We can all agree that war is terrible – no one should ever experience the horrors of war on their own skin. Today, however, we’re going to encourage you to go to war. Well, not the one fought with guns, but one fought at a casino table.
Even if you’re an experienced casino player, there’s a great chance you’ve never heard about Casino War. Casino War is about the easiest game you can play in a casino. You can play it in a landbased casino as well as in a online casino. Chances are you already know the rules if you ever played war with your friends as a kid.
How Do You Play Casino War?
Some casino games are simple to play, but they do have a complex set of rules which makes them a bit complicated to understand. Not Casino War, though. The game is played between one or more players and a dealer.
The players are first obliged to place a bet on who’s going to have the bigger card before the dealer draws one and compares it. Whoever has the bigger card wins – it’s pretty simple, and pretty fun at the same time!
If both the player and the dealer have the same cards, the player can choose to “Go To War” with the dealer (hence the name), trying to beat the dealer with a second card or lose it all.
Casino War is played with 6 standard 52-card decks with the cards being ranked just like in poker. The only exception is that aces are the highest card no matter the suit. The rules are pretty simple. If the player has a higher card, he wins even money. If the dealer has a higher card, the player loses his bet. If the player decides to go to war, however, he’s required to place another bet that equals his original wager.
After ‘burning’ (dealing them face-down) three cards, the dealer gives the player and himself one last card. He then compares the card to the player’s. If the dealer has a higher card, the player loses both bets. If the player has a higher card or his card matches the dealer’s he wins even money on the second bet and ‘pushes’ the first.
Some casinos pay a special bonus equal to the original wager in case of a tie after a tie. Others have a tie bet available, which pays 10:1 if the first two cards are tied. Gamblers also have the option to surrender in case of a tie if they don’t think they can win. Sometimes, it’s better to surrender than double your bet in order to cut your losses. Of course, the casino will take half your bet in this case, but at least you’re not losing it all.