When online casinos first emerged, playing for large progressive jackpots was a prerogative exclusively reserved for slot mavens. Technology continued to move forward, leading to the introduction of progressive table games whose outcome was, nevertheless, governed by a Random Number Generator (RNG).
The gameplay in such progressives often grew monotonous, which was understandable in the absence of social interaction and human dealers. And then came live casino games, bringing the authenticity of lavish landbased casinos to the homes of millions of gambling mavens worldwide.
Fans of live casino games need not feel neglected any longer where progressive jackpots are concerned. Thanks to the efforts of leading software studios like Playtech and Evolution Gaming, gambling purists can now engage in live dealer games linked to progressive jackpot networks.
Continue reading if willing to learn more about progressive live casino games as SuperCasinoSites gives you all the details about the jackpot pools, the qualifying side bets, and the winning criteria. Also brought to your attention are four must-try live dealer tables that give you the chance to play for life-changing amounts.
How Progressive Jackpots in Live Casino Games Are Pooled
Progressive live casino games are those that offer uncapped prizes. The live tables are linked to progressive jackpot networks linked across multiple online casinos that share a common software platform, typically by Evolution Gaming or Playtech, since few live dealer studios have launched such tables at the moment of writing.
The jackpots are referred to as “progressive” because they literally increase each time a bet is placed but the escalating prize is not won. The value of the pot continues to escalate until it eventually hits but more on triggering criteria later.
Once a player pockets the immense prize, the jackpot starts accumulating afresh and this process goes on and on until the pot hits again. Below are several peculiarities live progressive games commonly share.
Seed
Side Bets
Uncapped Prizes
Multi-level Jackpot Games
Jackpot Meters
Seed
In this context, the term “seed” refers to the predetermined amount the progressive pot starts accumulating from. Once won, the jackpot is reset to its original seed value, which is provided by the live casino software supplier.
The seed serves as an initiative that aims at encouraging casino patrons to play the games and contribute to their progressive pools. As a rule of thumb, progressives yield higher house edges and would therefore, be less appealing if the pots were reset to zero. After all, nobody would be willing to play a game with a considerably higher house edge for minuscule prizes.
Side Bets
Side bets are another important trait of live progressive casino games. These are optional side wagers whose outcome is entirely unrelated to that of the main game. Side bets enable patrons to play for the progressive jackpots.
You do not qualify for the uncapped prize without having posted this optional wager first even if you happen to obtain the winning combination. But side bets are essential components of live progressive games for yet another reason.
A percentage of each side bet posted at the live table goes toward the pot. The more side bets are being placed, the quicker the pools escalate to immense amounts. This is the reason why progressive prizes have the potential to reach millions, especially when they seed at seven-figure amounts.
Uncapped Prizes
The few progressive live games currently available have uncapped prizes, which is to say there is no ceiling on the amount the pools can escalate to. By contrast, there are progressives with boiling-point pots where the prizes get triggered whenever a given player brings them to a predesignated amount.
However, these are inherent to online slots and you are unlikely to find them at the live dealer tables, or at least not at this stage. Here the pots increase gradually in increments until somebody finally triggers them.
Multi-level Jackpot Games
Multi-level jackpot games with fixed payouts are another thing exclusively reserved for progressive live casino games. Some live casino-banked poker variants, like Evolution Gaming’s Live Caribbean Stud, offer two-level jackpots. The top-level jackpot is progressive, with players contributing to the pools by placing the optional sie wagers.
The second level of the jackpot yields fixed-value prizes for specific poker hands such as trips, straight, flush, quads, straight flush, and full house. These fixed payouts usually offer top prizes of four-figure amounts. The second tiers give players an additional incentive to make side bets because they also stand a chance of earning extra-large payouts while going for the big top-level jackpot.
Jackpot Meters
Jackpot meters are important because they showcase the current value the progressive pools have reached. They also enable players to determine whether or not the pot has escalated to a level where the side bets cease to yield their usual house edges and become positive-expectation wagers.
