What are Live Dealer Casinos?
The advantages for the players are many in number. Firstly, there’s nothing that can quite match the physical, face-to-face interaction of Live Dealer Casinos. As an alternative to playing to what is essentially an odds-based video game, Live Dealer Casino Players actually play with real, physical cards, or play on a real-life roulette wheel. The game flow is simply more realistic, (to all intents and purposes it is real) which makes for a better social dynamic and player experience. Without leaving the comfort of your own lounge chair in your den or playing on the train on your way to or from work, it’s possible to interact with real dealers in real-time with video-streaming technology. The next best thing to being in-house with the high-rollers in Vegas, Macau or Monte Carlo!
Most of the time, you can often chat naturally to the dealer and sometimes even to other players too. As a result, it is a more social alternative to the other online casino games you may have played previously.
Many players don’t consider the other main advantage with Live Dealer games; i.e. You can forget the random number generators or the software element of the usual online video casino games. With Live Dealer games, you can actually physically see the roulette wheel spinning or your cards being dealt.
Consequently, you have fundamental peace of mind, safe in the knowledge that you’re playing a fair game without being rigged. Moreover, Live Dealer Casino games are usually the types of games such as Blackjack, Poker, Baccarat etc that are of skills-based rather than games of chance. These types of games consistently have a much lower ‘house edge’.
Live Dealer Casino Atmosphere
When choosing to play at a Live Dealer Casino, you feel transported, literally as if you have been ‘teleported’ into the pit of a real live brick-and-mortar casino. The energetic atmosphere of in-house Casino Play has been perfected in such a way that there is no requirement for you to leave the comfort of your own home or to incur any expensive and pocket-emptying travel and accommodation costs. You have more money in your pocket to play your favorite games.
You will hear and see real cards being flipped, dice being rolled and wheels being spun rather than computer-generated images and repetitive false electronic noises. Naturally, all of this takes place in real time.
Categories of Live Dealer Games
Not all Online Casino Games are suited to the Live Dealer structure.
Table games that involve straightforward betting decisions combined with a fast game flow are the very best suited to the Live Dealer format. Player Favourites include Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat (punto-banco) and Live Video Poker.
Live Dealer Blackjack
|
Blackjack is possibly THE favorite game of all Live Dealer Casino players. Blackjack is also a favorite amongst high rollers and is one of the most popular games in all casinos, land-based and online. The attraction to high rollers is usually about ego and power. High Rollers enjoy having influence over the gameplay, and as a game of skill (more so than chance), Blackjack is the perfect casino vehicle to express a little ego.
In Live Dealer Blackjack, a hand of Blackjack starts with the player wagering an initial bet before receiving their two cards (click ‘Deal’ to receive your cards), face up from the Live Dealer. The Dealer deals two cards for the house, one face up and one face down (the dealer's face down card is colloquially referred to as a ‘hole’ card).
Once the cards are on the table, the player then decides to either hit or stay depending on how close the value of their cards are to 21. Very important, so we will repeat it again: the player who goes over 21 and busts, automatically loses their hand and their bet. For an in-depth explanation of Blackjack rules, terminology and strategy, we invite you to examine our Guide to Online Blackjack.
Live Dealer Blackjack also provides a number of entertaining game options, such as multi-hand games where players can bet on several hands at the same time, or public side-bets on the hands in play. These are fun to experiment with and a great way to familiarise and practice Blackjack if you are new to the game.
Live Dealer Baccarat
|The Live Dealer version of Baccarat is regularly played as the ‘punto banco’ (faster version) of Baccarat. Expect a high betting limits, with either CAD$5 or CAD$10 as the minimum bet. Baccarat is perfectly suited to the Live Dealer environment and it is yet another game favourite among online high-rollers. The dealing rules are complex; however, you do not need to be a pro to enjoy this Live Dealer game. If you can avoid the bad odds of the ‘tie bet’, you are on the right winning track and firmly on the path to winning more often than you lose.
Baccarat does not require much from its players. Choose your card and cross your fingers. As a player, you will have to choose between three outcomes:
- whether the dealer wins,
- whether the player wins; or
- if it’s going to be a tie.
In Baccarat, cards have a point value. Cards two through nine are worth their face value (in points). 10s, Jacks, Queens and Kings have no point value (i.e. are worth zero). Aces are worth 1 point and no jokers are not used. Hands are valued according to the rightmost digit of the sum of their constituent cards. For example, a hand consisting of 2 and 4 is worth 6, but a hand consisting of 9 and 8 is worth 7 (i.e., the 7 being the rightmost digit in the combined points total of 17). Therefore, 9 is the highest possible points value in Baccarat.
The winner is the one who has 8 or 9 card points first., if no-one does, it’s a tie. With a 33.3% chance of winning, anticipation definitely runs high in this online game. Baccarat is a favourite of James Bond 007, a favorite in continental Europe and quickly has become an online favourite of many players.
Live Dealer Roulette
|
Depending on your geographical location, Roulette is played on a wheel that features either 37 or 38 slots and a small, usually white or silver ball. The ball must land in one of the slots once the wheel is spun by the croupier. The croupier (the live dealer) represents the house and takes your wagers and pays should you when you predict the correct outcome. Correctly guessing where the ball lands makes you the winner of that round. Simple.
The simplicity of the game makes Roulette a favourite at both online and land-based casinos to this day. With basic rules, Roulette empowers winning opportunities for everyone.
Identical to a land-based casino, bets are placed on the table in Online Roulette. Choose your bet value by clicking on the different domination chips in the window, and then click on the bet (white, black, any number etc) you choose to make.
Once your bet is placed, the Live Dealer will spin the wheel. The Roulette wheel begins to spin and the virtual ball will fall onto the wheel. Where and when the ball rests will determine if your wager has won or lost.
For an in-depth examination of Online Roulette strategies, rules and terminology visit our Guide to Online Roulette.
Live Dealer Poker
|
Live Dealer Poker is usually a version of Casino Hold’em, which is an interesting variation of Texas Hold’em including a flop, turn and river. If those terms don’t mean anything to you, check out our Guide to Video Poker for rules, terminology and strategies.
Live Dealer Poker (Casino Hold’em) games differ from other poker games in two key areas:
- You play against the house, NOT other players
- The deal is real, not simulated.
An Ante bet will buy two pocket cards and a look at a Flop. A Call bet gets you a look at the Turn, River and the Live Dealer’s cards. Winning payouts will vary depending on the quality of your winning hand.
|
.svg)
.png "casino-classic-120X120 (2)")
