I must admit I don’t do it anymore, but I learnt to play Solitaire with real cards, not on a computer.
I find it interesting that the 3 card draw seems to be an ‘option’ to many people. Way I was taught that was how Solitaire was meant to be played.
Surely the game becomes too easy if you turn your cards one at a time?
[QUOTE=GreedySmurf]
I must admit I don’t do it anymore, but I learnt to play Solitaire with real cards, not on a computer.
I find it interesting that the 3 card draw seems to be an ‘option’ to many people. Way I was taught that was how Solitaire was meant to be played.
Surely the game becomes too easy if you turn your cards one at a time?
[/QUOTE]
If you play the Vegas way that means you only get to go through the deck once and not three times.
[QUOTE=Mathochist]
The variant known as Canfield started out as a casino game. Guess what the guy’s name was who owned the casino.
[/QUOTE]
The Canfield Casino still exists, though it’s a museum.
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger]
Why go to the theater if you can watch it at home? Why go out to dinner if you can eat at home? Why go out for a drink if you can mix it at home?
It’s all about the atmosphere. Some people dig it, some don’t.
[/QUOTE]
Well, sure. But… solitaire? I mean, c’mon! :dubious:
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Well, sure. But… solitaire? I mean, c’mon! :dubious:
[/QUOTE]
Fair enough. 
When I go to a casino to gamble, I don’t want to sit in a dingy corner, like some recluse, and slowly gamble the rent check through slots and video poker. I’ll never understand why people prefer machines to real dealers and other gamblers.
That said, there are some games like solitaire that I just can’t see turning a profit for the house unless done with some type of video machine.
[QUOTE=jasonh300]
My grandpa used to play solitaire at home…with real cards! When was the last time you saw someone doing that?
[/quote]
I’m doing that regularly, and I’m just 25 years old. I do play solitaire on the computer, along with Minesweeper, when the computer is running and I’m bored. But from time to time, I like to play just a quick game of solitaire without having to start the computer, so I grab a pack of cards and go along.
[QUOTE=jasonh300]
I watched the “Casino War” table long enough to see that the player made a bet for each hand, and there were multiple people playing. The dealer had one card and each player got a card. If the player got a higher card, they were paid, if not, the money was taken away. If there was a battle, the player had to put up another bet unit.
[/QUOTE]
Another local casino got Casino War and was completely laughed at for it. “Who the hell do they think is going to play high-card for money?”
Casino War ended up having one of the highest hold percentages out of any table they had on their floor. Game made so much money customers stopped playing it. They took their profit and replaced the table.
[QUOTE=jasonh300]
I watched the “Casino War” table long enough to see that the player made a bet for each hand, and there were multiple people playing. The dealer had one card and each player got a card. If the player got a higher card, they were paid, if not, the money was taken away. If there was a battle, the player had to put up another bet unit.
[/QUOTE]
Probably it was: If there is a battle, the player can choose either to relinquish a portion of the original bet or double it and see who wins the battle. I shared a poker table with a guy who swore by Casino War. He’d get up every once and a while and use his “system” on it for a bit. But, as long as he kept coming back to the poker table to give me his money, I didn’t mind. 
[QUOTE=Pasta]
If there is a battle, the player can choose either to relinquish a portion of the original bet or double it and see who wins the battle.
[/QUOTE]
Maybe I’m missing something here, but I don’t see where the house edge in this game comes from. My impression is that the player’s chance of winning a single deal at war (or battle, or high-card, or whatever you call the game) is exactly the same as the chance of loosing (should be something like 6/13 each fopr winning and loosing, with the remaining 1/13 being the chance of a tie). Card counting or other seemingly advanced techniques can’t alter this - even if you memorized perfectly all the cards dealt so far, and you know the exact percentage of remaining high and low cards, the chances are still the same for the player and the dealer to be dealt the higher card. The option to double the bet in the case of a tie doesn’t alter this, because the player still has the same chance of winning the doubled bet or losing it.
All this is assuming, of course, that payouts are 1:1.
I only play when I get a mysterious phone call telling me, “Freddy . . . why don’t you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?”
[QUOTE=Snarky_Kong]
If you play the Vegas way that means you only get to go through the deck once and not three times.
[/QUOTE]
No, Vegas is three times through. One time and you’d have no chance.
[QUOTE=Schnitte]
All this is assuming, of course, that payouts are 1:1.
[/QUOTE]
The payout on a battle is only the original bet amount rather than the doubled amount.
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig]
I only play when I get a mysterious phone call telling me, “Freddy . . . why don’t you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?”
…
[/QUOTE]
Is that a movie quotation?
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Is that a movie quotation?
[/QUOTE]
It’s from the original Manchurian Candidate.
Ah, thanks. Thought it sounded familiar.
:: looking furtively over my shoulder for Angela Lansbury ::
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig]
I only play when I get a mysterious phone call telling me, “Freddy . . . why don’t you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?”
No, Vegas is three times through. One time and you’d have no chance.
[/QUOTE]
Read what I was replying to. What I said is accurate. Using Vegas rules if you draw 3 you go through the deck 3 times, if you draw 1, one time.
[QUOTE=Snarky_Kong]
Read what I was replying to. What I said is accurate. Using Vegas rules if you draw 3 you go through the deck 3 times, if you draw 1, one time.
[/QUOTE]
Ifyou play the draw 3 way, what happens say on the second time through when you get to the end of the deck and only have 1 or 2 cards? When my brother taught me the game 40 years ago, he said you put the 1 or 2 cards on top of the pile and draw 3. I’ve had other people claim you draw the 2nd or the lone card (depending on what was left over). Which way is correct AFA the casinos go?
After some googling I found that the house edge is:
Draw three cards, around the deck thrice: 2.76%
Draw one card, around the deck once: 17.01%
I’m not an expert in probability or statistics but it makes sense to me.