure from business as usual! That’s not the case anymore. In order to stand out from the crowd, the design team knew they needed a fresh take on this classic.

Their solution is as simple as it is elegant: they’ve added multipliers into the fun!

This is a tactic other designers have used to great effect in classic titles like Lightning Roulette. To the best of our knowledge, though it has not yet been featured in an Andar Bahar variant!

The principle is simple.

For each round, 1-3 multipliers will be assigned to cards at random. If these appear and if player wagered accordingly, their winning will be boosted by 2x, 3x, or 5x, depending on which multiplier was triggered.

Best of all, more than one multiplier may appear, which combine multiplicatively rather than additively – which means that the best possible draw, three 5x multipliers, offers a phenomenal 125x win bonus, rather than a 15x one.

Of course, there is a counterbalance to all of this good news for players. To wit, a 20% fee is added to all stakes. It’s no fun, but of course it wouldn’t make much sense for an online casino game to improve players’ odds just out of the goodness of their hearts!

In an industry that is rapidly expanding to include new games, as well as to incorporate new markets and make space for new players in existing ones, it’s no surprise to see another Andar Bahar title hit the streets.

What is remarkable, though, is the addition of win multipliers into the mix!

That Ezugi also delivers their customary strong gaming fundamentals, sleek design, and widespread availability makes this an even sweeter deal. We can safely say that this is a title worthy of every gambling enthusiast’s attention.