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Color War
Introduction
Color War is a simple game in which the player bets whether his seven random cards will have red or black in the majority. To give the house an edge, if the player predicts correctly but seven dealer cards have at least six of the opposite color, then the win is changed to a push.
The game field trialed at the Palace Station in Las Vegas in August, 2016.
Rules
- A single 52-card deck is used.
- Play begins with the player betting on red or black. The player may also make an optional Color Bonus side bet.
- The player and dealer receive seven cards each.
- If the color in the majority of the player's cards matches the player's red or black bet and the dealer has less than six of the opposite color, then the red/black wager shall win and be paid 1 to 1.
- If the color in the majority of the player's cards matches the player's red or black bet and the dealer has six or more of the opposite color, then the outcome of the red/black wager shall be a push.
- If the opposite of the chosen color is in the majority, then the red/black bet shall lose.
- The Color Bonus bet shall win if either color is represented with at least six cards in the player's cards. The full pay table is shown below.
Following is the pay table for the Color Bonus. Pays have been converted to a "to one" basis.
Color Bonus Pay Table
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Royal color | 999 to 1 |
| Super color | 299 to 1 |
| 7 same color | 30 to 1 |
| 6 same color | 5 to 1 |
- A Royal Color is the player and dealer each having seven cards of the same color and the same color in each hand.
- A Super Color is the player and dealer each having seven cards of the same color and the opposite color in each hand.
Analysis
The following table shows the probability and contribution to the return of each outcome of the Red and Black bets. Combinations are shown to 14 significant digits only (blame Microsoft). The lower right cell shows a house edge of 3.15%.
Red/Black Analysis
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1 | 2,844,477,357,321,600 | 0.468528 | 0.468528 |
| Push | 0 | 191,068,890,012,000 | 0.031472 | 0.000000 |
| Loss | -1 | 3,035,546,247,333,600 | 0.500000 | -0.500000 |
| Total | 6,071,092,494,667,200 | 1.000000 | -0.031472 |
The next table shows the probability and contribution to the return of each outcome of the Color Bonus. Again, combinations are shown to 14 significant digits only (grrr!). The lower right cell shows a house edge of 10.93%.
Color Bonus Analysis
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal color | 999 | 66,290,452,800 | 0.000011 | 0.010908 |
| Super color | 299 | 865,401,680,000 | 0.000143 | 0.042621 |
| 7 same color | 30 | 58,769,735,939,200 | 0.009680 | 0.290408 |
| 6 same color | 5 | 543,282,995,455,200 | 0.089487 | 0.447434 |
| Loss | -1 | 5,468,108,071,140,000 | 0.900679 | -0.900679 |
| Total | 6,071,092,494,667,200 | 1.000000 | -0.109308 |
External Links
Color War — Discussion about the game in my forum.