Reason #5 why the Wizard likes Bovada:

Intelligent Bonuses

Many online casinos offer huge signup bonuses, but there’s a catch. Buried in the fine print is that play on the most popular games doesn’t count towards earning the bonus. It’s common for play on blackjack, baccarat, roulette, craps, and video poker to be excluded. In many cases, only slots count.

And that’s if you can even find the terms and conditions. Many casinos put their 100% bonus in big flaming letters but make you hunt all over their site to find the rules.

Bovada allows play on all games to count towards the wagering requirement. It’s that simple. Just no opposite betting. All casinos ought to be as easy as Bovada about this. The bonus offer itself is simple too: on your first deposit, they’ll give you an extra 10%. If you deposit $100, you’ll wind up with $110 in chips or tokens.

Finally, in the unlikely event that Bovada feels you’ve been abusing their bonuses they won’t seize your winnings like most other casinos will. In the worst case scenario they will politely tell you that they will not be offering you any future bonuses, but you are welcome to keep playing and keep everything you have made already.

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Casino War

Last Update: Apr 02, 2004

Casino War is without a doubt the easiest card game to play in the casino. If you have ever played war as a child, or simply made a bet on who could draw the highest card, then war will seem instantly familiar. Following are the specific rules.

The game is played with six decks. Cards are ranked as in poker, except aces are always high. The suit does not matter.
After the players have made a wager each player and the dealer shall get one card.
Each player's card shall be compared with the dealer's card. If the player's card is higher he wins even money. If the dealer's card is higher the player loses.
In the event of a tie the player shall have two choices: (1) surrender and forfeit half the bet or (2) go to war (see rule 5)
If the player elects to go to war he must raise his bet by an amount equal to his original wager. The dealer will do the same but this is just for show. The dealer will then burn three cards and give the player and dealer another card each. If the player's second card equals or beats the dealer then the player shall win even money on the raise only and the original wager shall push. If the dealer's second card is greater the player shall lose both bets.
At some casinos, the Mirage and Casino Niagara to name just two, a tie after a tie will result in a bonus equal to the original wager. At the Casino Niagara they say the raise pays 3 to 1 but the initial bet loses, which is mathematically the same thing.
A tie bet is also available, which pays 10 to 1 if the first two cards tie.

I'm often asked where the house edge lays in this game. Where the edge comes from is when there is a war you either win one unit or lose two. For example, if you originally bet $5 you have to double your bet, risking $10, to win only $5.

House Edge

Some Interent casinos use unusual number of decks. The following table shows the house edge under the bonus rules, normal "no bonus" rules, surrendering on ties, and the tie bet itself.

Casino War House Edge
Number of Decks	Bonus	No Bonus	Surrender	Tie Bet
1	2.06%	2.42%	2.94%	35.29%
2	2.24%	2.70%	3.40%	25.24%
3	2.29%	2.79%	3.55%	21.94%
4	2.31%	2.84%	3.62%	20.29%
5	2.32%	2.86%	3.67%	19.31%
6	2.33%	2.88%	3.70%	18.65%
7	2.34%	2.89%	3.72%	18.18%
8	2.34%	2.90%	3.73%	17.83%

More on War

You might enjoy playing my Casino War game.

Links

German translation of this page.