The introduction of live dealer games has been a major milestone in the history of the online gambling industry. Players worldwide are now capable of enjoying their favorite table games in a highly realistic environment that rivals the ambiance of brick-and-mortar casinos.
The experience is so authentic, many people never return to playing conventional RNG games once they have tried to take on the live dealers. Live games provide all the excitement of landbased casinos with the added benefit of being able to play them online from the comfort of your surroundings.
Live dealer games have plenty of advantages to offer and this statement is not a subject to debate. But as great as they are, live casinos are also associated with several cons that might put some players off. SuperCasinoSites weighs in the pros and cons of live gaming that could prove relevant when choosing live dealer games over their standard RNG-based counterparts.
Live Dealer Immersive Roulette Gameplay
How Live Dealer Tables Outbest RNG-Run Games
Live casinos are all the rage at the moment, which is not surprising given the numerous benefits they offer to players. From blackjack and baccarat to roulette and Sic Bo, live casinos cater to all gaming styles, budgets, and preferences. In the paragraphs to follow, SuperCasinoSites breaks down five of the biggest advantages of transitioning from RNG-based to live dealer games.
Authentic Experience in the Absence of Annoying Casino Goers
Socialization and Player Interaction
The Relaxed Pace of Play Saves You Money
Live Games Are Impossible to Rig
Broad Table Limits and Customization OptionsAuthentic Experience in the Absence of Annoying Casino Goers
Authenticity is one of the painfully obvious advantages of playing live casino games. These offer an enhanced experience since you get to watch as the games are being conducted by human dealers in unique settings.
Professionally Trained Dealers
Everything about these games is real. You have real people shuffling the packs, dealing the cards or spinning the roulette wheels, just like it is in any landbased gaming venue around the world. Perhaps more importantly, all newly recruited dealers undergo in-depth training, which enables them to provide a highly professional service.
Multi-Angle View of the Tables
Multiple HD cameras are implemented, giving players a closer look at the live tables from different angles. The live action is usually streamed from dedicated studio facilities although it is also possible to find streams from some of the most sumptuous landbased casinos in the world, including the likes of the Ritz Club in London and the Maltese Dragonara Casino.
Round-the-Clock Access
Just like in a landbased casino, there are shifts and dealer rotations, with pit bosses and shift managers supervising all that is happening on the gaming floor. Players have round-the-clock access to the authentic live tables. You can join the dealers on any device of your choice since live casinos are normally cross-compatible.
No Traveling Expenses and Noisy Patrons
Additionally, live games are not associated with any extra costs for the players. There is no need to travel to a landbased casino or pay for accommodations. But it gets better because you are spared from having to endure the quirks of other patrons who spill their drinks, blow smoke in your face or dispute your playing decisions. It is just you and your friendly dealer manning the table.
Socialization and Player Interaction
There is no arguing playing against the Random Number Generator is a solitary experience one can easily grow tired of. This is not the case where live dealer games are concerned. Players will benefit from a more social gaming experience.
Interaction via the Chat Facility
All live casinos feature an in-built IM functionality that furthers the interaction between players. You can say hello to everyone at the table, discuss the gameplay, exchange tips, and congratulate fellow players on their good runs.
The chat feature also enables you to converse with the dealers who are always happy to engage in friendly banter with players or answer rule-related questions. Each username has a designated color which makes it easier for the dealers to track the conversation and take part in the discussions. The dealers read players’ messages on their monitors and reply verbally.
Socializing in Your Native Language
Furthermore, the live chat is not restricted only to English-speaking players. The largest live casino platforms offer tables with native-speaking dealers who can converse fluently in different languages. Language is never a barrier since some platforms support as many as thirty languages, including Japanese, Spanish, Italian, French, Swedish, and more. Tipping the dealers for the high-quality service is sometimes an option, further adding to your gaming experience.
Chat Etiquette
As fun as bantering with the live dealers is, online players are required to follow certain rules of etiquette when using the chat facility. Refrain yourself from making any sexual innuendos, using explicit language or blaming them if you experience a bad streak. Respect the dealers and remember they are just doing their job. Remember the chat is monitored and being disrespectful can get you banned from using the feature.
The Relaxed Pace of Play Saves You Money
Another thing that distinguishes live-streamed games from their RNG counterparts is the more relaxed pace of play the former offer. While players accustomed to greater dynamics often frown at this, playing at a slower pace is beneficial since it saves you money in the long run.
Betting Timers
Most live casino games feature timers that count down how many seconds you have left until the tables close for betting. Depending on the table, players usually have between 45 and 25 seconds but the exact timeframes vary between platforms and live tables. Such timers are usually incorporated at live tables designed to accommodate an unlimited number of players. The faster you play, the quicker the house edge will grind down on your bankroll.
