You’ll love War Live if you enjoy playing top-card-style card games. In these games, you bet on one of two cards, and the card with the higher value wins.
War Live is based on the original Casino War game but has a twist when the hand ends in a Tie. This triggers the decision to go to War, where you can surrender your hand for a 2.5:1 payout or double your bet for a showdown with the dealer.
The War offers an opportunity to win between 10:1 and 200:1 if you’re playing the Tie side bet and get consecutive Ties during the War round. Otherwise, you win 1:1 with your original stake returned if you win.
In this review, I’ll discuss how to play and whether there’s a strategy to help you win. If you don’t like lots of words, my Video Review is a great alternative.
Here are five things you need to know before playing War Live.
Evolution has done a nice job of creating a studio with a War Theme. They’ve chosen a battleship-inspired theme, although I think it looks more like one of the bunker war rooms from the Second World War, with the maps, radar and monitoring equipment needed to track what was happening above ground. Either way, the theme is cool.
The game is played on a central baize table inlaid into a decorative map. A presenter deals the cards and controls the gameplay.
War follows the following gameplay sequence
During betting Time, you have the following betting options:
It’s possible to bet on both bet spots or just one of them. If you’re betting on a Tie, there is no need to bet on the main bet spot, but you won’t be able to go to War with the casino if you don’t.
The dealing process is very straightforward.
The dealer gives the Player and the Casino one card each. The position with the higher value card wins.
If the Casino Wins, everyone loses their bets.
If the player wins, everyone receives a 1:1 payout.
If there is a Tie, the War option is offered.
If there is a Tie, the presenter hits a Red Button in front of them to trigger the war decision-making process.
You’ll get two options.
If you lose the War, you’ll lose all of your bet.
Now, to spice things up. If, during the war, there is another Tie, the payout for the Tie bet increases to 25:1. If there’s another Tie, the payout grows to 50:1, and if there is a fourth, the payout reaches 200:1.
There is no option to increase your bets or surrender; you’re in for the long haul.
The War pits the Cainso against the player and plays out as follows.
The dealer burns three cards from the dealing shoe before revealing the card to the player.
The dealer burns another three cards before taking a card for the Casino.
The values of the two cards are compared.
No strategy will help influence the game’s outcome or even predict its outcome, as players take no active part in it. However, it’s possible to keep track of the cards that have come out of the shoe, which affects what’s left. If you have the brains to do so, you could use that information to work out the probabilities of what could happen next. Frankly, it’s a long shot since the shoe changes when there’s 50% penetration.
So, the strategy revolves around whether to play the main bet and Tie, the Tie bet alone, or the main bet alone.
Let’s look at each to see the pros and cons.
The main bet is about competing against the casino to determine who has the higher-value card. Over the long term, you’d expect the results between the two sides, Casino & Player, to be pretty even, and that’s why the payout is 1:1. The RTP is 96.56%, and this is because when there is a Tie, there is no winner, but rather than make this a losing bet, half your stake is returned.
If you want to keep the game low variance, play this bet, but don’t expect anything more than an even money payout. If you’re doing that, there are games with better returns you should play – e.g., Baccarat, Dragon Tiger and Blackjack, to name three.
A Tie has an RTP of 92.05%, so as results go, it’s the least likely to happen. I wouldn’t recommend playing just the Tie bet.
This combination is probably the best. You get to play the War when there’s a Tie, and you get paid for the Tie occurring. You don’t have to play the War though.
Surrender if your bankroll is low.
Otherwise, the War is why you’re playing this game, so getting this far and then surrendering is silly unless you’re playing the odds, which the savvy gambler should and probably would do!
Going to War will cost you, though, as you have to double your main bet before playing. As there’s no guarantee you’ll win, this is risky and changes the game’s variance to high.
Even if you win, which will be about 50% of the time, you’ll only get a 1:1 payout for the additional bet.
Realistically, the risk of the War isn’t worth the reward given, so I would think carefully about playing and set your expectations accordingly.
The best strategy is not to play this game, as the chances of getting a decent payout are slim, and most of the time, you’ll find yourself scrapping for small wins.
The theoretical RTP for War Live is:
| Bet | Pays |
|---|---|
| Main Hand Win | 1:1 |
| Main Hand Tie | 50% Stake Returned |
| Tie Side Bet | 10:1 |
| 2nd Tie during War | 25:1 |
| 3rd Tie during War | 50:1 |
| 4th Tie during War | 200:1 |
| Surrender | 50% Main Bet Returned |
| War Win – Main Hand | 1:1 on Extra Bet Original Bet Pushed |
The list is relatively short for games similar to War Live because the other games have multiple betting position options. You’re not restricted to the Player position; there isn’t a War feature.
But these all work on the premise of High Card Wins.
War Live is a variation of the Top Card games and Casino War, and quite frankly, it is not very good. The War battle isn’t exciting, and as the round is played like the main hand, there is no variation or special feeling about triggering the War. Instead, you’re asked to make another bet, over and above what you’ve already invested in the game, while risking what you already have on the table for not a great return.
It feels like two similar games have been stuck together without understanding what they do!
It’s a real shame because a lot of effort went into creating the studio and theme for the game, but it doesn’t meet the same standard.
Personally, I’d stick to Football Studio or one of the other games where you’re playing one card against the other. The War doesn’t bring anything to the table other than a gamble, which, at best, you will win 50% of the time!
I’m sorry, Evolution, but this isn’t one for me. Perhaps a rethink on the War part is required?
The games are similar in that there is a Player Card and Casino card, with the one with the higher value winning. But Betgames War of Bets allows you to bet on the value of the cards. So they are very different games. War Live also has the War Battle if a Tie occurs, which War of Bets doesn’t.
You can play the War Live game at all Evolution Live Casinos.
The RTP of War Live is 96.56%.
War Live is optimised for every device type so you can play on your mobile device in both portrait and landscape modes.
There isn’t a strategy other than deciding whether to play the Tie side bet and whether to Surrender or Play the War when a Tie occurs.
Neil Walker
I’m Neil Walker, and I created this site to provide information on everything related to Live Dealer Games. I do extensive research, play and test all the games, and author all the content. I’ve appeared in the media and presented at conferences—you can read more about me on my About Page. I’ve been doing this full-time since 2014, and I am trusted for my straightforward reviews and honest opinions.
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