Ever since Nevada shocked the world in the 1930s, America’s love affair with gambling has been insatiable. With the rise of the modern-day casino scene in Reno and Tahoe in the 1950s, Americans and tourists from all over the world looked to test their luck to beat the house at their favorite games, especially table games. The momentum only picked up with the rise of Las Vegas and Atlantic City Boardwalk Casinos in the 60s and the 80s.
Fast-forward to today, thanks to massive leaps in technology, table games took a digital leap in the mid-90s with the first wave of online casinos. With a global audience now able to play their favorite table games, the next big step came in the late 2000s, when the first attempt for live dealer games. And ever since that time, the love affair for professional and rewarding live casino games hasn’t slowed down since. This guide takes you into the exciting and growing world of live casino games because, 24/7, you’re only a spin away from greatness.
1. Roulette
Step into any reputable online casino with a live dealer section, and you will find multiple roulette games as the centerpiece. Roulette goes back to 1600s France, and the love affair for spinning the “little wheel” has only grown with the rise of live dealer games. Roulette features inside and outside bets to spin the wheel. Because outside bets cover most of the wheel, many players, including beginners, gravitate towards betting on even and odd, or red or black, with these common roulette games:
Roulette Variants:
- French Roulette: The French variant is the oldest roulette game. Featuring only one zero, the game layout is in French. However, French Roulette has a favorable house edge of 2.63% because of the single zero. Also, the French variant is the only one that features La Partage, and En Prison rules that lower the house edge to 1.35% because you have a chance to recover from losing straight bets if the ball lands on the single zero.
- European Roulette: The European version plays identically to the French version, except the table layout is all in English. Also, only having one zero, European Roulette has a consistent house edge between 2.63% and 2.70% because it doesn’t have La Partage or En Prison rules.
- American Roulette: The newest of the main roulette variants, American Roulette, is the only game with a double zero. As a result, the house edge shoots up to 5.26%. Still, American Roulette is unique for live dealer play because it is the only variant that supports the box bet because of the double zero.
- Lightning Roulette: Lightning Roulette is based on European Roulette, and players can make all the usual roulette bets in real-time with a professional croupier. In addition to winning basic roulette payouts, random winning multipliers strike down onto the screen with lightning. The results are winning multipliers between 5x and 50x.
- Auto Roulette: Depending on the live dealer site, Auto Roulette might play with the French or American version. Make all the traditional roulette bets, but instead of having a croupier spin the wheel, the game’s CPU does it for you.
- First Person Roulette: Also, depending on the live casino, First Person Roulette plays with either the European or American variant, but the wheel is spun in beautiful 4K to your web browser or mobile device for your perspective as if you were sitting at the table.
2. Poker
Thanks to the expansion of live dealer games and their popularity, it’s now common to see more online poker real money and sweepstakes games available for live dealer play. While not as extensive as other card games, these poker games continue to surge in popularity in the live dealer arena:
Examples:
- Texas Hold’em: There’s no question that having Texas Hold’em featured in popular Hollywood films like Casino Royale has it available for live dealer play at online and even sweepstakes casinos. Prepare to practice your bluff because you’re going to have to bluff the live competition to win.
- Three-Card Poker: Live Three-Card Poker plays at a fast pace because all the players and the dealer receive three cards. Of course, before the main bets begin, all the players make an ante bet to contribute to the overall jackpot. Fold or keep going, it’s your call playing live Three-Card Poker.
- Video Poker: A new addition to the live dealer scene, today it is more common to find classic video poker games like Jacks or Better. A live dealer takes your bet, and the video poker game selects five cards for you to keep or discard for a stronger winning hand.
3. Blackjack
Without a doubt, online blackjack continues to surge in popularity for the live dealer section because it is one of the few card games that give you a 50% chance of calling 21 or having a better hand than the dealer. Thanks to incredible technological leaps, online blackjack has never been more exciting than with these variants.
Examples:
- American Blackjack: American Blackjack, also known as “Classic Blackjack” or simply “Blackjack,” is a staple of live dealer play thanks to a robust 99% RTP. Most of the main blackjack bets, including splitting aces, are available.
- European Blackjack: European Blackjack plays a lot like American Roulette, with the subtle difference of the dealer having to wait to deal themselves the second card, face down card after all the players have made their bets.
- Gravity Blackjack: Gravity Blackjack combines the best of classic blackjack bets but with the enhancement of winning multipliers like from slot games. So after getting to 21, not only can you receive a 3:2 payout, but random winning multipliers on top of that, too.
4. Baccarat
There’s no question that live baccarat continues to flourish due to its elegant display in Hollywood films like the James Bond series, specifically Golden Eye and Dr. No. In recent years, the top-tier game developers like Evolution Gaming, Playtech, Iconic 21 and Beter Live for social casinos.
Examples:
- Live Baccarat: The most basic form of live baccarat is the Punto Banco variant. Players go against the banker, and they can bet on the player’s, the banker’s, or even the tie.
- Squeeze Baccarat: Squeeze Baccarat is new to the live dealer area. Playing like the standard live Punto Banco version, the dealer slowly “squeezes” out the cards to the players at the table to heighten the drama.
- Super 6: Super 6 is based on the popular side bet by the same name. However, this live variant doesn’t have a commission for playing this live dealer game.
Conclusion
After reading this live casino guide, you can see that the time is now to jump into the amazing live dealer scene. As we speak, major game developers like Playtech are doubling their efforts to improve their live casino games. In recent years, live game shows have become extremely popular. Even social casinos are beginning to adopt live casino games to complement their growing live dealer options.
