War Blackjack

Introduction

I first encountered War Blackjack at the Downtown Grand casino in Las Vegas on May 9, 2014. I learned it was already featured at the Carson City Nugget and Eureka in Mesquite at that time. The game merges the elements of War with Blackjack, adding a twist: if a player wins the War bet, they can combine that win with their blackjack stake, knowing their initial card as well as the dealer's upcard.

Rules

1. War Blackjack can be played according to any set of existing Blackjack rules.
2. The game kicks off with the player placing a Blackjack bet along with a War bet, which can be any amount allowed by the table limits; it’s not bound to be a multiple of the blackjack wager.
3. The dealer will deal one card to the player and one card to themselves, with the latter being face up.
4. The outcome of the War bet is determined by comparing these two cards, with the higher card winning.
5. For the War bet, aces score the lowest, while for the rest, card rankings align with traditional poker values.
6. In case of a tie in the War bet, the dealer automatically wins.
7. Upon winning the War bet, the player has the option to either (1) take their original wager plus winnings or (2) take only the initial wager and add the winnings to their blackjack stake.
8. After the player makes their choice regarding the War bet, the dealer will deal one additional card face down to both the player and themselves.
9. With each player having two cards, gameplay for the blackjack wager proceeds according to standard blackjack rules.

* I have received information that the game is also available at the Coventry casino in the UK, where the dealer does not deal a hole card. While this practice reduces the expected value for blackjack, it doesn’t alter the strategy or potential of the War wager.

Example

Suppose the player places a $25 bet on blackjack and a $10 bet on War. If the player draws a queen against the dealer’s 5, their War bet wins, as a queen beats a 5. The player collects the original $10 War wager and adds the winnings of $10 to the blackjack bet, making it $35. The dealer then deals one more card to the player and reveals a hole card. The game continues with the established blackjack rules.

Strategy

The strategy for how to parlay the War bet is illustrated in the following table.

The Parlay strategy can also be summarized in another way:

• Avoid parlaying against a dealer's 10, face card, or ace.
• If the total of the player’s and dealer’s cards is 11 or more, then parlay.
• Also parlay player 8 against a dealer 2.

Play the blackjack hand following the basic strategy appropriate for the table's rules.

Analysis

The table below illustrates the expected value of the blackjack wager based on the player’s initial card and the dealer’s face-up card, specifically in scenarios where the War wager is a winning one. This table assumes an infinite deck scenario where the dealer hits on soft 17, allowing doubling after a split and the option to surrender. A 'loss' indicates that the player has lost their wager, removing any parlay options. Players should parlay a winning War bet whenever they have a scenario with a positive expected value.

The Downtown Grand adheres to specific blackjack rules:

• Loss
• Loss
• Loss
• Loss
• Loss
• -0.493467

From these rules, I estimate a house edge of 1.16% on the War bet, factoring in the value of the part of the wager that is parlayed with the blackjack stake.

-0.081435 -0.043845 The house edge under these blackjack terms is shown to be 0.48%.

I prefer not to provide a blended house edge since the player can make War and Blackjack wagers in any proportion, with the exception that a Blackjack wager is mandatory.

Whether you consider this a side bet or a standalone game, a house edge of 1.16% is relatively low compared to other newly introduced games. However, if the goal is to minimize losses while playing, focusing solely on the blackjack wager would likely yield the best results.

Loss Loss