With that in mind, some software providers give live casinos the option to choose whether or not to integrate the progressive side bets at their tables. Because of this, one and the same table might feature a progressive jackpot in some casinos or lack it in others.
Optional Progressive Bets and Winning Criteria
Unlike progressive slots where the massive prize gets triggered either randomly or by certain symbol combinations, the pots in live casino games require, first and foremost, posting an optional side wager. This is not enough to win, though. You need a specific hand or roulette number to hit while you have the side bet at the table. We examine the winning criteria closely in the paragraphs below.
Optional Jackpot Bets
Winning Criteria in Progressive Card Games
Winning Criteria in Progressive Live Roulette
Optional Jackpot Bets
There is no winning the progressive jackpot without making the optional side wager that allows you to play for the huge prize. There is a separate betting spot on the layout, designated specifically for progressive side bets. Just click or tap the jackpot bet button and you are in the race for the prize.
The side bets have a fixed value, usually amounting to no more than one unit in the respective currency, be it USD, EUR, or GBP. In the case of certain progressive poker variants, it is impossible to play the side bet separately without committing with an ante bet first.
Winning Criteria in Progressive Card Games
Progressive jackpots do not drop every day, which is more than understandable considering how rarely the qualifying winning combinations occur. The good news is live software suppliers have thrown in additional fixed payouts for more frequently occurring combinations to keep players invested in the games and help them earn a little extra while playing for the top-level prize.
The exact winning criteria, along with the fixed payouts, are game-specific. In Live Caribbean Stud Poker, for example, the top-level progressive prize drops whenever the player’s hand is dealt a Royal Flush, a five-card combination that occurs on extremely rare occasions as you shall see a bit later.
The second-level fixed prizes range from 3 to 2,500 units in the corresponding currency. In descending order, these are awarded for straight flushes, quads, full house, flushes, straights, and sets. Now, one thing to keep in mind is that live casino-banked poker easily yields itself to the progressive format due to the fact such tables can support an unlimited number of players.
Since many people play against the house with the same player hand, the top-level progressive jackpot is mutual so to speak. The jackpot is network-shared for the respective table, accumulating from the side bets across numerous licensed casinos. Because of this, whenever the Royal Flush hits, the jackpot is distributed amongst all players who have made the side bet during the game round.
Meanwhile, progressive live Casino Hold’em awards its jackpot whenever the player’s hand forms a seven-card straight flush. There are smaller fixed prizes for other qualifying hands. The top prize is again shared between all players who participate in the action with side wagers. As an example, assuming that the progressive jackpot has reached $2 million and four players meet the winning criteria, each person would pocket the appetizing prize of $500,000.
Winning Criteria in Progressive Live Roulette
Live roulette tables with massive jackpots are even scarcer than progressive casino-banked poker variations but they do exist thanks to software suppliers like Playtech. Such roulette games have different winning criteria.
An additional 1% stake is added on top of your overall wagers at the live roulette table. The ceiling of this extra stake is $10 per round or the equivalent amount in other supported currencies. This percentage is deducted from the balance of all participating players as a contribution to the progressive pools.
Another essential thing here is that progressive jackpots in roulette are randomly awarded as becomes a game of independent trials. Players are randomly selected to play for the pot as long as they contribute to the prize pools. A new pop-up screen appears when this happens where you must match jackpot symbols to collect one of several progressive prizes.
Player Return and House Edge in Progressive Live Games
We understand that your mouth is probably already watering at the thought of winning a life-changing prize while playing against your favorite live dealer. Nevertheless, we advise you to exercise caution with live progressive games since they generally offer lower theoretical return percentages and yield considerably higher house edges.
This is to compensate for the mind-blowing prizes that drop in such games. Of course, the increased house edges result solely from playing the progressive side bets. If you refrain from posting them, the casino advantage in the main game coincides with that in conventional table games.
