One of the most popular trends in the iGaming world is the rise of live casino games. These are the ones that bring you as close as physically possible to experiencing the thrills and spills of a luxurious land-based casino in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or Monte Carlo. So, short of hopping on a plane and jetting across the world to find the perfect establishment, the live casino games offered by the majority of online casino sites offer you the next best thing – casino games via live stream.
What Is a Live Casino?
A live casino is where you get to play casino games just as if you were at a land-based casino. You’ll find all the classic table games, as well as an assortment of games made especially for live casinos, like game show games. You join through your online casino, and you then get to join the game through a live stream. The live stream can happen from a studio or even from a land-based casino. You play as if you were at a land-based casino, so you’ll be playing alongside other players. You place your bets on a virtual table that pops up on your screen, and then the game is played out by the live dealer.
The studios created by the likes of Evolution, Pragmatic Play, Ezugi, Vivo Gaming, and many more besides are state of the art. You don’t just get a static view of the table but multiple camera angles which give you wide shots to build the atmosphere and close-ups of the cards or the roulette wheel at the most critical moments of each round. Everything is explained to you by the dealer, including when you can bet, when the betting phase has ended, what choices you want to make (such as stick or twist, for example), what the result is for that round, and who around the table has won. You can also interact with your croupier via the live chat window!
What Games Can Be Played?
When you think of Las Vegas, your thoughts probably turn to games that might be played by James Bond. These are the traditional casino table games such as roulette, blackjack, or baccarat – games that have truly stood the test of time and been played by millions over the decades. But it doesn’t end there. Not only do you get the standard versions of these games, as well as VIP tables exclusively reserved for the high rollers, but there are also titles like Sic Bo, Dragon Tiger, craps, and Hi-Lo, as well as casino poker – such as Three-Card, Caribbean Stud, and Texas Hold’em. In addition to this, there’s often not one definitive version but many different takes. For example, Baccarat Squeeze really amps up the tension with a very slow reveal of the cards!
It doesn’t stop there, though. Thanks in large part to Evolution really pushing the envelope and coming up with totally different alternatives, there are various releases based on or influenced by TV game shows, board games, or live studio talk shows. Therefore, you can always take a break from the traditional titles by going for something like Football Studio Pro, Deal or No Deal, Mega Ball, Dream Catcher, Crazy Time, Monopoly Live, and many more.
So if you thought these game types would get boring after a while, you are very much mistaken; we’re sure that the number and the variety of games will only increase over the next few years.
Advantages of Live Dealers
While slots, RNG versions of table games, and scratch cards are plenty of fun, they don’t offer much in the way of interaction with the outside world – although slots tournaments can admittedly provide a little competition with your fellow players and a loose sense of interaction via trying to top the leaderboard. Where live dealer titles excel is in the ability to communicate directly with your croupier via live chat; some casinos even enable you to use a gamer headset so that you can speak in real-time over a microphone. Plus, when playing a multi-person game such as blackjack, you can see the other players talking in the chat, respond to their questions, and generally have a great time while gambling – just like being at a fancy land-based casino!
Also, while it's impossible to see the mechanics working behind the scenes of an online slot, with live casino games, you can see everything happening right in front of you. Cards are shuffled, dealt, and placed on the table by the dealer. Or in the case of roulette, you can physically see that everything has been done in a fair and professional manner. This gives some players an extra sense of authenticity. Another advantage over some casinos (not the ones in Las Vegas, though, of course) is that they are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, whenever you fancy your chances, there will always be a table available. Plus, you can choose a regular game for low stakes or up the ante considerably at a VIP table.
Benefits of a Live Casino
Aside from the presentation, the use of real people trained to carry out dealer duties, and the use of a studio filled with top-of-the-line HD cameras to stream all of the action to you live, there are some differences from other online casino titles. One difference has to do with how randomness is ensured.
While your chances of winning at roulette, blackjack, or baccarat are set in stone, with physical objects such as the wheel or a deck of shuffled cards determining the outcome of each round, games that use computer graphics to represent the games virtually need another mechanic. This involves technology, computer algorithms, and something called a random number generator (RNG). When playing slots, for example, the outcome is randomised in such a way that every spin has the same chance of winning. However, many players prefer to see what’s happening in front of them.
The other main difference is the pace of the action. Live dealer titles are usually much slower in nature (though there are speed versions of most games too) because of the physical nature of dealing cards, giving all players time to place their bets, and showing the results to everyone at the end of a round. With slots, you can set up your preferred bet level, hit spin, and reveal the result within less than a second over and over again, meaning the rounds fly by. However, we have to admit that taking a more meditative approach with live croupiers often produces a more satisfying playing experience, and your money goes much further!
Find a Live Casino Site
When it comes to finding the perfect live casino for you, you couldn’t be in a better place. GoodLuckMate has reviewed hundreds of the best online casinos, and our team of enthusiasts always dedicates a section of each one to live casino games. Not only that, but we meticulously review every aspect of a site, including the welcome bonus offer, significant terms and conditions, regular weekly promotions, the level of customer support, the different payment methods available for making deposits and/or withdrawing your winnings, and information about the security and licensing of each casino. In this way, you not only see what the live casino part of the site is like but get a full picture of the brand.
The other advantage of going through GoodLuckMate is that you’ll have direct access to the latest and greatest welcome deals – some of which can be used for live dealer releases too. So, once you’ve found the perfect site, be sure to click on the welcome bonus banner on the review itself or as featured in one of our many top lists to be taken straight to the registration page at that site. After all, we always want to help you find the best online casino for your needs!
