Casino War
Your Favorite Childhood game is back

Casino War®is a registered trademark of Bally Gaming, Inc. and is used with permission on this website.

Casino War is similar to that card game called War that you probably played as a child when rain spoiled your outdoor plans. It always seemed that the game would never end. Well, War is back and this time you can play to win against a casino dealer. It is a very simple game to learn, as long as you can count.

How Casino War is Played


The game is played at a table with seats for seven players. Six or eight decks of playing cards are stacked in a dealer shoe controlled by a house dealer.

The objective is for the player to beat the dealer with a higher ranking card. All cards are ranked as in poker where the lowest rank is a deuce (2). The ace is always high while suits are irrelevant when playing this game.

Wagering


Players must first make an ante wager prior to being dealt one card face up. The dealer also receives one card up. If the player’s card ranks higher than the dealers, the player wins even money. If not, the house takes the wager. If both the player and dealer cards are the same rank, the player has (2) options:

Option One

Go to war by placing an additional wager equal to the original bet on top of the card. The dealer will then burn (discard) three cards before dealing a second card face up to the player. Dealer repeats the same for his or herself. If the player wins s/he will be paid 2 to 1 on the war wager only. The ante goes to the house. A tie with the dealer on the second card is a bonus for the player with a 4 to 1 payout.

Option Two

Surrender by not making a War wager. The player must then forfeit ½ of the original ante. During my play I saw no one surrender. This is the recommended strategy as this option is always a loss for the player and a win for the house. The house edge for casino War is about 2.88%.

 Side Bet  


A side bet is available where a player can wager that their first card will tie the dealer’s card. The winning payout is an attractive 10 to 1 but this choice has a huge house edge of about 18 %. Rules may vary slightly between jurisdictions for all winning payouts and side bets.

A book about Casino War, additional publications, and videos about casino gaming and other products can be found at Amazon. Click on the link(s) below to purchase:

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