Taash KhelComparison
Andar Bahar vs Dragon Tiger
The two fastest games on this site. Both give you one choice and then nothing to do — but only one of them is genuinely fair.
Dragon Tiger is perfectly symmetrical. Each side wins 46.15% of deals, with 7.69% ties. Nothing in the rules distinguishes Dragon from Tiger.
Andar Bahar is not. The side dealt to first has a small edge, and the centre card's colour decides which side that is.
Side by side
| Andar Bahar | Dragon Tiger | |
|---|---|---|
| Cards dealt | Until a match — about 25 on average | Exactly 2 |
| Round length | Under a minute | Seconds |
| How it resolves | First matching rank appears | Higher card wins |
| Ties possible | No | Yes — 7.69% |
| Symmetrical | No | Perfectly |
| Card order | Only rank matching matters | Ace low, king high |
| Suits matter | Only the centre card's colour | No |
| Decisions | One, before the deal | One, before the deal |
Why one is symmetrical and the other is not
Dragon Tiger deals one card to each side from the same deck under identical rules. There is no rule anywhere that treats the two sides differently, so the names are decoration — swap them and nothing changes. The Dragon Tiger probability across all 2,652 deals comes out exactly even.
Andar Bahar deals alternately, and someone has to go first. That side gets one extra opportunity to hit the matching rank, which is a real if small advantage. Which side it is depends on the centre card: Andar Bahar deals first by centre-card colour.
Because both colours are equally likely, the advantage moves between the sides rather than sitting permanently on one. Across many rounds neither Andar nor Bahar is favoured — but within any single round, one of them is.
The card order catches people out
Andar Bahar only cares whether ranks match. A seven matches a seven; there is no higher or lower.
Dragon Tiger compares ranks, and does it backwards from what an Indian player expects: the ace is the lowest card and the king is the highest. Coming from Teen Patti or Rummy, where the ace sits at the top, this misreads for the first few rounds.
Neither has any skill component
Worth stating plainly. In both games your only action is choosing a side before the deal, and after that nothing you do affects the outcome. Once the deck is shuffled, every round's result is already determined.
If you want a card game where your decisions change the result, Call Break and Rummy are the ones to look at.
Common questions
What is the difference between Andar Bahar and Dragon Tiger?
Andar Bahar deals cards alternately to two piles until one matches the centre card, which averages around twenty-five cards. Dragon Tiger deals exactly two cards and compares them once.
Which is faster, Andar Bahar or Dragon Tiger?
Dragon Tiger. It resolves on two cards every time, while an Andar Bahar round runs until a matching rank appears.
Is either game symmetrical?
Dragon Tiger is perfectly symmetrical — each side wins 46.15 percent of deals with 7.69 percent ties. Andar Bahar gives a small edge to whichever side is dealt to first, which the centre card's colour decides.
Do either of these games involve skill?
Neither. Both resolve without any decision after the deal begins. Andar Bahar has one choice before the deal; Dragon Tiger has one too, and after that both are fixed.
Can a round of Andar Bahar go through the whole deck?
It can run most of it. The round ends on the first card matching the centre card's rank, and while that averages around twenty-five cards, it can land on the first card or take far longer.
We publish free Android versions of each. Andar Bahar Royale is a free Andar Bahar card game for Android, free to download.
Get it on Google Play