Evolution Fan Tan is based on an ancient and very popular Chinese gambling game, where players bet on what the remaining count will be when a random selection of counters or beads are sorted into groups of four. Correctly predict the number and you win. To make things more interesting more complicated bets can be made, but these are normally reserved for the more experienced player.
Fan Tan is one of the new types of live dealer games Evolution has been creating to satisfy increasing demand from players in the Asian Pacific region.
While Evolution isn’t the first live casino provider to have live Fan Tan, they have certainly created the most feature-rich game, which is available at the best Evolution Live Casinos.
In this article, I will explain how to play live Fan Tan, covering topics for both beginners and the more experienced player, while identifying some playing strategies to use. I’ll do a quick comparison of Evolution Fan Tan vs the competitors and recommend the Evolution Live Casinos where you’ll be able to play.
Evolution Fan Tan is presented in a specially built live casino studio that’s been styled in an ancient Chinese theme.
The game uses a table or playing mat (Tan ching), a pile of white ceramic beads, a glass dome, a metal selection cup (Tan koi), and a bead selection stick (Tan pong).
The Dealer/Croupier selects a random number of beads from the glass dome using the metal cup. The selection stick is used to separate the selected beads into groups of four until a final line of beads remains. The final line of beads will contain one, two, three or four beads.
The objective of the game is to have bet and correctly identified the total number of the remaining beads.
It’s as simple as that!
Evolution Fan Tan can be played with two different game views.
The first is a simplified version of the betting grid that contains just the main bet types. This is probably the best view to start with if you’ve not played Fan Tan before.
The more advanced game view contains both basic bets and a selection of the more complicated and traditional Fan Tan bets.
Fan Tan is a very simple game, and the basic bets are easy to understand and place.
Bets can be placed on the number of beads remaining after the sorting process has been performed. In addition, it’s possible to bet on whether that number will be odd or even.
The Fan Bet is placed on the exact number of beads remaining (1,2,3 or 4). It pays out 2.85:1.
The Big/Small Bet is placed on whether the number is Small (1 or 2) or Big (3 or 4). This pays 0.95:1.
The Odd/Even bet is as it seems. Odd if the result is 1 or 3, Even if the result is 2 or 4. Both bets pay 0.95:1.
In addition to the basic bets, the advanced betting grid reveals three additional bets.
The Nin bet is like the Fan bet but covers two numbers (not one). The first number counts as a win, while the second number counts as a push where you’ll get your initial stake returned. A win pays 1.90:1. This is a hedging type bet, giving you one opportunity to win and one to get a push – so effectively a 50-50 type bet.
The Kwok Bet is like the Nim Bet, where you pick two numbers, but with the Kwok Bet, both numbers are a win. The payouts are half that of the Nim bet, at 0.95:1 for obvious reasons.
The Ssh bet is on three of the numbers. You win if any of the three numbers come in. If none of the numbers is selected you lose. The payout is 0.316667:1, which is the lowest of all the payouts, but most likely to win. The Hong Bet on other Fan Tan games is similar to this bet, but the two losing numbers are paid as a push if they come in. This is not available on Evolution Fan Tan.
While betting time is in progress, the dealer moves the glass dome containing the beads to the centre of the table.
They raise the lid revealing the pile of ceramic beads.
With their other hand, they slide the metal cup across the table scooping up a number of the beads, before placing the upturned cup on the table hiding the selected beads.
The movement is quick and efficient, taking just a few seconds, so it’s difficult to establish just how many beads have been selected.
Once betting time has been completed the dealer lifts the cup revealing the beads to be sorted.
Using the sorting stick, the dealer separates out four beads at a time, leaving them lined up to the side of the table.
A result is declared once there are four or fewer beads remaining on the table.
These are moved to the centre of the table when they can be seen by all of the players.
The result is compared with the bets made by the player, with winning bets applied to players accounts.
As with most Asian facing live dealer games, past results play a significant role in how players bet in the future.
While there is no direct correlation between the two, having access to past results is something players look for. Evolution has a great history of supplying these statistics and that’s the for Fan Tan.
Three sets of statistics are available, which give different views of the last 500 game rounds. They are based on the basic bets – as these represent the true results, which can be applied to the more advanced bets.
Three scoreboards are provided.
The first covers the Fan Bet Result, showing the frequency of the wins for each number as a percentage, and also the order in which the wins occurred.
The second scoreboard covers the Odd/Even bet, again its shows the dispersion of the results between Odd/Even as a percentage and the order in which they occurred.
The last scoreboard covers the Big/Small results. You’ll see the percentage split and also the results as it occurred.
If the game is playing to standard you’d expect to see a fairly regular dispersion across all results for the 500 spins. It would be closer if we had a record of more spins, and will be less and more volatile if you display fewer spins.
It’s fair to say that most people look for playing strategies to win games. While some games have a strategic way of playing to win, gambling games are less so. The clue is in the title – “gambling!”
So before we start I’d like to dispel the myth that I’ll be providing you with a strategy to win playing Fan Tan. I won’t.
But what I will do is help you understand the bets, which ones are the best to play and which ones are likely to lead to you losing your bankroll, unless you’re really lucky.
The best bet that will win most often is the Ssh 3-2-1, 4-3-2, 2-1-4 or 1-4-3. It pays the least, but you have a 3 in one chance of winning. This bet is ideal if you want to to turn over your bankroll and gradually build a small profit. You’re not going to win big with this bet, unless you wager a large sum, to begin with.
