777JILI War Card Game: From Kids' War to Casino War Payouts
In the war card game each side turns a card and the higher rank wins; equal ranks make a war.
Key facts and contents
- 777JILI Domino Game Rules
- A domino game deals tiles from a set (28 in the double-six set), players add tiles to either end of one line, and the round ends when one player plays out or nobody can move.
- 777JILI Flush Meaning in Poker
- A flush is five cards of the same suit.
- 777JILI How to Shuffle Cards
- To shuffle cards by hand, cut the deck about in half, riffle the halves together, square the deck and repeat.
- 777JILI Poker Chips
- A chip is worth the number printed on it or the value the table sets.
- 777JILI Poker Table Layout
- A poker table is read from the dealer seat clockwise: the blinds sit immediately to its left, the first round of betting starts left of the big blind, and the dealer button moves one place each hand.
- 777JILI Push Meaning in Blackjack, Baccarat and Casino War
- A push is a tie between your hand and the dealer's: the wager is returned, neither lost nor paid. pagat.com uses the word for blackjack and baccarat ties; the Massachusetts rules call a returned Casino War initial wager a push.
- 777JILI Split in Blackjack
- A split in blackjack turns a starting pair of equal value into two hands, each needing a wager equal to the original.
- 777JILI Straight Poker Explained
- A straight is five cards of mixed suits in sequence.
The war card game is the plainest card game there is: two cards, and the higher rank wins. This 777JILI page covers the pack-and-two-players version first and then Casino War as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s rules set it out, and it belongs with the poker games and card rules pages on this site. If you look for the game in the lobby you use, read that game’s own rule sheet, since payouts differ between rule sets.
War card game rules with one pack
pagat.com describes the basic game for two players, with no strategy involved:
- Use a standard 52-card pack. Cards rank from ace down to 2, and suits are ignored.
- Deal out every card, 26 to each player, kept face down in a packet.
- Both players turn their top card face up. The higher card takes both, which go face down to the bottom of that player’s packet.
- Equal cards make a war. Each player plays one card face down and one face up, and the higher face-up card takes all six cards.
- If the new face-up cards are equal too, the war continues. The game ends when one player holds every card.
pagat.com notes that most descriptions do not say what happens when a player runs out of cards during a war, and it lists two common answers. Many players also use three face-down cards in a war instead of one.
What the casino table version of the war card game changes
The Massachusetts rules turn the same comparison into a wagering game against the dealer:
| Point | Pack and two players | Casino War, Massachusetts rules |
|---|---|---|
| Cards | One 52-card pack, all dealt | Six, seven or eight decks from a shoe |
| Opponent | The other player | The dealer, one card each |
| Stake | None | An initial wager made before any card is dealt |
| Tie | A war between the two players | Surrender half the initial wager, or place a war wager equal to it |
| War cards | One down, one up (or three down) | The dealer discards three burn cards, then each side gets one card face up |
pagat.com describes the same casino game in its own words: the higher card wins, and a player on a tie either surrenders or goes to war.
Massachusetts payouts for a tie and a war
The payouts below are the Massachusetts rules of Casino War, not a universal table. Another rule set can pay differently, so read the sheet where you play.
| Wager | When it settles | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Initial wager | Player card higher | Paid 1 to 1 |
| Initial wager | Tie, player surrenders | One-half collected, one-half returned |
| Tie wager (optional) | The deal ties | Paid 10 to 1 |
| War wager | Player war card higher | Paid 1 to 1, initial wager returned |
| War wager | War deal ties | Paid 2 to 1, initial wager returned |
| Both wagers | Dealer war card higher | Initial and war wagers collected |
Worked example with a ₱100 initial wager: surrender returns ₱50. Going to war adds a ₱100 war wager, and winning it returns the ₱100 and pays ₱100, while losing it costs ₱200. Wizard of Odds describes the same lopsidedness: when there is a war you either win one unit or lose two.
The Massachusetts rules call an initial wager returned during a war a push, which the push meaning for tied wagers page explains across blackjack, baccarat and Casino War. Wizard of Odds also describes tables that pay a bonus on a tie after a tie, and that is a table rule to look for in the rules, not part of the table above.
Shoe, burn cards and shuffling in Casino War
Before play, the Massachusetts rules run in this order:
- The dealer shuffles the cards, by hand or by machine.
- The stack is offered to a player to cut, or the dealer cuts it.
- The first card is burned unseen.
- The shoe is reshuffled once the cut card has been reached and the round completes.
Players may not touch any card except the cut card.
Among the manual shuffle steps the rules list is the riffle, defined as dividing the cards into two piles and interlacing them. The riffle shuffle steps for a deck page walks through that move.
FAQ
What happens when both cards match in the war card game?
With a pack and two players, pagat.com says it is a war: each side plays a card face down and one face up, and the higher face-up card takes everything. In Casino War, the Massachusetts rules let the player surrender half the initial wager or place a war wager.
How does a casino war tie wager pay?
Under the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's rules of Casino War, a winning tie wager pays 10 to 1. Wizard of Odds also describes a tie bet at 10 to 1.
Does suit matter in war?
No. pagat.com says suits are ignored, and the Massachusetts rules say the suit of a card has no effect on its rank.
Magkano ang nawawala kapag nag-surrender sa tie?
Sa Massachusetts rules, kalahati ng initial wager ang kinokolekta ng dealer at kalahati ang ibinabalik. Halimbawa, sa ₱100 na initial wager, ₱50 ang ibinabalik.