Introduction

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.

One way of making money in a war is by owning and running a munitions factory, but you have to be already wealthy to begin with to be able to do this. Empire: Total War is a tactics based video-game for Windows, set in the modern period of the 18th century. As a player you will navigate and battle enemies on the seas with your fleet, discover and control lands, and work to conquer and rule the world.

The game is played with six decks. Cards are ranked as in poker, except aces are always high. The suit 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 or (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.
At some casinos, the Mirage and Casino Niagara to name just two, a tie after a tie will result in a bonus equal to the original wager. At the Casino Niagara they say the raise pays 3 to 1 but the initial bet loses, which is mathematically the same thing.
A tie bet is also available, which pays 10 to 1 if the first two cards tie.

I'm often asked where the house edge lays in this game. Where the edge comes from is when there is a war you either win one unit or lose two. For example, if you originally bet $5 you have to double your bet, risking $10, to win only $5.

Analysis

Stingy Rules

The following table shows the possible outcomes in a six-deck game with no bonus for a tie after a tie, assuming the player always goes to war.

Six Decks — Stingy Rules

Event	Pays	Probability	Return
Win	1	0.502735	0.502735
Lose original bet	-1	0.463023	-0.463023
Lose after war	-2	0.034242	-0.068484
Total	1.000000	-0.028771

The element of risk under these rules is 2.70% and the standard deviation is 1.05.

Liberal Rules

The next table shows the possible outcomes in a six-deck game with a bonus equal to the Ante for a tie after a tie, assuming the player always goes to war.

Six Decks — Liberal Rules

Event	Pays	Probability	Return
Win with tie after tie	2	0.005471	0.010942
All other wins	1	0.497265	0.497265
Lose original bet	-1	0.463023	-0.463023
Lose after war	-2	0.034242	-0.068484
Total	1.000000	-0.023301

The standard deviation under these rules is 1.057637.

Super Liberal Rules

Internet casinos using Gamesys software feature a rule where the player gets a bonus of 3x the Ante bet if the player gets a tie after a tie. The following table shows this lowers the house edge to 1.24%.

Six Decks — Super Liberal Rules

Event	Pays	Probability	Return
Win with tie after tie	4	0.005471	0.021884
All other wins	1	0.497265	0.497265
Lose original bet	-1	0.463023	-0.463023
Lose after war	-2	0.034242	-0.068484
Total	1.000000	-0.012358

Some Interent casinos use unusual number of decks. The following table shows the house edge under the bonus rules, normal 'no bonus' rules, surrendering on ties, and the tie bet itself.

Casino War House Edge

Decks	With Bonus	No Bonus	Surrender	Tie
1	2.06%	2.42%	2.94%	35.29%
2	2.24%	2.70%	3.40%	25.24%
3	2.29%	2.79%	3.55%	21.94%
4	2.31%	2.84%	3.62%	20.29%
5	2.32%	2.86%	3.67%	19.31%
6	2.33%	2.88%	3.70%	18.65%
7	2.34%	2.89%	3.72%	18.18%
8	2.34%	2.90%	3.73%	17.83%

Tie Analysis

The following table shows the probability of winning and expected return on the Tie bet, assuming it pays the usual 10 to 1.

Tie Bet Analysis

Decks	Probability Win	Expected Return
1	0.058824	-0.352941
2	0.067961	-0.252427
4	0.072464	-0.202899
5	0.073359	-0.193050
6	0.073955	-0.186495
8	0.074699	-0.178313
Infinity	0.076923	-0.153846

At Internet casinos using Habanero Systems software, the tie bet pays 11 to 1. With six decks, this lowers the house edge to 11.25%. While still a terrible bet, it's an improvement over the 18.65% house edge paying the usual 10 to 1.

Internal Links

You might enjoy playing my Casino War game.

External Links

German translation of this page.

Written by:Michael Shackleford

What is Casino War?

Being one of the easiest and most advantageous table games, Casino War offers more than 50% chances of defeating the house, which categorizes it as probably the most player-friendly game currently available on the gambling market. Unlike most card games, where the origin is almost impossible to trace and which have dozens of different variants and forms, Casino War, currently owned by SHFL Entertainment, is originally created by Bet Technology, using War card game in which a higher card wins as the basis. The developer patented the game in ’93. and in only one year, Casino War became a part of the offer in 5 different casinos, remaining alive even today, in an entirely different millennium and despite (or because of?) its overly simple structure.

How to play Casino War?

The game begins when all of the players submit the Primary Wager, which is won when the player’s card outranks the dealer’s card. When both the player and the dealer have the same value card, the player can decide to go to war and submits a new bet in the same amount as the Primary Wager. The bet is then matched by the dealer and the game continues.

Three cards are removed from the deck (burned) and one extra card awarded to players and the dealer, determining the outcome of the game and starting a new session. Higher card wins, unless the result is a tie, in which case, the player will win.

Choosing to “go to war” is not obligatory, and the player can decide against it, losing half of the Primary wager in the process. Another option would be to place a Tie bet that wins if the rank of the dealer’s and the player’s cards are the same.

Game table and Casino War players

Casino War is played on the table where betting areas for the players are grouped on one side and betting areas for the

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How To Make Money In Casino War