The worse bet to play, but also the one that pays the most is the Fan bet, where you have a 1 in 4 chance of winning. The payout is 2.85:1.
The even-money bets are similar to outside bets in roulette, where there are two options – you win or lose. The Kwok bet gives you two chances to win as you’re betting on two numbers. If either come in you win. This bet is slightly more volatile than the Ssh bet and is why it return a payout of 0.95:1.
This is the Nim bet, where you select two numbers. The first is the Win number and the second is the Push number. If the first comes in you win 1:90:1, if the second comes in you get your stake money back as a Push. This bet is good for those that like to add a bit of spice to the betting round, while still retaining a 50-50 chance of getting some form of result – A win or push.
The above describes the bets and their volatility, but strategies also rely on some luck and feeling for what the game is doing.
Pay attention to the statistics and see what the past results are doing. This might reveal some “tells” on how the dealer is selecting the number of beads. If they repeat the same movements, they will likely pick up a similar number of beads each time. So check to see if that is happening by looking for repeating results.
| Bet | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2.85:1 |
| 2 | 2.85:1 |
| 3 | 2.85:1 |
| 4 | 2.85:1 |
| Odd | 0.95:1 |
| Even | 0.95:1 |
| Big | 0.95:1 |
| Small | 0.95:1 |
| Bet Type | Potential Bets | Win | Push | Lose | Payout (-5% Comm) | Net Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3:1 (2.85:1) | -0.0375 | |
| Kwok | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1:1 (0.95:1) | -0.0250 | |
| Nim | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2:1 (1.90:1) | -0.0250 |
| SSH | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1:3 (0.95:3) | -0.0125 |
| Bet | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 Nim 2 | 1.90:1 |
| 1 Nim 3 | 1.90:1 |
| 1 Nim 4 | 1.90:1 |
| 2 Nim 1 | 1.90:1 |
| 2 Nim 3 | 1.90:1 |
| 2 Nim 4 | 1.90:1 |
| 3 Nim 1 | 1.90:1 |
| 3 Nim 2 | 1.90:1 |
| 3 Nim 4 | 1.90:1 |
| 4 Nim 1 | 1.90:1 |
| 4 Nim 2 | 1.90:1 |
| 4 Nim 3 | 1.90:1 |
| Kwok 1-2 | 0.95:1 |
| Kwok 4-1 | 0.95:1 |
| Kwok 2-3 | 0.95:1 |
| Kwok 3-4 | 0.95:1 |
| ssh 3-2-1 | 0.316667:1 |
| ssh 3-2-1 | 0.316667:1 |
| ssh 2-1-4 | 0.316667:1 |
| ssh 1-4-3 | 0.316667:1 |
Fan Tan is a traditional gambling game from Asia, where players bet on the number of beads remaining after a sorting process has been performed by a dealer. It is played on a flat table.
The RTP of Evolution Fan Tan ranges between 96.25% to 98.75%.
Fan Tan is played with a pile of beads/counters/coffee beans, a cup used to select the bead in play and a sorting stick to help perform the sorting process. A mat or table is needed to play on.
The Fan Tan beads used in Evolution Fan Tan are made from Ceramic. Sometimes they are made from plastic or glass and can also be buttons, counters or even coffee beans.
The stick used to sort the Fan Tan beads is called a “sorting stick”.
An unlimited number of players can play Evolution Fan Tan. It’s one of the many popular one-to-many live games that Evolution produces.
There is certainly a strategy for betting on Fan Tan, but it’s doubtful whether you’ll always win using it. Check it out here.
Evolution Fan Tan can be played at most casinos that have Evolution Live Games.
Evolution Fan Tan is due to be released in September 2021.
Fan Tan is traditionally a community game, where players sit around a mat on the floor, all placing bets on the outcome of the sorting of the beads.
Of course, that can’t be replicated online, but what Evolution has created is a playing environment that respects the tradition while giving players a very playable online version of the game to play.
I like the way there are two playing interfaces and enjoy the simplicity of the bead sorting process.
It’s not one of the highest paying games, but that’s not the point.
It is a great game for low rollers, but it’s not something for players that like to make decisions or seeing lots of action. If you want those, Crazy Time or Cash or Crash may be better options.
If you’ve enjoyed Fan Tan then why not try some of the other popular live dealer games.
Crazy Time is an entertainment game from Evolution that uses a wheel of fortune and has four unique bonus rounds.
Cash Or Crash challenges you to climb a prize ladder. the further you get the better the prizes. You can choose to stick, take half or gamble-all each time.
Monopoly is another entertainment game where Mr Monopoly dances around a monopoly board to increase your prizes in a spectacular bonus rould.
Adventure Beyond Wonderland is Playtechs best entertainment game.
While Lightning Roulette has multipliers up to 500x!
LiveCasinoComparer.com is an independent website that provides information, reviews, and recommendations about gambling at online Live Casinos. There are age & location restrictions on where you can gamble online. Ensure you meet these requirements by referring to the casinos’ Terms & Conditions. You must ensure you comply with all legal requirements for gambling online.
The content of this site is intended for visitors 18+ years of age. You are advised to gamble responsibly. If you are unsure what this means or think you have a problem controlling your gambling, please refer to www.gambleaware.org or www.gamcare.org.uk for further information and guidance.
Copyright © 2025 Live Casino Comparer, All Rights Reserved.
