Casino War

Of all casino card games, Casino War is unquestionably the simplest to play. It will be immediately familiar if you used to play war in your childhood or if you ever laid a simple wager on who might draw a card with the highest value. Here are the rules of the game.

• Six decks are used. The ranking of the cards is the same as for poker with the proviso that aces outrank everything. The suit is not important.
• The players and the dealer each receive one card after the bets have been placed.
• The dealer compares his card with each player's card. You win even money if your card is higher than the dealer's, and you lose if your card is lower.
• If you and the dealer hold equal cards, you have two options - either give up and lose half your bet, or declare war.
• Should you decide to go to war, your initial bet must be doubled. The dealer's bet also doubles but this is only for effect. Now the dealer must turn three cards, then give a card each to himself and to you. If you win with your second card against the dealer's second card, you win even money, but only on the increased portion of your bet; your original bet will "push". Your entire bet, including the increased amount, is lost if the dealer holds the higher second card.
• The Mirage Casino and Casino Niagara are but two of many casinos where you can win an amount equal to your initial bet if there is a second consecutive tie. Casino Niagara will pay 3 to 1 on a winning raised amount but you lose your original wager. Mathematically this amounts to the same thing.
• Some casinos also let you bet on a tie. You win at 10 to 1 if the first two cards are equal.

The House Edge

When standard rules apply, your risk is 2.68 percent and the casino has an edge of 2.88 percent if you don't receive a bonus on a second consecutive tie. When bonus rules come into effect, your risk drops to 2.17 percent while the house edge decreases to 2.33 percent. If you opt to forfeit when there's a tie, your risk and the house edge both become 3.70 percent. Watch out - the house edge is 18.65 percent on a tie bet. In Casino War there is a 1.05 standard deviation.

Different Numbers of Decks

At Real Time Gaming online casino they play only one deck in Casino War. Check the table below to see how the house edge varies depending on how many decks are in use. This table is for non-bonus rules.

 

House Edge in Casino War
Number of Decks	House Edge
1	2.42 percent
2	2.70 percent
4	2.84 percent
6	2.88 percent
8	2.90 percent