KEY TAKEAWAYS
Casino War is the simplest card game in the casino: the player and the dealer each receive one card, and the higher card wins even money. Aces rank high and suits do not matter. If the two cards tie, the player chooses between surrendering half the bet and going to war with a second, matching bet. With six decks and no bonus for a second tie, always going to war gives the casino a house edge of about 2.88%.
That edge is higher than blackjack with basic strategy or the Banker bet in baccarat, but lower than many other table-game side bets. In dollar terms, $100 wagered on the main bet costs about $2.88 on average over the long run. The optional Tie bet, which usually pays 10 to 1, is much more expensive at about 18.65%.
This guide explains the rules step by step, shows a worked example of each outcome, compares the numbers for going to war and surrendering, and covers the Tie bet. Rules differ between casinos, so the table sign has the final word.
What Casino War Is
Casino War is a house-banked table game based on the children’s card game of the same name. The player’s only decisions are whether to bet and what to do on a tie, so there is no strategy to learn. The player bets against the dealer, not against other players, which is why it sits among the house-banked games rather than poker-style games.
The cards rank from 2 at the bottom to ace at the top, as in poker. Suits are ignored, so a king of hearts and a king of spades are equal. Every comparison uses a single card each, which makes a round very fast. A table can deal many rounds an hour, and that speed matters because the house edge applies to every bet.
The game is commonly dealt from six decks, though some tables, especially online, use a different number of decks. The number of decks changes the probabilities slightly: fewer decks make ties less likely than they are with many decks, and the house edge shifts with it. The figures in this guide assume six decks unless stated otherwise.
For readers new to table games, the idea of a house edge is explained in how the house edge works. In Casino War the edge comes from only one place, the tie, which is covered below.
How a Round of Casino War Works
A round follows a short fixed sequence. Most rounds end after one card each, and only a tie leads to a decision.
The first cards
The player places an Ante bet, and the dealer deals one card to each side, one to the player and one to the dealer. If the player’s card is higher, the Ante wins 1 to 1. If the dealer’s card is higher, the Ante loses. With six decks, each of those outcomes happens about 46.30% of the time, and a tie on the first cards happens about 7.40% of the time, roughly 1 round in 13.5.
What happens on a tie
On a tie, the player has two options. The first is to surrender, which loses half of the Ante and ends the round. The second is to go to war, which means adding a raise equal to the Ante. Going to war doubles the money at risk. The dealer burns three cards, then deals one more card each.
If the player’s second card is equal to or higher than the dealer’s, the raise wins 1 to 1 and the Ante pushes, meaning it is returned. If the dealer’s second card is higher, both the Ante and the raise lose. Some casinos add a bonus, equal to the Ante, when the second cards also tie, while others pay no bonus.
Why going to war beats surrendering
When the war is played, the player wins the raise slightly more than half the time, about 53.7%, and loses both bets about 46.3% of the time. Per $1 of Ante, that averages 0.537 × 1 − 0.463 × 2, about −$0.39. Surrendering loses a certain $0.50, so going to war is the cheaper choice and the one that gives the 2.88% edge.
Worked Example: Four Rounds at $10
Suppose a player bets a $10 Ante in each of four rounds, with six decks and no tie bonus. In the first round, the player receives 9♠ and the dealer 5♦. The player’s card is higher, so the Ante wins $10.
In the second round, both receive a queen, Q♣ for the player and Q♥ for the dealer. The player goes to war and raises another $10. The dealer burns three cards, then deals 8♦ to the player and 6♠ to the dealer. The player’s second card is higher, so the $10 raise wins $10 and the $10 Ante is returned, for a net profit of $10.
In the third round, the cards tie again with K♠ against K♦, and the player again goes to war with a $10 raise. This time the second cards are 4♣ for the player and J♥ for the dealer. Both bets lose, a total of $20 on a $10 Ante. In the fourth round, another tie occurs, and the player surrenders, losing half the Ante, or $5.
Over a long run, the pattern evens out into the house edge. A player who bets a $10 Ante in 100 rounds wagers $1,000 and, always going to war, can expect to lose about $28.80 on average. Surrendering every tie would raise that to about $37.00. Neither figure predicts a single session, since a short run can end well ahead or well behind.
Casino War Payouts and House Edge
The table lists the house edge for the main bet under different tie rules, and for the Tie bet, for a six-deck game, based on published analysis by Wizard of Odds. The rules on a tie after a tie decide how much the main bet costs, and the Tie bet is a separate wager with its own edge.
| Bet or rule (six decks) | Payout | House edge | Average cost per $100 bet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go to war, no bonus on a second tie | 1 to 1 on the Ante | 2.88% | $2.88 |
| Go to war, bonus equal to the Ante on a second tie | 1 to 1, plus bonus | 2.33% | $2.33 |
| Surrender on every tie | 1 to 1 on the Ante | 3.70% | $3.70 |
| Tie bet | 10 to 1 | 18.65% | $18.65 |
The table shows why the tie rules matter. A bonus on a second tie lowers the main bet’s edge by about half a percentage point, which is worth looking for but never changes the sign of the result: the house is still ahead in every row.
The Tie bet wins only when the first two cards tie, about 7.40% of the time with six decks. At 10 to 1, that gives the casino about 18.65% on every dollar wagered, more than six times the cost of the main bet. Some online versions pay 11 to 1 on the Tie, which lowers the edge to about 11.25% but leaves it high. Payouts and bonuses vary by casino, and the edge changes with the number of decks.
Common Mistakes and Myths in Casino War
The most common mistake is surrendering on every tie because the war feels risky. Doubling the bet does put more money at stake, but the math favors going to war: the average loss per tie is about 0.39 of the Ante against a certain 0.50 when surrendering. The difference adds up over many rounds.
Another mistake is believing that the simplicity of the game makes it cheap. A single-card game with an edge near 2.88% costs more per dollar than the line bets in craps or the Banker bet in baccarat. A simple game is not a low-cost game, and its speed means a lot of bets per hour.
Players also place the Tie bet because 10 to 1 looks large. The Tie bet wins less than one round in thirteen, and at about 18.65% it is among the most expensive bets on the floor. A third myth is that a high card is “due” after a run of low ones. Cards from a six-deck shoe change the odds only by a very small amount, so streaks do not predict the next hand, and raising bets after losses cannot fix the math, as shown in why the Martingale betting strategy fails.
Practical Tips Before You Sit Down
Check the table sign for three details. The tie rules, the tie bonus and the number of decks decide the exact house edge, and they can differ from one casino to the next. If a table offers a bonus on a second tie, that table is cheaper than one without it.
Set a budget before buying in, as explained in how to buy in at a casino table, and treat it as the price of entertainment. Skip the Tie bet if the goal is to make a budget last, since it costs several times as much as the main bet.
Where to Go Next
Casino War is one of several simple house-banked games. For another easy-to-learn game with a different kind of bet, see how to play Sic Bo. Comparing two games shows where the cost really comes from, and the next step is to look at how table-game house edges compare across the casino.
