What Is a Live Dealer Casino?
Live casinos show you real dealers at real tables, streamed in real time. You get shown the video feed, and the interface layered on top of it. That allows you to place bets and understand the round a bit better.
Randomness at these classic games results from the dealer's spin, throw, or card shuffling. Most live providers are licensed and independently checked, so the equipment is tested for fairness.
The result comes from the wheel, cards, or dice. Some formats also add RNG-drawn multipliers on top of that. The terms of each game will tell you what each does.
What Happens Behind a Live Dealer Table?
You might only see the dealer sitting on the chair or moving around, the game itself, plus the user interface that allows you to interact with this environment. That's not simple to achieve. The complexity of this system is part of the reason why you don't see many live dealer providers.
Here's a precise breakdown of the interconnected system that allows you to play them:
How the System of Live Dealer Casinos Works
Based on GLI's standards for interactive gaming systems, the first requirement is that the entire live casino venue must be continuously monitored by a surveillance system that records unobstructed views of all plays at all times.
- The system always knows what's on the table. The card-based games use high-quality optical cameras to determine what has been played (Evolution uses cards with barcodes). The roulette table might use the same sensors or have them built into the wheel.
- All of this info is converted into known symbols. For example, the barcode on a card can be accurately scanned by a computer and converted into numbers and symbols we understand (like a 10 of spades).
- The information is processed by the gaming server. It's programmed to determine whether the round concluded. If it did, it determines whether your wager is winning or losing. It can tell you the result in under a second.
Where Do Live Dealer Games Take Place?
Most tables sit inside purpose-built studios packed with lights, cameras, and displays. These are industrial-scale facilities, with several blackjack dealers working in one room and roulette tables running in the next.
Dealers usually switch seats every 20-40 minutes and take breaks every couple of hours. A monitor in front of them shows how the game is progressing, which is why they can call results while looking straight into the camera.
It can also be streamed from real venues
Although it's rare, some live tables sit right inside a brick-and-mortar casino, where players can bet in person. A similar system is set up so that you can bet alongside them, virtually.
How Your Connection Can Impact Your Gameplay
All of this works smoothly under ideal conditions, but not every player has them. If your connection struggles to keep up with the stream, you could be at a disadvantage.
The server controls the betting window. So even if your screen still shows betting as open, a wager won't register once the server has closed it. Lowering stream quality is better than losing valuable betting time.
How Is Live Play Different From RNG Games?
Live play is determined by real-world elements, such as the order of cards in a shoe, how hard the dealer flung the ball or dice, and how they fall into place. RNG games are determined exclusively by their own algorithm. Here's a clear breakdown:
| Particularities | Live Casino Games | RNG Games |
| What decides the outcome | Real-world physics | Programmed algorithms |
| Pace | 1-2 minutes per round | Seconds per round, based on your speed |
| Social layer | Can interact with other players/dealer | Can very rarely interact with other players |
| Availability | Most major tables run 24/7; some have schedules | Always available |
| Typical minimum bets | $0.10 - $1 | $0.10 |
| Free play | Not available | Mostly available |
Which Live Dealer Games Are Worth Sitting Down At?
The 3 tables that are worth learning about are the blackjack, roulette, and baccarat ones. These are the most popular options, of which you'll find the most variations. There are also other tables some players enjoy, which I'll tell you about.
Is Live Blackjack the Best Live Dealer Table?
Many players say so, and it's easy to see why. You just need to reach 21, or get closer to it than the dealer. In standard live blackjack, under correct basic strategy, the house edge is around 0.5%.
Regular tables usually have about 7 seats, while unlimited-seat tables deal one starting hand to each player, who then hits, stands, or doubles down individually. Blackjack pays 3:2, so players chasing bigger payouts often use side bets, which also carry a higher house edge:
| Side Bet | Payout | Your chance (8 decks) | House edge |
| Perfect Pairs | 25:1 / 12:1 / 6:1 | 7.47% for any pair | Around 4.10% |
| 21 3 | 100:1 / 40:1 / 30:1 / 10:1 / 5:1 | 9.73% for any winning hand | Around 3.70% |
How random is a game of blackjack?
