Rules and Strategies for
Casino War

Based on the childhood game of "war" or "battle," casino war is now being offered in some casinos. There's not much to it, but that's the attraction of the game. Anybody who knows how to count can play it.

The dealer deals each player one card face up. Then the dealer takes a card face up. If you beat the dealer, you win your bet. If the dealer beats you, you lose. The cards have the same rankings as in poker, with the ace being the highest card, followed by the king, queen, jack, etc.

In the event your card ties the dealer's card, you can either go to war with the dealer (by matching your original bet), or you can surrender (by forfeiting half your original bet). If you go to war, the dealer will burn three cards and give you another card. Then he will burn three more cards and take one for himself.

If your second card is higher than the dealer's second card, you win your original bet. If the dealer wins, then you lose both your bets. If your second card ties the dealer's second card, you win. The rub here is the dealer doesn't pay off the second bet you risk to go to war, which is how the house gets its edge.

There is also a tie bet you can make which pays 10 to 1. (The house edge on that particular bet is around 18%.) As for going to war with the dealer, do it if you decide to play this game. The casino's edge is 3.7% if you surrender, and only 2.9% if you go to war.