Live Casino

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Live dealer casinos have put a new spin on online entertainment and the gambling industry in whole by getting people into the middle of the casino action like no other. There is no need any more to fly hundreds of miles to the nearest brick-and-mortar casino since the casino is now at our fingertips. By using state-of-the-art video streaming technologies, table games run by a real dealer are filmed with webcams and broadcasted in real time, adding a new dimension to the gaming experience. A variety of live casino developers, a fully realistic casino environment and 100% immersion make live games a hit among a diverse range of gamblers who like table games.

Over a dozen reputable vendors deliver their solutions to online live casinos. Some big-name software developers like NetEnt or Microgaming produce live dealer games along with high-rated video slots and other RNG games. Other developers, including Extreme Gaming, Evolution, Lucky Streak and Ezugi, focus on live solutions only. Whatever the case is, all of them have a quality reputation and offer a variety of tables with stellar graphics. Most tables are managed by English-speaking dealers but there are also French tables that are marked accordingly in a live casino lobby. The quality of graphics, interface, video stream and sound range from medium (or sometimes low) to high across software developers.

How live casinos work

Live casinos are organized inside an actual casino or at a studio designed to resemble an authentic gambling venue. The tables are managed by professional croupiers who look very well groomed, interact with players, help them with issues if needed, announce results, distribute cards and do other things just like at a physical casino.

A table is captured by one or more cameras; the video signal is then instantaneously processed at an in-house IT room and is sent to devices of the users who are connected to the game in an online (mobile) casino. Sitting in the comfort of their homes or visiting a casino from any location via a mobile device, the player can view the real action delivered by a video stream. Whether live roulette or live blackjack, bets are made with real cash, and any money earned after a successful wheel spin or card deal are immediately credited to the player’s account. Most live solutions have an embedded chat box for getting in touch with the dealer and other players at the table, which adds a strong social twist to your casino experience.

Live game features and settings

At live casino games, bets are placed on a computer-generated grid or other betting sections on the table. Chips are normally available in a few selectable values, and the betting is quite easy and intuitive. Every live game often has a detailed rule page that players, especially novices, are recommended to read.

The player has many options that can be customized to make the entire action as more comfortable as possible. The options differ across software developers but the majority of them are more or less identical with some minor variations:

• Switching of camera angles to get the best view of the table and the dealer
• History of the last rounds
• Saving of the most frequently used betting patterns for one-click wagering
• Video settings for changing the stream quality. Some live games improve or downgrade the image automatically based on the player’s connection rate
• Audio settings: muting, volume control and ambience sounds
• Chatting facility for player–dealer interaction
• Countdown indicator showing the remaining time until the dealer accepts no more bets.

Live dealer solutions are not uniform in design and features. Gamblers are encouraged to try out as more developers as possible to select the most suitable live casino games.

Best live dealer casinos

Live dealer blackjack

Live dealer casinos offer a variety of live blackjack games where you are going to player against the dealer. The number of seats at a table is usually limited to seven, except for some game versions, for example, NetEnt’s Common Draw Blackjack that can room hundreds of gamblers at a time. At the beginning of each round, seated players are dealt two cards each and the dealer gets one card. Then the players have to decide what to do next: hit (take one more card), stand (keep the hand unchanged), split (create two hands out of one hand of the same-valued cards) or double down (double the original bet). Your task is to outscore the dealer without going over 21.

There are many variations of live dealer blackjack that effect the house edge and the player’s tactics, so be sure you have read the rules that are normally available at each game. As in many other live games, you can change video settings, chat to the dealer, view game statistics and select a bet within preset table limits. Blackjack is played using up to 8 decks of cards, depending on the variation, and they are shuffled manually by the dealer or automatically in a shuffling machine.

Live dealer baccarat

Baccarat is one the world’s oldest and most favorite table games ever, and modern video streaming and computer technologies have propelled it to the next level of fun and realism. In live baccarat, you are playing with real dealers whilst sitting comfortably at your home. The betting grid in live baccarat variants is the same as on land-based casino tables, with the player having three options of how to bet. Betting on the Player pays 1 to 1, if won; Banker pays 0.95 to 1, while payouts for Tie are 8 to 1. Besides, some baccarat variants feature side bets that make the gaming process even more fun.

Live dealer roulette

Live roulette is based on the same rules as a regular roulette but it offers a truly awesome experience since the table run by a professional dealer is seen right at your fingertips via a superb-quality video stream. Your first task is to pick from the best live casinos reviewed on this website and then find a roulette variant that would suit you most. Players usually have about 30 to 45 seconds to place a bet by selecting a chip and then clicking on the betting area (Red/Black, Even/Odd or a specific number or group of numbers). Thanks to elaborate camerawork, you would see every aspect of the game. The webcam zooms in onto the wheel with the ball rotating inside it, then the camera shows the ball in a close view after it has stopped in a winning pocket. Live roulette is represented in a few variants including the mainstream European, American and French roulette, games with La Partage rule, and some other exotic varieties, for example, a well-known Golden Ball roulette from Extreme Gaming. The maximum bet limit can reach a stunning $75.000, and the lowest chip value often starts at $1.

Reviewed by Thomas Zamora