Casino War Strategy
Casino War is such a simple gambling game that there’s not much room for strategy. Even so, the subject of “Casino War strategy” is a popular one and it’s worth talking about. Plus, there actually are a few pieces of strategy advice that just might make your foray into Casino War a profitable one.
At the beginning of each hand of Casino War, you and the dealer both have a 50/50 chance of winning (excluding ties). The house advantage comes into play when you tie the dealer.
In the case of ties, you have the option to surrender half your bet or go to war. When you go to war, you have to place an additional wager equal to your original wager. The catch is that this additional wager doesn’t receive a payout if you win the war. In other words, you end up risking two bets to save one bet. That leads us to our first point…
Never Surrender
War rewards the courageous and it scorns the fearful. In Casino War, you may be tempted to surrender and at least keep half your bet rather than risk an additional bet. This is the wrong move to make because it actually benefits the house more than by trying to win your bet.
Plus, think about it like this: if you surrender, you don’t have even the slightest chance to win. You lose and there’s nothing you can do. If you go to war, you still have a good chance to win your bet. Any time you have the opportunity to surrender, think to yourself WWKLD: What Would King Leonidas Do?
Avoid the Tie Bet
Some casinos let you place a bet at any time that the next two cards will be a tie. If you place that bet and win, you are rewarded with a 10-1 payoff. This sounds good until you consider the house advantage. Depending on the casino, the house advantage of the tie bet ranges from 18% to 35%.
Casino War without the tie bet has a house advantage of about 2.5% depending on the exact rules and number of decks in play. When you compare that to the tie bet, it’s no contest. The tie bet should always be avoided.
External Factors
The two tips listed so far are basically the only things you need to do to keep the house advantage to a minimum. Outside of actual game play, there are a couple of external factors you can use to help find the best Casino War game for your money.
First of all, look for bonus payouts for ties at live casinos. Some casinos give players a small bonus any time there is a tie. This is completely separate from the actual tie bet. This is called a bonus because it doesn’t require anything extra from you.
If you play online, look for a casino that offers a generous sign up bonus. Casino War usually counts towards bonus wagering requirements at online casinos. If you get a decent sign up bonus, you can play longer with money provided by the casino.