How to play casino war: rules, bets and odds for beginners

Casino war basics

Casino war is a simple card game played against the dealer rather than against other players. It is usually dealt from a shoe of six standard 52-card decks, and every figure in this guide assumes six decks. Some online versions use a different number of decks, so the exact odds can vary slightly from table to table.

Cards rank in their normal poker order, with the ace always high. The order runs 2, 3, 4 and so on up to 10, J, Q, K, A. Suits make no difference to who wins. Because each hand is a single card, there are no hand rankings to learn and no drawing rules to follow.

There is no skill element that can change the result of a hand. Your only real decisions are how much to stake, whether to place the optional tie bet, and what to do when your card ties with the dealer’s card. If any of the terms here are new to you, our glossary of betting and gambling terms explains them.

How a round works

A round of casino war follows the same steps every time:

1. You place your main bet, plus the optional tie bet if you want it.
2. The dealer gives you one card face up and takes one card face up.
3. If your card is higher, you win even money: a £1 bet returns £2, including your stake.
4. If the dealer’s card is higher, you lose your main bet.
5. If the two cards are the same rank, it is a tie, and you choose to go to war or surrender.

Most rounds are settled straight away. With six decks, the chance of the two cards tying on any one deal is about 7.4%, so roughly one hand in every 13 or 14 leads to a war decision.

Ties: going to war or surrendering

When your card ties with the dealer’s card, you have two choices.

Surrender. You give up half of your main bet and the round ends. A £10 bet returns £5.

Go to war. You place a second bet equal to your original bet. The dealer burns (discards) three cards, then deals one new card to you and one to themselves. Under the standard rules:

• If your new card is higher, you win even money on the second bet and your original bet is returned. On a £10 bet, that leaves you £10 up.
• If the dealer’s new card is higher, you lose both bets.
• If the new cards tie again, many tables pay a bonus equal to your original bet on top of winning the second bet. Others treat it as a straightforward win on the second bet only. Check the table rules or the game’s help screen.

Going to war means you are risking twice your original stake on the result of one more card, so only do it if the extra bet fits within the budget you set before you started.

The house edge on each bet

The table below shows the house edge on the main options, based on six decks and the standard rules described above:

The house edge is the average share of each stake the casino expects to keep over a very large number of bets. It tells you nothing about any single session, where results can swing a long way in either direction. Our guide to the casino house edge explains how these figures are worked out and how casino war compares with other games.

The edge on the main bet comes almost entirely from ties. Every hand that is not tied is a fair 50/50 contest, but when you tie you either lose half your stake by surrendering or go to war, where you win only the second bet if your card is higher but lose both bets if the dealer’s card is higher. The bonus for a second tie does not fully make up for that.

Practical tips

• Going to war has the lower edge. On standard rules, always going to war gives a lower house edge than always surrendering. That does not make winning likely, and it does mean staking more after a tie.
• Skip the tie bet. A tie bet paying 10 to 1 has a house edge of about 18.65%, more than six times the main bet.
• Check the rules. The number of decks, the tie bet payout and whether a second tie pays a bonus all change the odds. They are shown in the table rules or the help screen.
• Set limits first. Casino war is fast, so many hands can be played in a short time. Decide on a budget and a time limit before you start, and stop when you reach either.

Practise and compare games

The best way to get comfortable with any table game is to try it without money at stake. Casino war is closest in feel to Dragon Tiger, where two single cards are also compared, and to free baccarat, where you bet on which hand will win. You can also try our free blackjack game, or browse every game on our free casino games page.

If you decide to play for real, here are two current welcome offers from casinos we have reviewed. Check each offer’s terms to see which games count towards it, as table games are often excluded or count at a reduced rate:

• 21.co.uk: Wager £10 – Get £5 in golden chips. See our review for the full terms.
• Party Casino: Wager £10 – Get 200 Free Spins. See our review for the full terms.

You must be 18 or over to gamble. Set a budget before you start, never chase losses, and take a break if it stops being fun. If you want to block yourself from UK gambling sites, you can sign up for free self-exclusion with GAMSTOP.