What once was merely a children's card game is now one of the most popular casino games that is appealing to the growing number of online gamblers. Despite having a large house edge, Casino War is seen as one of the favorite casino games at the moment, mostly due to the fact that it can bring very nice profits when the player hits a hot streak.
Just like every other game, it can bring you money only if you follow certain guidelines, so knowing the rules is of utmost importance if you want to be successful at Casino War.
Obviously, you first need to find a casino that offers war and check to see how many decks of cards are in play. The game is normally played with six 52-card decks, giving the dealer and the player the same chance of winning on the first card, but you should know that the house advantage increases with the number of decks in play.
Before the cards are dealt you need to place a bet which determines how much you stand to win or lose regardless of the outcome. The amount of minimum and maximum bet is usually shown on the table, which makes things a lot easier.
The mere game play is as simple as they get. The player and the dealer are dealt a card each. If the player's card is higher, he wins the amount equal to his bet, and if the dealer's card is higher, the player loses his stake. The cards are ranked the same way as in poker, but the aces are always the highest. Card's suit plays no part in this game.
Should the player and the dealer have the card of the same rank, the tie occurs, in which case the player has two options. He can either Surrender and lose half of the stake, or he can go to War and place another bet of the same value as the first one. When the player goes to war, the dealer 'burns' or discards three cards before dealing the player and himself an additional card. If your second card beats dealer's second card or ties, you win the money on your second bet, while getting the first bet back.
Some casinos offer special bonuses for going to war and they even offer 10 to 1 payouts in case of two successive ties. Seeing that the house advantage is the highest with a Surrender, it is always better to go to war and hope for hefty payouts than simply get half of the stake back by surrendering.
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