NASA estimates that the universe is 13.8 billion years old. If you shuffled a single deck every second since the universe began, you wouldn't even come close to all the possible deck orders. A standard live blackjack game shuffles 6-8 decks together. That makes it unthinkably random.
Which Live Roulette Table Should You Play At?
I believe you should play the European Roulette variant. That's also the norm for roulette games. The American Roulette variant has an additional 00, but it doesn't increase the payout. That greatly increases the house edge.
While both work on the same idea of guessing where the ball will land, one will be more likely to dry your balance in the long run:
| Characteristics | European Roulette | American Roulette |
| Chance of winning | 48.65% | 47.37% |
| Chance of losing | 51.35% | 52.63% |
| House edge | 2.70% | 5.26% |
Who Should Play At Live Baccarat Tables?
If you want something faster and more relaxing, live baccarat is a good choice. You simply bet on the Player or Banker, and the higher hand wins.
A Player win pays 1:1, while a Banker win, following the standard Nevada rules that are generally applied, pays 1:1 minus a 5% commission. The following side bets pay more, but they cost roughly ten times more than the main game:
| Side Bet | Usual Payout | Probability (8 decks) | House edge |
| Player / Banker pair | 11:1 | 7.47% | 10.36% |
| Either pair | 5:1 | 14.38% | 13.71% |
| Perfect pair | 25:1 | 3.35% | 13.03% |
| Small | 1.5:1 | 37.89% | 5.28% |
| Big | 0.54:1 | 62.11% | 4.35% |
How Do You Play Craps?
Craps is just a game of dice, with a lot of bets you can place. If you bet on the pass line, which most players do, rolling 7 or 11 wins immediately, a 2, 3, or 12 loses on the spot, and landing 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 sets a point.
It has a lot of side bets and such, and it's pretty complex. If you want to find out more about it, check out our free craps guide.
Why Are Live Game Shows So Popular?
Live game shows are popular because they're simple and relaxing. Instead of learning blackjack strategy, you just pick a spot on the wheel and place your bet.
They're a bit like real money slots, but with a live presenter keeping things entertaining. They can also offer much bigger payouts than standard live tables. Crazy Time by Evolution, for example, can pay up to 20,000x your stake.
What's the catch of live shows?
You trade better mathematical odds for entertainment and bigger potential wins. In Crazy Time, for example, the house edge ranges from 3.92% to 5.59%, depending on your bet.
Why Doesn't Your Bonus Clear at the Live Tables?
That's because the house edge on live casino tables is lower than on slots. Bonus play at those tables costs the casino more for each dollar you're wagering.
Live wagers often count just 10%, 5%, or 0% toward wagering requirements, while slots usually count 100%.
For example, if 100 free spins leave you with $5, a 30x wagering requirement with 10% live contribution would mean playing through $1,500 before withdrawing it.
Who Makes the Live Games?
Live games are provided by specialized studios, with special equipment and facilities. Online casinos just buy the rights to stream these live on their websites. Here are some of the biggest names:
- Evolution: The biggest live casino provider, available at over 80% of live dealer casinos in our data. Evolution casinos offer all major table games plus plenty of live shows.
- Pragmatic Play: A major casino provider and one of the biggest names in live casinos. It's the biggest competitor of the previous name, having similar options.
- Playtech: Not as popular in the industry, but they're known to be innovative. Playtech adapted brands such as "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" into live formats.
What Should You Check Before Picking a Live Casino?
The first thing to check at any casino is its license. A licensed live provider means little if the operator itself isn’t regulated. Then look at table variety, betting limits, stream quality, bonus terms, and reputable software providers like Evolution, Pragmatic Play, and Playtech.
You should also choose mobile casinos that load tables quickly and make browsing easy. After depositing, start at $0.10 tables and stick to the minimum bet while testing different games. This gives you a cheap way to compare tables and settle on a strategy.
Don't lose yourself in them
You might've heard of people busting millions in one night at Vegas casinos, playing blackjack or other such games. That's cool in movies, not in real life. If you spend too much time or money playing at live dealer tables, set deposit limits or check out our guide to stay in control.
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