It’s no secret that Indians love to gamble or simply play card games. Playing such games has become an integral part of Indian culture. Special Indian holidays won’t be complete without playing them too. Even a Diwali party won’t be a great one without people sitting in front of a table to play cards.

With the popularity of card games in India, it’s not surprising that many of the card games the rest of the world love have Indian origins.

We found you three of the most popular card games with Indian origins that are worth your time

Andar Bahar
This game is said to have originated in Bengaluru (Bangalore), a southern state of Karnataka. It’s also said to have started from the Harappa Civilization times.

It’s easy to understand why this is a popular card game. It’s simple and only requires a standard deck of cards. The main objective of this game is for players to predict whether the Andar or Bahar side of the cards laid on the table wins. You can play online Andar Bahar real cash on 10CRIC and many other online betting sites. Even international online casinos offer them, and that says a lot about how popular this Indian card game is.

Either Andar or Bahar should have a card similar to the first card or the joker/middle card on the table. Whichever side gets a similar card first wins. The game usually starts with the dealer showing the joker or middle card.

After that, players will place their initial bets. On a traditional variation of this game, if a similar card appears on the first drawn on the Bahar side, 25% of the betting amount will be played to all players who bet on Bahar. Andar bettors then lose and won’t continue to the next round.

If a similar card appears on the first card drawn on Andar, all players betting on Andar will be paid evenly, and Bahar bettors then lose. If a similar card doesn’t appear in the first two draws, players can then place their second bets.

After bets, the dealer will once again draw the cards and place them on the Andar and Bahar sides alternatingly. If the first card drawn on the second bet is similar, the second bet is paid 25% of the betting amount and the first bet is paid evenly.

That’s the traditional way to play Andar Bahar, but there are also other variants too. In some Andar Bahar games, the dealer only shows the middle or joker card after drawing all cards on the table. Some also let you place Super Bahar bets which could let you win a bigger amount.

Teen Patti
Another popular card game that originates from the Indian subcontinent is Teen Patti. It is said that it’s a descendant of the popular Three Card Brag game which is the game that also gave birth to poker. True enough, Teen Patti is a lot like Poker too.

This is also a card game connected to religious Indian festivals like Diwali. It is believed that playing Teen Patti during Diwali is a way for people to be blessed by the Mother Goddess in Hinduism, Parvati. Based on this belief, anyone who gambles on Diwali will prosper over the following year.

Teen Patti requires at least 3 and up to 6 players and a 52-card pack (doesn’t include jokers). The game starts with players placing an initial bet which is usually a fixed amount. Once bets are all placed, three face-down cards will be dealt to each player.
The player sitting on the left-hand side of the dealer can then choose to play Blind or Seen. If he plays blind, he can fold, call the initial bet or raise to double it. If he plays seen, he can fold, call double the initial bet or quadruple it. His bet is called the stake.

In a clockwise manner, each player can fold, call, or raise as a blind or seen player. The beta player can place will depend on the stake set by the previous player. If a seen player is acting after another seen player, a side-show can be requested which can be denied or accepted.

When players have folded or acted as a sideshow to leave only two players on the table, one of them can demand a showdown. The one left on the table wins.

Indian Rummy
When it comes to card games with Indian origins, on the top of that list is Rummy. The earliest version of this game was a lot similar to the modern American gin rummy with only two players against each other using a separate deck of cards.

This game is a lot similar to the standard Rummy game. However, there is a difference in the number of cards being dealt. For two players, two sets of cards will be used. If there are more than 2 players, then the game will use 3 decks.

Each player gets 13 cards at the start which they’ll have to sequence in sets of 5, 6, 7, or of the same suits. The cards also have specific points based on their number and face value. Jokers are worth zero points. As players meld their cards, their points decrease, and whoever reaches zero first is the winner.

There are also other varieties of this game wherein the player who forms valid runs and sets before others do is the winner.