| Casino War is one of the simplest online casino games. It is based on the children's card game "War". The game reaches out into the inner child in you. But, the only difference is that, here instead of pints or a candy, you play for real money. The game has a high house edge. |
| The game is played with six decks of cards with 52 cards each (normal deck). The card value is same as in normal poker games. The cards are ranked as (lowest to highest):2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace |
| Before the war begins, the player initially places the bet. The dealer and the player then get one card each. The player's and the dealer's card is compared. If the player's card has higher value than the dealers', then the player gets even money. If the player's luck does not favor and the dealer's card is higher, then the player loses the bet to the house. Incase, the value of the card on the player's and dealer's hand is the same, then the situation is a 'tie'. Under such a situation, the player has two choices. He can either surrender and loose half the bet. Or the player can go to 'war'. In this situation, the player places an additional wager; the wager amount should be the same size as the first wager. |
| If the player chooses to 'go to war', the player places the wager. The dealer then burns three cards and gives the player and the dealer a card each. Now, if the player's new card equals or beats the dealer's, then the player wins even money on the raise only and the original wager gets pushed away. In case dealer's second card is greater, then the player loose both his bets, that is, his original bet and his 'going to war' bet. Some casinos like the Mirage and Casino Niagara offer a bonus equal to the original wager in case of a tie-after-tie. The game also has a 'tie bet' which pays 10 to 1 if the first two cards tie. |
| Now, you might be wondering where the house edge comes in here. The probability is if course 50-50. The house edge lies when there is tie and the player goes for the 'war. In case of a war, the player either wins one bet or looses both. That is, if the player originally had bet for $5, on going for war, the player increases the wager to $10. Even if the War is won, the player gets only half of it that is, $5. The house advantage is about 3.7% whereas, when the player bets on ties, the house advantage is about 18%! |
| Surrendering has a slightly higher house advantage, so a player should never surrender. |
Best Online Casino Games