In our guide to playing live dealer casino games, we’ll cover the best live online casinos, popular games, advantages to playing live & more!
Here are our favourite live dealer online casinos in Australia:
A live dealer casino is exactly what it sounds like – a section in an online casino in which you can interact with a real dealer, who is dealing real cards or spinning a real wheel. If you’re craving the experience and interaction of a physical brick-and-mortar casino, this is the place for you.
Typically, when you enter an online casino and drop into a game, you’re seated at a virtual table with flashy graphics, and at the mercy of a random number generator (RNG) to deal your cards, spin your wheel, etc. When you enter a live dealer casino game, you’ll see a real-life table or wheel with a real dealer standing behind it.
Using the chat function, you can interact with the dealer, allowing you to banter and watch in real-time, exactly as you would in a physical casino.
Mimics the atmosphere of land based casinos
Real time interaction with real dealers and other players
Wide range of games and bets
More exciting and engaging than some online casino games
High-quality streaming and immersive experience
Requires high speed internet connection
Some games are only available at certain times
Higher minimum stakes than some other table games
More distraction from background noise, dealer and other players
Slower gameplay
Playing live dealer casino games is easy, but the exact process might differ a bit depending on which game you’re playing. So, let’s look at the process of joining a live table where you play roulette or blackjack since these are the most commonly played games.
Also, keep in mind that most live dealer casino games have an in-game chat. Through this, you can communicate with the dealer as well as with other players. Participating in the chat makes the whole experience much more social and engaging.
How you can win when playing live dealer games is a tricky question, as it all depends on the game you’re playing. Some live dealer casino games are skill-based games, like blackjack and various poker versions. Then, some games are completely chance-based.
To find out exactly how to win in any given live game, check our in-depth game guides. There you’ll find out how to play each specific game, and you’ll also find some tips and tricks from our game experts.
Since live casino isn’t one game, but rather a way to play games, there is no one strategy that’s universal for all live dealer titles. However, just the fact that the game is played in this format gives you some advantages. Let’s look at some strategies and tips that can help you while playing against a live dealer.
Most live dealer casino games come with live statistics. These allow you to see the results in past game rounds, and this can be a great benefit. You can easily see hot and cold results, like specific numbers on a roulette wheel or the typical result for the dealer while playing blackjack.
These stats are especially beneficial to have when you play using a betting strategy, which brings us to our next point.
Using a betting strategy is possible for almost all types of table games, and it’s extra advantageous when having the game statistics easily available. Since you can see what the previous results were, you can easily see what the next bet should be. Some examples of betting strategies you might want to try include Martingale, Fibonacci, Oscar’s Grind, and D’Alembert.
Just remember that most of these strategies work best when you use more or less even-money bets. So, roulette (outside bets), blackjack, and baccarat are games where you can use this strategy.
Whenever you’re playing a new casino game it’s always advisable to try the game for free first. Unfortunately, live dealer casino games are not available in free-play mode. So if you’re looking to try a new strategy or learn the game rules, you should try to find the game as an RNG game first.
RNG games are games played on a machine, where all results are decided by a random number generator. This might be a less exciting way to play, but at least, it’s for free so you can practise a bit before betting real money in the live casino.
Many of the games are available as both RNG and live games at online casinos. For example, classic blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and most poker types can be played with the same rules both live and on a machine. This is why free RNG demo play is a good way to start off your journey, although the ultimate goal is to play with a live dealer.
Furthermore, some live dealer games let you watch the game for free, and this can also be a good way to learn the game. You can’t bet, but you can watch other players and learn from how they bet and play the game. This is the closest you’ll get to free live dealer casino games.
If you want to play live dealer games, you can get started in just a matter of minutes. Follow this easy step-by-step guide to get going.
Step one is to find an online casino that offers live dealer games. At the top of this page, you’ll find all the recommended Australian online casinos that offer this game category. Choose the casino you prefer by clicking the ‘Play Now’ button.
Once you’re at the casino’s website, you need to create an account by registering as a user. Fill in your name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, and gender. You must also pick a password. Once that’s done, verify your email address and your account will be activated.
