It may be one of the most easily understood casino card games around but Casino war still excites and thrills both on line and in casinos across the globe.

The rules of the game are simple and generally clear but its this instant risk and reward aspect which entices people to play the game.

Basically after the player places a bet, the dealer and the player are each dealt one card from the pack. The game is normally played with six standard decks and at the casino the cards are ranked in the same way that cards in poker are with one exception – the Aces are ALWAYS high.

If the player’s card is ranked higher than the dealers then the player wins, he/she gets back the bet as well as the same amount in winnings so basically wins at evens money.

However if the dealers card is higher then the player loses the bet to the house.

In the case of a tie (eg. The player gets a 5 of hearts and the dealer gets a 5 of spades) the player has two options. Either he/she can surrender and lose half the bet or ‘Go to War; which means the player must place an additional wager the first size as the first one.

‘Going to war’ benefits the house slightly. What happens is the dealer disregards three cards from the deck then deals a card to both him/herself and one to the player. If the player’s card is ranked higher or the same as the dealers then the player wins an amount equal only to the size of the original wager. However if the dealer’s card is higher then the player loses both the original bet as well as the ‘going to war’ bet.

A thoroughly enjoyable game of chance ‘Casino War’ is loosely based on the children’s game of ‘War’ or ‘battle.’