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How To Play Casino War

Casino War

Casino War is without a doubt the easiest card game to play in the casino. If you have ever played war as a child, or simply made a bet on who could draw the highest card then war will seem instantly familiar. Following are the specific rules.

The game is played with six decks. Cards are ranked as in poker, except aces are always high. The suite does not matter.
After the players have made a wager each player and the dealer shall get one card.
Each player's card shall be compared with the dealer's card. If the player's card is higher he wins even money. If the dealer's card is higher the player loses.
In the event of a tie the player shall have two choices: (1) surrender and forfeit half the bet, and (2) go to war (see rule 5)
If the player elects to go to war he must raise his bet by an amount equal to his original wager. The dealer will do the same but this is just for show. The dealer will then burn three cards and give the player and dealer another card each. If the player's second card equals or beats the dealer then the player shall win even money on the raise only and the original wager shall push. If the dealer's second card is greater the player shall lose both bets.
A tie bet is also available, which pays 10 to 1 if the first two cards tie.

House Edge

If the player goes to war on ties the house edge is 2.88% and the element of risk is 2.68%. If the player forfeits on ties the house edge and element or risk are both 3.70%. The house edge on the tie bet is 18.65% (ouch!). The standard deviation in casino war is 1.05 .

Casino Niagara Rules

At the Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls Ontario the rules are slightly more liberal. In the event of a tie after a war the raise pays 2:1 and the original wager is still a push. They use different semantics there, saying the raise pays 3:1 but you lose the original wager. It comes out to the same thing. The house edge under these rules is 2.33% and the element of risk is 2.19%.