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Chinese War

Introduction

Chinese War is a new game I noticed on field trial at the Gold Coast in Las Vegas on January 25, 2017. If forced to compare it to another game, it is like a mixture of Casino War, blackjack, and baccarat. There are seven bets available based on the outcome of two hands -- the Dragon and Tiger.

Rules

 

Following is a list of bets available.

  • Dragon
  • Tiger
  • Tie
  • Dragon Lucky Win
  • Tiger Lucky Win
  • Dragon War Card
  • Tiger War Card
 

Following are the rules.

 

If my rules were not clear, maybe the rack card will be more clear. Click on either image for a larger version.

 
 

Dragon and Tiger Analysis

 

The following table shows my analysis of the Dragon bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.36%.

Dragon Analysis — Detailed

Event Pays Combinations Probability Return
Dragon has zero, Tiger is negative 2 10,881,018,855,424 0.002177 0.004354
Dragon wins with zero 2 181,627,885,535,232 0.036337 0.072674
Dragon has 0 or more, Tiger is negative 1 245,781,110,470,656 0.049172 0.049172
Both hands have 0 or more, Dragon has fewer points. 1 1,905,786,033,584,120 0.381279 0.381279
Tiger has 0 or more, Dragon is negative -1 245,781,110,470,656 0.049172 -0.049172
Both have zero -1 8,006,193,004,544 0.001602 -0.001602
Both are positive and tie -1 287,705,445,707,008 0.057560 -0.057560
Both are negative. -1 14,534,539,900,928 0.002908 -0.002908
Tigers wins with zero -1 181,627,885,535,232 0.036337 -0.036337
Both hands have 0 or more, Dragon has more points. -1 1,905,786,033,584,120 0.381279 -0.381279
Tiger has zero, Dragon is negative -1 10,881,018,855,424 0.002177 -0.002177
Total   4,998,398,275,503,340 1.000000 -0.023555
 

If you don't need that much detail, here is a summarized version of the above table.

Dragon Analysis — Summarized

Event Pays Combinations Probability Return
Dragon win with zero 2 192,508,904,390,656 0.038514 0.077028
Dragon win 1 2,151,567,144,054,780 0.430451 0.430451
Loss -1 2,654,322,227,057,910 0.531035 -0.531035
Total   4,998,398,275,503,340 1.000000 -0.023555
 

The odds are exactly the same for the Tiger bet with a house edge of 2.36%.

Tie Analysis

 

Following is my analysis of the Tie bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 10.41%.

Tie Analysis

Event Pays Combinations Probability Return
0-0 tie 199 8,006,193,004,544 0.001602 0.318749
All other positive ties 9 287,705,445,707,008 0.057560 0.518036
Loss -1 4,702,686,636,791,810 0.940839 -0.940839
Total   4,998,398,275,503,360 1.000000 -0.104054
 

Lucky 8 Analysis

 

Following is my analysis of the Tiger Lucky 8 bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 9.10%.

Tie Analysis

Event Pays Combinations Probability Return
Tiger Lucky 8 win with 888 399 29,760 0.000416 0.166136
Tiger lucky 8 win 4 10,612,736 0.148486 0.593944
Tiger lucky 8 loss -1 60,830,464 0.851098 -0.851098
Total   71,472,960 1.000000 -0.091017
 

The odds on the Dragon Lucky 8 are exactly the same with a house edge of 9.10%.

War Analysis

 

Following is my analysis of both War bets. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 7.47%.

War Analysis

Event Pays Combinations Probability Return
Win 1 39,936 0.462651 0.462651
Tie -1 6,448 0.074699 -0.074699
Loss -1 39,936 0.462651 -0.462651
Total   86,320 1.000000 -0.074699
 

Strategy

 

The lowest house edge is on the Dragon and Tiger bets at 2.36%. In comparison, the house edge on the Tie is 10.41%, the Lucky 8 bets are 9.10%, and the War bets at 7.47%. So, if you must play, I would stick to the Dragon and Tiger and ignore all the side bets.

External Links

  1. The game is played with eight 52-card decks.
  2. The dealer shall deal three cards each to the Dragon and Tiger hands. Both hands consist of two initial cards plus a War card.
  3. For purposes of all bets except the Dragon War Card and Player War Card, cards are scored as in blackjack, meaning:
    • Aces are worth 1 or 11 points, whichever is more beneficial to the hand.
    • 2 to 10 are scored according to pip value.
    • Face cards are worth 10 points.
  4. The dealer shall score both the Dragon and Tiger hands as the sum of the first and second cards minus the third War card.
  5. The object is to get closer to zero, without going negative, than the other hand.
  6. The player must bet on either the Dragon or Tiger. The other five bets are optional.
  7. Following are the possible outcomes of the Dragon and Tiger bets:
    • Chosen hand is zero points, except a 0-0 tie: Pays 2 to 1
    • Chosen hand is one or more points and the other hand is negative: Pays 1 to 1
    • Both hands are one or more points and the chosen hand has fewer points: Pays 1 to 1
    • Both hands are one or more points and the chosen hand has more points: Loss
    • Both hands are negative or tie: Loss



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  9. Following are the possible outcomes of the Tie bet:
    • 0-0 Tie: Pays 199 to 1
    • All other positive ties: Pays 9 to 1
    • All other outcomes: Loss



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  11. There are a pair of bets called the Dragon Lucky Win and Tiger Lucky Win. Both pay based only on their own cards, as follows:
    • All three cards in the chosen hand are 8's: Pays 399 to 1
    • Total points equal 8 or the War card is an 8: Pays 4 to 1
    • Total points are not equal to 8 and the War card isn't an 8: Loss

     
  12. Finally, there are a pair of bets called the Dragon War Card and Player War Card. Both of these bets win if the War card of the chosen hand is greater than the other War card. Ties lose. For purposes of these bets, cards are scored as in poker, with aces high only. Wins pay 1 to 1.
     



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