Casino War Rules

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 the card game war will seem instantly familiar to you.

Casino War – also called Battle Royal – is the simplest card game ever.

You simply place a bet and the dealer deals one card to each player and one card to himself, if your card ranks higher than the dealers you win even money on your bet, if the dealers card ranks higher then you lose the bet.

When there is a tie you can choose to either surrender half of your bet or ‘go to war’ which requires you to double your bet, the dealer then deals two more cards, if your card is equal or higher than the dealers then you win even money on your original bet otherwise you lose the whole stake.

There is also a side bet that both cards will tie which is paid at 10-1, as with most side bets this has a large house edge of 18.65%.

Following are the specific casino war rules:

• 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, and (2) go to war (see below)
• 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,a tie after a tie will result in a bonus equal to the original wager. At a few other casinos 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.

House Edge in the game of Casino War:
Under normal rules when the player does not get a bonus on a tie after a tie the house edge is 2.88% and the element of risk is 2.68%.

Under the bonus rules the house edge is 2.33% and the element of risk is 2.17%.

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.