Casino War Rules, Payouts and Strategy: How to Play and Bet

Casino War is a casino game with very simple gameplay, easy for beginners and experienced players alike to pick up.

What You Will Learn

• Casino War is a simple game in which the player and the dealer each receive one card and the higher card wins.
• The key to keeping your losses down is to go to war when the hand is a tie.

This article takes about 7 minutes to read.

Casino War Basics

Casino War stands out for its simple rules and short rounds. The dealer and the player each receive one card, and the higher card wins. That is the whole game, so it is easy to play even if you have never sat at a table before.

Because each round is short, Casino War moves faster than other table games. It suits players who prefer table games that are decided right away, such as those who choose speed baccarat over slower squeeze games.

You also play more rounds per hour, which makes the game a good fit for players who use a betting system.

Casino War Rules

Casino War is a table game in which the dealer and the player each draw one card and play head to head. Players take part by placing a bet called the ante.

Each receives one card and the higher card wins, which is why the game is so easy to learn.

It is an easy table game even for players new to casinos, and it suits those who dislike complicated rules and prefer games where the result is clear at a glance.

The only decision the player makes comes when the hand is a tie. The player can either surrender and take back half of the bet, or go to war, which means doubling the bet and playing another round.

Card Rankings

Cards in Casino War rank as follows.

2 < 3 < 4 < 5 < 6 < 7 < 8 < 9 < 10 < J < Q < K < A

Unlike blackjack, where an ace counts as 1 or 11, or baccarat, where face cards count as zero, the same as a 10, Casino War simply compares the cards by rank, so there are no special rules to learn.

All you need to remember is that the 2 is the lowest card and the ace is the highest. The order is the same as in poker and similar games, so it is easy to remember. Suits (hearts, clubs and so on) have no ranking, and cards of the same rank are treated as equal.

How to Bet in Casino War

Casino War is a head-to-head contest between the dealer and the player, so the basic bet is the ante, the wager you place to take part in the round.

You can also place a side bet called the tie bet, which wins if the dealer and the player tie.

1. Place your bet on the ante alone, or on the ante and the tie
2. The player and the dealer each receive one card
3. The player wins if their card ranks higher than the dealer’s

These two bets are the only ones available. If the round ends in a tie, you then choose whether to go to war or to surrender and take back half of your ante.

Casino War Payouts

In Casino War, the ante either wins at even money or is lost.

If your card beats the dealer’s, the ante pays 1 to 1, so a $10 bet wins $10 and you get $20 back in total. If your card loses, you lose the ante. A tie does not simply return your bet. Instead, you choose whether to go to war or surrender.

You can also bet on a tie between the player and the dealer. If the hand is a tie, this bet pays 10 to 1, so a $10 tie bet wins $100 and you get $110 back in total.

On a Tie, Choose Between Going to War and Surrendering

If the first round ends in a tie, you choose one of two options. These actions are called surrender and going to war.

• Surrender: You give up half of your ante and leave the round. The other half is returned to you.
• Go to war: You place an additional bet equal to your original bet (the raise) and play another round.

Payouts When You Go to War

If you go to war, the next round is paid as follows.

If you win the war, you get back 1.5 times the combined amount of the ante and the raise. With a $10 ante and a $10 raise, for example, you have $20 at risk and get $30 back. If you lose, you lose the entire amount. A second tie also returns 1.5 times the combined amount and is treated the same as a win.

Casino War Strategy and Betting Systems

In Casino War, the return to player (RTP) depends on the choices you make, so the basic approach to keeping losses down is to choose the option with the higher RTP.

Go to War on a Tie

The two options described above have different house edges, so your choice changes the expected loss. The figures below are calculated under standard rules: 6 decks and a tie bet that pays 10 to 1.

The house edge differs only slightly between surrendering and going to war, but going to war keeps it lower. For this reason, go to war unless you cannot afford the extra bet.

If you cannot afford to go to war, you are stuck with the higher house edge, so never bet your whole bankroll on the ante. Keep enough in reserve to cover the raise.

The tie bet has a house edge of 18.65% (an RTP of 81.35%), far higher than the ante. Even the ante, when you go to war on every tie, has an RTP of only 97.12%, so you should expect to lose over the long run.

Easy to Combine with Betting Systems

In Casino War, the ante wins at even money roughly half the time, so like baccarat and roulette, the game works well with a betting system. Changing your bet size this way does not change the expected value, however; it only changes how much your results swing.

Three Betting Systems Used in Casino War

All three betting systems covered here are rules for raising and lowering your bet. As noted above, they change only how much your results swing, not the expected value. Going to war after a tie puts twice your bet at risk, so the systems below treat a lost war as two losses.

Martingale System

The Martingale system has you double your bet after every loss and return to your original bet after a win.

If you tie in Casino War, go to war and then win or tie again, the round ends with a profit, so reset your bet. If you lose the war after a tie, count it as two losses and bet four times your previous bet (twice the total amount lost).

Example: You bet $10, tie, go to war and lose ($20 lost), so your next bet is $40.

Paroli System

The Paroli system works in the opposite way to the Martingale system. You double your bet after a win and return to your original bet after a loss.

If you go to war after a tie in Casino War and then win or tie again, count it as one win and bet twice your previous bet. After a loss, reset your bet.

Example: You bet $10, tie, go to war and win ($10 profit), so your next bet is $20.

D’Alembert System

With the D’Alembert system, you first set a starting bet and a unit size, then raise your bet by one unit after a loss and lower it by one unit after a win.

If you go to war after a tie in Casino War, count a win or a second tie as one win (minus one unit), and a loss in the war as two losses (plus two units).

For betting systems other than the three covered here, see the related article below.

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Summary: Casino War Is Quick to Play, but Few Casinos Offer It

Casino War is a very simple table game: the dealer and the player each receive one card, and the higher card wins. The rules are easy to follow, and each round is decided in moments.

Each round is short, so the game is well suited to betting systems.

Casino War suits everyone from beginners to experienced players, but it is a niche game, and very few online casinos currently offer it.

Casino War is also a favorite among our team, and we hope to see it return to more casino lobbies in the future.