Lesser Known Casino Games: War
A great man once said (or to paraphrase, in this case) “War is heck”. So how about war as a card game, then?
First off, did you ever play “War” as a kid (not the casino version obviously, as you have to be 21 years old to bet there). Basically, the “kid” version of “War” allowed for the highest value card to beat the other hands. The “grown up” version of War is pretty similar, and when it comes to card games, this is about as easy as it gets to learn.
Basically, both the player and the dealer are given a card. If the player’s card of the higher value, they win the bet. If the dealer’s card is higher, then they win the bet. Upon winning, if you want to make little explosion sound effects for beating the dealer’s hand, feel free to do so at the risk of the dealer giving you a strange look.
Of course, there is also the event of a tie, where the player and dealer get a hand of the same value. In this case, the player can do one of two things: surrender, and lose their half of the bet, or go to “War”, move that requires to place a secondary wager that is equal to the amount of their first wager. Get those heavy helmets out, boys and girls - things are about to heat up.
In going to war, the dealer will discard three cards before dealing both player and Dealer and additional card. If the player has the better hand, then they get to collect a winning amount that equals the size of the original bet, and no more. If the player loses, however, both regular and “War” bets are lost. No one said going into battle would be easy, soldier.
The house advantage is actually pretty evenly matched, with a reported 46.3 percent odds for both winning and losing. The remaining percentage is for ties. The only time a Dealer has a better chance of winning is during the event of a tie hand.
Playing “War” at the casino is actually a lot of fun, if you want a simple game that is pretty straightforward, and not overburdened by a lot of rules. Besides, it is fun to play the role of a kid again, even if it is a grown-up setting. As always, make the best of whatever bet that you decide to put into play.
Good luck out there!
