How to play
Casino War is the simplest casino card game there is. You and the dealer each get one card, and the higher card wins. Aces are high, and suits don’t matter.
- Pick a chip (10, 50, 100 or 500) and tap Bet to place it. You can also put chips on Tie, an optional side bet.
- Press Deal. You and the dealer each get one card.
- If your card is higher, your bet pays 1 to 1. If the dealer’s card is higher, you lose your bet.
- If the cards are the same rank, it’s a tie, and you choose:
- Surrender: you get half your bet back and the round ends.
- Go to war: you add a second bet equal to the first. Three cards are burned (set aside unseen), then you and the dealer get one more card each.
How war pays.
| War result | Your first bet | Your war bet |
|---|---|---|
| Your card is higher | returned | wins 1 to 1 |
| Another tie | wins 1 to 1 (bonus) | wins 1 to 1 |
| Dealer’s card is higher | lost | lost |
The Tie bet pays 10 to 1 if the first two cards are the same rank, whatever you decide afterwards. The game uses a 6-deck shoe, reshuffled when fewer than 26 cards remain. Bets are in steps of 10 (so half a bet is always a whole number), up to 500 per spot.
Strategy
The house edge comes only from ties. You win and lose single-card rounds equally often, but on a tie you either give up half your bet or put more money at risk. Calculated exactly for this 6-deck game:
| Choice | House edge |
|---|---|
| Always go to war | 2.33% |
| Always surrender | 3.70% |
| Tie bet | 18.65% |
- Always go to war. It costs less than surrendering. Going to war looks risky, but you win or tie the war more often than you lose it, and the tie bonus pays both bets.
- Skip the Tie bet. Ties happen in only about 7.4% of rounds, and 10 to 1 doesn’t make up for that. It costs almost 19 credits per 100 bet.
- Keep enough credits to go to war. If you can’t cover the war bet, surrender is your only option.
- Many casinos don’t pay the bonus on a tie during war. Without it, the house edge of going to war is 2.88%. This game pays the bonus.
Other casino card games. Baccarat is just as simple, and its Banker bet has a lower house edge (1.06%). In Blackjack your decisions matter much more.
If you enjoy Casino War, try Charlie 21 or Chemin de Fer next.