Side bets and their associated casino edges can easily drain your entire live casino budget, especially in progressive card games where you need the Royal Flush to win. If you are, perchance, wondering what the odds of obtaining this rare hand are, you better brace yourself.
According to gambling expert and mathematician Michael Shackleford, a Royal Flush occurs once per every 649,740 hands on average. Also important is the fact the casino-banked version of Caribbean Stud is a game of independent trials. Cards are reshuffled after every single round and outcomes are inevitably random. Thus, the elusive Royal Flush is never overdue since the cards have no memory. In other words, your chances of obtaining this hand do not increase with each played hand.
Because of this, it is generally recommended to go for the progressive prizes whenever the jackpots exceed their break-even value. The break-even point of live progressive games like Caribbean Stud is closely related to their paytables and seed values.
Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to this poker variant is that it carries a higher house edge (around 5%) to begin with, even without posting the optional side bet. Once the jackpot meter goes beyond its break-even point, your side bets will turn into positive EV wagers. The table below showcases the house edges in several commonly available live progressive games.
House Edges in Popular Live Progressive Games
| Name of Live Casino Game |
House Edges |
| Progressive Caribbean Stud |
- 1.81% on ante and call wagers
- 8.56% on bonus side bets
|
| Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker |
- 2.04% on ante bets in the main game (0.53% on total bets)
- 8.54% on bonus bets
- 18.16% on First 5 jackpot bets
|
| Casino Hold’em Jumbo 7 Jackpot |
- 2.16% on ante bets
- 6.26% on bonus side bets
- 18.36% on Jumbo 7 Jackpot bets
|
Must-Try Live Casino Games with Progressive Jackpots
We regret to inform readers there are but few live dealer games where one can play for the chance to win a progressive jackpot. These are mostly varieties of roulette and house-banked poker. Such games easily yield themselves to the progressive format because they support an unlimited number of players.
Below, we dish out some information about four commonly available live games linked to progressive jackpot networks. Feel free to try them at some of SuperCasinoSites’ recommended live casinos.
Casino Hold’em Jumbo 7 Jackpot
First 5 Jackpot Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
Age of the Gods Live Roulette
Caribbean Stud Poker
Casino Hold’em Jumbo 7 Jackpot
Casino Hold’em Jumbo 7 Jackpot comes straight from the Evolution Gaming studio, which also provides the seed amount for the progressive jackpot. The Jumbo 7 Jackpot seed at the staggering amount of $1 million, a privilege otherwise reserved solely for popular progressive slots like Microgaming’s Mega Moolah.
This makes it the biggest live casino jackpot in history, at least so far. You win the jackpot with a seven-card straight flush, consisting of the five community cards on the board and your two pocket cards.
These you share will all other players participating in the game. The progressive prize is distributed equally between all winners who have posted side bets. Other than that, there is also an additional Bonus side bet that pays according to the paytable showcased below.
Paytable for Bonus and Jumbo 7 Jackpot Side Bets in Progressive Casino Hold’em
| Bonus Bet | Jumbo 7 Jackpot Bet |
| Winning Hand | Payout | Winning Hand | Payout |
| Royal Flush | 100 to 1 | 7-Card Royal Flush | 100% of the Jackpot |
| Straight Flush | 50 to 1 | 6-Card Royal Flush | $5,000 |
| Quads | 40 to 1 | 5-Card Royal Flush | $250 |
| Full House | 30 to 1 | Quads | $50 |
| Flush | 20 to 1 | Full House | $5 |
| Trips or Two Pairs | 7 to 1 | Flush | $4 |
| Paired Aces | 7 to 1 | Straight | $2 |
First 5 Jackpot Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
First 5 Jackpot Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker is yet another fresh live game by Evolution Gaming that carries an immense winning potential. The game was launched in 2017 and became an immediate success among casino poker fans, largely due to the fact it seeds at $50,000. Not quite as impressive as the seed of Casino Hold’em Poker but still mouth-watering.
