Battle Royale
Written June 2, 2008 by Jack Jones
Battle Royale is a game very similar to what you played as a youngster at the kitchen table, and it’s analogous to the game of war that is offered in some casinos.
In War, one card is dealt to both the player and the dealer, with the high card winning the hand. If there is a tie then the player must double his or her wager, with another card being dealt. If the dealer wins, the casino gets the whole stack but if the player wins, he collects only on his original wager. This is how the casino generates it’s edge, to the tune of 7.14%
With the game of Battle Royale, the rules offer the player a surrender option, which lowers the casino’s advantage than with the game of War.
Like War, Battle Royale is a game played between the player and the dealer, with one card dealt face up to each. The objective is the same where you want to draw a higher card than the dealer, 2 is low and A is high.
Suits have no relevance to the rankings, it’s either a high card winner or a tie.
Where there is a tie the dealer asks if the player wants to “battle” or surrender his bet. If the player opts to surrender then the dealer takes half of the original wager and a new hand is dealt. If the player wants to go to battle then he must double his bet. Then three cards are burnt off the top of the deck and if the dealer has a high card, the player loses both bets, but if the player wins it’s only for even money on the battle bet, while the original wager is a push.
The twist is if a second tie occurs during the battle then the player is paid at 3:1.
Playing Strategy
Don’t count on making many decisions except on whether to surrender or doubling up your bet. You should always go to war if there is a tie and never surrender. This may seem illogical to risk double the money in order to win back only your original, but the house edge is only 2.68% when you go to war compared to 3.7% if you surrender.
The player can also place a side bet on a tie before the new hand is dealt, with a 10:1 payout, but it’s still a sucker bet with a house advantage of 18.65%.
While this isn’t the best game offered in the house, it has a fairly low house edge, can be fun to play, and doesn’t require a lot of thought.