Casinos offer Kitchen
Table Kid's Game
25 March 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
What do you know about a game called Battle
Royale? Is it the same game and odds as the game
of War that I’ve seen offered in the casino?
Kevin T.
Yes, Kevin, Battle Royale, is a variation of the
same game that you played as a youngster at the
kitchen table and analogous to the game of War
offered in some casinos.
With War, you and the dealer receive one card
each, and the high card wins. If there’s a tie,
you MUST double your initial bet, and two more
cards are dealt. Again the high card wins.
However, if you win, you get only your original
wager. This is how the casino pillages your
wallet. The house advantage from this one rule
change is upped to 7.14%. With Battle Royale,
the rules offer the player a surrender option,
making the casino advantage much lower than in
the game of War.
Like casino War, Battle Royale is a contest
between player and dealer, one card being dealt
face up to the player, one card dealt face up to
the dealer. Your object remains the same: draw a
higher card than the dealer’s. Cards are ranked
as in poker; twos are low and aces are high.
Suits do not matter in Battle Royale. High card
always wins until a tie occurs.
When a tie intrudes, the dealer will ask if the
player would like to go to battle or surrender.
If the player chooses to surrender, the dealer
will take half of the player’s original wager
and deal a new hand. If the player elects to go
to battle, the player must raise his or her bet
by an amount equal to the original wager (the
dealer does the same, but only for show), then
after the dealer burns three cards, an
additional card is dealt to both player and
dealer. If the dealer has high card, the player
loses both bets. If the player wins, the win is
only for even money on the battle bet, while the
original wager remains a push. However, if a
second tie occurs during the battle, the player
is paid out at a rate of 3:1.
As for a playing strategy, Kevin, there isn’t
much of one, except for the decision of either
surrendering or battling when you and the dealer
tie. I recommend that you always go to war with
the dealer when you have a tie. At first glance,
it might seem illogical to risk twice your bet
in hopes of winning back only your original
wager; but the house edge is 2.68% when you go
to war versus 3.7% if you forfeit your original
wager without a fight.
The player also has the option of placing a side
bet on a Tie before the new hand is dealt.
Though it pays a dazzling 10 to 1, it is a
sucker bet that has an enormous house advantage
of 18.65%. A crunching no-brainer, Kevin, so
don’t play it.
The skinny, Kevin, is that although Battle
Royale compromises my principle of only making
wagers that have less than a two percent casino
advantage, so long as you battle the dealer
rather than surrender, the house edge of 2.68%
won’t pickpocket your billfold all that much.
Gambling quote of the week: “One should always
play fair when one has the winning cards.” Oscar
Wilde (1854-1900)
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