Similarly to Casino Hold’em, here we have a pair of exciting side wagers that qualify you either for enhanced payouts or for a portion of the shared progressive jackpot. Both are settled independently from the outcomes in the main game.
The payouts of the Bonus side wager depend on the player’s and the dealer’s hole cards as demonstrated in the table below. As for the progressive First 5 bet, it wins whenever the player forms one of the qualifying five-card poker hands listed in the paytable.
Paytables for Bonus Bet and First 5 Bet in Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
| Bonus Side Bet | First 5 Progressive Side Bet |
| Winning Hand | Payout | Winning Hand | Payout |
| A/A (Player & Dealer) | 1,000 to 1 | Royal Flush | 100% of the Jackpot |
| A/A (Player Hand) | 30 to 1 | Straight Flush | $2,500 |
| Suited A/K | 25 to 1 | Quads | $250 |
| Suited A/Q or A/J | 20 to 1 | Full House | $50 |
| Offsuit A/K | 15 to 1 | Flush | $25 |
| K/K, Q/Q, J/J | 10 to 1 | Straight | $10 |
| Offsuit A/Q or A/J | 5 to 1 | Trips | $3 |
| Paired deuces through 10s | 3 to 1 | – | – |
Age of the Gods Live Roulette
Players who are disinterested in casino-banked poker also get the chance to win big thanks to the renowned software supplier Playtech. The studio unveiled its bespoke Age of the Gods Live Roulette in September 2017 to great success.
This highly innovative live roulette variation made huge waves in the online gambling industry since it is linked to the same progressive network as the slots from the eponymous series. You can win one out of four progressive jackpots with the following seed values:
- Power Jackpot – $50
- Extra Power Jackpot – $500
- Super Power Jackpot – $5,000
- Ultimate Power Jackpot – $100,000
As for the winning criteria, there is nothing you can do, in particular, to boost your chances since all four pots are awarded at random. This can occur during any given round of play as long as you have enabled the jackpot contribution feature.
When activated, it automatically adds 1% to your stake, up to a maximum of $10 on each round. This amount goes toward the jackpot pools. For example, you will have $20.20 deducted from your balance if you post a $20 wager.
You are completely left to the mercy of Lady Luck here. If she smiles upon you, you will exit the main game and a pop-up window will appear on the screen, prompting you to uncover twenty hidden symbols. Your goal is to match three identical symbols to win their corresponding jackpot.
Caribbean Stud Poker
Fans of Stud Poker must definitely give this Evolution Gaming offering a try, especially if progressive jackpots are what they are after. One thing to keep in mind is that the 5+1 bonus wager gets activated once you post the ante.
Other than that, your goal is to beat the attractive live dealer with a higher-ranking five-card poker hand. The game uses a single deck that is automatically reshuffled before the start of each round. The live dealer qualifies with Ace/King or higher.
The 5+1 bet enables you to play for extra-large payouts but it is the Jackpot side wager that holds the key to winning the progressive jackpot. Again, you need to commit with an ante bet to activate the jackpot wager.
5+1 Bonus Bet and Progressive Jackpot Bet Payouts in Live Caribbean Stud Poker
| 5+1 Bonus Bet | Jackpot Side Bet |
| Winning Hand | Payout | Winning Hand | Payout |
| Royal Flush | 1,000 to 1 | Royal Flush | 100% of the Jackpot |
| Straight Flush | 200 to 1 | Straight Flush | $2,500 |
| Quads | 100 to 1 | Quads | $250 |
| Full House | 20 to 1 | Full House | $50 |
| Flush | 15 to 1 | Flush | $25 |
| Straight | 10 to 1 | Straight | $10 |
| Trips | 7 to 1 | Trips | $3 |
The biggest prize is naturally awarded for Royal Flushes as you can see above. As for the 5+1 bet, it wins whenever your five cards and the first exposed card of the live dealer form a qualifying hand (trips or better).