Head to the promotions page and find a bonus that’s available for live casino games. Read the bonus terms carefully to ensure that wagering on live dealer casino games contributes to the bonus turnover. If a bonus code is required, copy it so you can use it when depositing.
On the cashier’s page, choose a deposit method and the amount you wish to deposit. Also, fill in the bonus code you copied or noted on the promotions page. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to complete your payment.
Once your deposit and bonus are credited to your account, you can head to the live casino, usually found in a separate tab. Scroll through the selection to see what’s available, or search for your favourite game in the search box. Then, start the game and join the live action.
Boosting your bankroll with a bonus is a great way to get more for your money when you’re playing at an online casino. But, before you claim just any bonus, you need to make sure that it’s made to be used for live dealer casino games. Because most casino bonuses are primarily made to be used for online pokies.
Some casinos will let you play live dealer games with a standard bonus, but if so, special terms will apply. Live games will typically not contribute 100% towards the wagering requirement. More on this in a minute…
There are also casinos that have special bonuses made exclusively for live dealer games. These can be exclusive free chips that can only be used at a live table, or free cash tied to a special game show game. It’s also common to get exclusive live casino cashbacks on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
The best live casino operators will have a vast selection of various bonuses you can use when you’re playing live dealer games.
The wagering requirement tells you how many times you need to play through your bonus (and sometimes deposit) before your bonus funds are converted into real cash that you can withdraw. Typically, it will be 35x your bonus or 30x your deposit and the bonus. Those are the standard requirements for casino bonuses.
However, there is also something called bonus weighting, or bonus contribution. This tells you how large a portion of your bet is counted towards the wagering requirement. And for live dealer casino games, this is less lucrative than for online pokies.
Most often, it’s only online pokies that contribute 100% towards a wagering requirement. Live dealer casino games are sometimes completely excluded, but they can also contribute with a lower percentage. How much depends on the game.
Often, roulette and blackjack will contribute something between 10% and 25%, while game shows might contribute 50%. Then, you might find that baccarat or certain versions of poker contribute as little as 5% or 10%. All casinos have different rules for this, so make sure that you check the bonus contribution table before you start betting.
In the case of a pure live casino bonus, then live dealer games might contribute 100% towards the wagering requirement. But in such cases, the wagering requirement can be as high as 100x or even 300x your bonus.
While there are options to play online casino games for free, there is no free version of live dealer games. This is mainly due to the fact that you need a seat at the table in order to participate, and the studios don’t want players who do not bet real money to take up the spots that real money players could have gotten. Therefore, you need real money in your balance to partake in a live dealer game.
Yes, most online casinos offer live dealer games on mobile, but we suggest connecting to Wi-Fi when possible, to strengthen your internet connection and avoid draining data limits. A game that lags is never fun to play, but this is even more the case when you’re in fact playing via a live stream.
The most common games we’ve found are baccarat, roulette, blackjack, and various poker versions. With the growing popularity of live dealer casino games, games like Sic Bo and craps are being added as options. Finding live bingo online in Australia is rare, but versions do exist.
Live dealer games at safe regulated casino sites are legitimate and safe. In fact, when you play live you can see all that goes on at the table or in the game, including the manual shuffling of cards. Besides, you play alongside many other players, so for each game round there is someone who wins, which makes it completely impossible for the casino to cheat.
Yes, there are casinos that offer bonuses that can only be used in the live casino. You might get free chips, free money, cashbacks, and match deposit bonuses. But, the most common bonus is a standard casino bonus that can be used for multiple different games. Just check the wagering contribution table to see if the bonus can be used to play live dealer games or not.
Similarly, to instant-play games, games like live blackjack and baccarat tend to have the best odds. That said, there are also bets in roulette and mega wheel games which have near-even odds. Keep in mind that different versions of the games have different house edges, so check this in the game rules for every new game you play.
If your live stream is lagging, pixelated or distorted in some way, there is likely a problem with your Wi-Fi connection. Luckily, most live dealer games have the option to lower the resolution in case you have a weak connection. Some games even do this automatically when they notice that your internet is not as fast or stable as what’s required for optimal gameplay.
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