Casino War is not liked by many gamblers, but is interesting game to play. As casino war is simple game and you don’t need any skill or strategy to win the game, punters don’t like this game much. In this game there are no player decisions to make, no setting hands, just a rapid-fire draw of two cards with the highest ranked soldier emerging victorious in the end.
Why you should play Casino War is because this game has an extremely low house edge rate. Casino War has a much lower house edge than most players think, coming in at 2.88%. A few table games are better, including blackjack at less than .5% with good strategy, a couple craps bets at 1.36% and 1.41%, and European Roulette at 2.7%.
But plenty of table games have a worse house edge including Three-Card Poker at 3.37%, Let It Ride at 3.51%, and the Big Six Wheel at a whopping 11.11%. Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud Poker, and American-style “double zero” roulette are all, by far, more popular among casual and sharp punters alike.
Even so, Casino War has them all beat by offering a significantly reduced house edge. If bankroll management is your main concern, consider ditching double-zero roulette for Casino War. After all, they’re both games of chance, but Casino War has a house edge nearly twice as advantageous for the player.
How to play Casino War?
To play Casino War, you’ll place a single ante bet in the main game, and most casinos opt for a $5 minimum. You can also place an optional side bet on the “tie” option and this long shot wager pays 10 to 1 on your money if you and the dealer show identical card ranks.
As for the base gameplay, Casino War is essentially a glorified high card contest between the player and the dealer. Using a standard 52-card deck of cards—or in most cases, a six-deck shoe a la blackjack—the dealer will do nothing more than deliver one card face up to you and one for themselves.
When your card outranks the dealer’s card, you’ll win even money on your ante bet. And when the dealer’s high card outranks yours, you’ll forfeit those chips to the house.
The fun begins when you and the dealer both show the same card rank. At this point, you’ll be given the option to “surrender,” or pull back half your bet and lose the other half automatically.
Nobody comes to the casino to give up without a fight though, so you’ll likely decide to exercise the other option—declaring war against the dealer.
When you declare war, the dealer will ask you to place a second wager equal to your ante bet. With this additional ammunition in place, the dealer will burn three cards before dealing out their final card, before repeating the same process for your last card.
Whomever winds up with the highest second card wins the war, but here’s where things get tricky. Instead of winning $10 at even money on your total bet $5 ante + $5 war bet, you’ll only win half. In other words, your ante bet is returned as a push while the added war bet is paid out at even money.
This may seem a bit unfair. But this payout structure is how the house derives its precious edge over the player. That’s why you need to look for casinos which offer a bonus payout of 3 to 1 whenever you score a second tie after initially declaring war. This premium return shaves a few valuable percentage points off the house edge, so it’s always worth asking around before sitting down.
The Tie Bet in Casino War
One way to level the battlefield in Casino War is by backing the “tie” side bet. This optional wager pays out at 10 to 1, making it one of the more lucrative long shots offered in the table game pit. Unfortunately, the player and dealer will only wind up tied on 7.39% of hands, so don’t expect the tie bet to hit with regularity.
Casino War Probabilities
| Result | Payout | Probability |
| Win | 1 | 50.27% |
| Lose Ante Bet | (-1) | 46.30% |
| Lose After War | (-2) | 3.34% |
According to experts, the likelihood of beating the dealer on any given handstands at 50.27%. That makes Casino War one of the only casino games ever devised in which players will beat the dealer more than the dealer will beat them.
Note that when the dealer wins after you’ve declared war, that two-bet loss brings your overall bottom line back down to earth. Leaving aside that rare 3.42% chance, you’ll be sitting pretty on all non-war hands.