Casino War

Card games often intimidate the novice casino visitor, but for those who yearn for a simple game, Casino War will scratch their itch. This simple game reminds players of their childhood because it’s based on the children’s card game of War.

Casino War is ranked as one of the most easily understood casino card games. Unfortunately, it also carries the largest house edge.

This simple single-card game begins with the basic 52-card deck time six. Traditional casinos use six decks. Aces always rank high, because it's always to the player's advantage to do so.

The Bet and The Deal

A player starts by placing his bet on the table. The dealer then deals one card to the player and one card to himself. The game really is simple; the person with the highest card wins.

If the player has the high card, he wins even money. If the dealer has the high card, the player loses his bet. But what about a tie, you might ask?

In the case of the tie, the house edge rises dramatically. The player has two options. He can surrender and consequently lose half his bet. On the other hand he can go to war, and thus place an additional wager the same size as his initial bet.

Going to War

If a player decides to move on, war follows. The dealer then burns three cards. He then deals each of them an additional card. If the player ends up with the high card, he wins and collects the amount equal to the size of the original bet. If the dealer’s high card wins, the player forfeits both his original and his going-to-war bet.

The House Edge

So the average Joe might wonder, how does the house have an edge? Don’t both the player and the dealer have a 50-50 chance of winning?

Yes, they do each have that chance of winning. However, note that if the player loses his going-to-war bet, he loses twice his original bet. If he wins, he only wins on his original bet, not on his going-to-war bet. So if you bet $5 for your original bet, you raise it to $10 for your going-to-war bet. If you win the war, you win $5. If you lose, you lose $10.

Try the Bonus Payout

Some casinos offer bonus payouts in the event of the tie after going to war. Players shouldn’t be suspicious of such payouts, because they really do make a difference. While the house advantage increases with the number of decks in play, it decreases in casinos that offer a bonus payout. Overall, the house advantage in Casino War is over two percent.

Never Surrender

So what kind of strategy can a player take into a game where he has a 50 percent chance of winning to start out with? Only one comes into play. A player should keep in mind that surrendering has a higher advantage for the house. Thus the player should never surrender. This is also true with other casino games like blackjack.

Overall the novice casino visitor can approach the Casino War table with confidence, knowing indeed that he can at least play this game with little strategy in mind. Although, it might be a good idea to skip it all together if you want to hand on to your bankroll.