Manual Shuffling
And vice versa, the more relaxed pace of live dealer games means you play fewer hands per hour, which leads to smaller hourly losses for the player. Also, the dealers at some live tables shuffle the decks manually which causes a natural pause in the gameplay further decreasing the pace of the action.
Then again, some people simply prefer the slower gameplay because they find it more engaging. Betting in RNG games often becomes automatic and monotonous causing players to quickly lose interest.
Live Games Are Impossible to Rig
Although RNG-based games are subjected to regular independent audits, some players continue to question their fairness, especially if they happen to lose several hands or rounds in a row. You are spared from having such doubts when playing at a live casino because all the action is unfolding in real-time before your very eyes.
No Room for Frauds
You can observe all aspects of the gaming experience including the reshuffling procedures, the dealing of the cards, and the release of the ball onto the roulette wheel. Live dealer games are offered by the biggest and most reputable gambling operators in the industry, which can be explained with the additional operational costs associated with this format.
Game Identification Numbers
Every single round of play is monitored and saved within the database of the live casino to check in the future for potential dealer errors or misplayed hands. Each round has its unique identification number that reflects when a hand has been played in terms of hour, minute, and second. If you suspect any foul play, you can contact the live casino’s support and use this number for reference. This way, they can immediately check for any potential errors.
Broad Table Limits and Customization Options
Many gaming buffs simply cannot afford to gamble at landbased casinos because of the higher table limits. Take blackjack, for example. The minimum you can bet at many landbased blackjack tables in Las Vegas or Atlantic City is $5 although it can jump to $25 or even $100 in some games. You will struggle to find a $3 table at best.
Low Table Minimums
This is not the case online as the majority of live casinos allow customers to play for nominal amounts. You will not struggle for long before you find live tables where you can wager as little as $0.50 per round. Of course, some RNG-based games offer even lower minimums but playing $0.50 per hand at a relaxed pace can fit into most gamblers’ budgets.
High Maximums for Large-Scale Players
The upper limits are just as flexible and can easily appease the betting appetites of large-scale players. It is not unheard of to come across tables where you can risk as much as $10,000 on a single hand. There are live tables exclusively dedicated to VIP customers who crave more action.
Join the Action whenever You Like
On top of that, you can join a table whenever you like as long as there are vacant seats. This is not the case in many landbased casinos where blackjack players have to wait until after the reshuffle to join the game due to the “No mid-shoe entry” rule.
Customization
Live casino platforms offer players multiple options for customization, allowing them to tailor the gameplay to their individual preferences. Apart from being able to choose between European and Asian dealers in some cases, you can adjust the quality of the live stream according to your connection’s specifications. Players can also choose from different camera angles or save their favorite bets or combinations of bets for quick access during future sessions.
The Other Side of the Coin - Cons of Playing Live Dealer Games
As appealing and authentic as live dealer games are, they are not entirely devoid of cons. Some online players consider the aspects described below disadvantageous. If one or more of them are essential for you, live dealer games are probably not the optimal gaming option for you.
Poorer Range of Available Games
Advantage Play is Next to Impossible
Free Play Is Largely Not an Option
Lags and Interruptions
Limited Capacity at Some TablesPoorer Range of Available Games
Live dealer casinos mostly provide traditional versions of classic table games such as blackjack, poker, baccarat, and roulette. While it is true you get to choose from different table settings, the selection of live games is significantly poorer. Most of the table games abide by the standard set of rules so you can forget about playing exotic variations against the live dealers.
Unorthodox Rules Are Exclusive to RNG Games
By contrast, you can choose from numerous unorthodox RNG variants that offer unexpected twists to make the gameplay more interesting. Options like Pinball Roulette, Blackjack Switch, and Duel Blackjack are available solely in the RNG format. If you crave diversity and unconventional rules, live dealer games are probably not the optimal option for you.
Advantage Play is Next to Impossible
Players who are familiar with online gambling know that it is impossible to beat the Random Number Generator. Each outcome in randomly-generated games is entirely independent of the rest so using advanced techniques like card counting or exploiting biased wheels is completely out of the question.
Frequent Dealer Rotations
The bad news is the same can be said about live dealer games. Advantage play is possible in theory but does not yield any satisfactory results against the live dealers in practice. Live casinos take all the necessary precautions to prevent players from exploiting their games.
All the equipment at the live roulette tables is regularly inspected for imperfections that could interfere with the randomness of the results. The frequent dealer rotations hinder players from picking up on what is known as the dealer’s signature. The wheels are sometimes spun in alternating directions as an additional precaution against detecting potential patterns.
Bad Penetration
Card games like blackjack that are otherwise exploitable offer poorer playing conditions in live casinos. Penetration is terrible as fewer decks (less than half of the shoe in some cases) are dealt before the live dealer reshuffles. This way, it is impossible to generate sufficient EV that could overcome the built-in house edge.
Continuous Shufflers
On top of that, an increasing number of live tables use continuous shufflers. The dealers feed the discards back into the shuffling machines every round so you can entirely abandon the idea of counting cards to your advantage in such games. This is the equivalent of playing blackjack against an RNG, the only difference being a human is dealing the cards for you.
Free Play Is Largely Not an Option
As we previously mentioned, live casino games are associated with higher operational costs. Everything here, from training the staff and paying the dealers’ salaries to the equipment maintenance, costs money, which is not the case where RNG games are concerned.
Free Play Gives You a Good Feel about the Games
This is the main reason why trying the live game for free with virtual demo credits is largely not an option. This is not the case with RNG-based games, all of which (bar those with progressive jackpots) are available for free. Free play is essential for many players because it enables them to try the games and get a proper feel of the gameplay.
Real-Money Accounts
The only way to join the live dealers is to sign up with a real-money account, head to the cashier menu, and fund your balance. This is but a minor inconvenience, though, since minimum deposits at most live casinos are as low as $10. This nominal amount would suffice for you to test the live games at tables with low minimums of $0.20 or $0.50 per round.
Lags and Interruptions
Streaming casino games live in HD quality can be a double-edged sword at times. If your Internet connection is not reliable or stable enough, you are guaranteed to suffer annoying lags and interruptions. Needless to say, this is a major put-off for some players and can completely ruin their online gaming experience.
Disconnection during a Game Round
On a more positive note, if a player gets disconnected during a round, the bets they have placed previously remain valid and are settled in their absence. Once you connect back to the Internet, you can check the outcomes in the History section of the gaming interface.
Optimal Speeds
Live games are demanding namely because they are streamed in real-time. This is not the case with YouTube videos, for instance, which play smoothly once they load entirely. As for the optimal connection speed, it depends on the live casino platform’s compression but you ideally need speeds of 1 Mbps or higher to enjoy a decent stream in HD.
Limited Capacity at Some Tables
RNG games are capable of supporting unlimited players simultaneously but this is not always the case in some live casino games, particularly blackjack. Most live blackjack tables offer up to seven vacant seats. If all of them are occupied by other players, you will have to wait for a while until someone leaves and vacates a seat.
Solution 1 – Betting Behind
There are two solutions to this problem, the first one being the option to bet behind players who are currently seated at the table. This feature allows you to place bets on the hands dealt to other players. You share the outcome of the other person’s hand. The other player makes the hitting and standing decisions for the hand but you can decide whether to double down, split, accept or decline insurance.
Solution 2 – Live Tables for Unlimited Players
You will experience no such issues if you play games like baccarat, roulette, casino-banked poker, and Sic Bo that support an unlimited number of players by default. As for live blackjack, we suggest you look for variations with unlimited seats. One of the most popular options from this category is Infinite Blackjack by Evolution Gaming.
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Find the answers of questions people asked so far:
Can some of the issues of Live Casino games be resolved with the latest innovations in the iGaming industry?
Yes. Some of the factors listed above as the lacking points of Live Casinos have already been dealt with, offering players a better casino experience. If the lack of table games with more unusual rules was one of the downfalls of Live Casinos a few years ago, nowadays Live Casino lobbies of major software providers offer multiple classic table games and quite a few variations of baccarat, roulette, and blackjack with bonus games, special features, multipliers, and side bets. What is more, live-dealer providers have started adding slots, game shows, and other unusual games into their portfolios, allowing players to explore a wide range of eclectic Live Casino options.
While it is true that Live Casino games cannot be played for free in a fun mode, many casinos will allow you to launch any game even if you do not have a sufficient amount of money in your bankroll. That way, you can watch as the game is played in real-time and check the way bets are placed, the speed of each betting round, as well as all possible outcomes. All of that can help you get a general idea of the gameplay of most live-dealer games online.
Some Live Casino games are played at a rather fast pace and I am having trouble adjusting to the tempo, which has caused losing bets without even being able to track them. Should I stick to RNG games?
Players who are still new to Live Casino entertainment might be overwhelmed at first, with many live-dealer games being played faster than RNG games. Since you are rarely the only player who has joined the live table or game show, you will need to make your bet decision within the given betting time. However, you should not feel pressured to bet on every single round as you can continue to watch the game even if you are not participating in the betting session.
If you need more time to adjust to the pace of the game, you can opt for placing a bet every now and then until you are used to the gameplay. Make sure that you have not triggered any auto-bet feature as it can be difficult to keep track of your wagers if you are still not fully aware of the way the live-dealer game is played. You can always check videos of certain games online and watch the gaming experience of expert Live Casino players. That can also help you adjust quicker to the faster pace of live-dealer games.