Live dealer games: how live casino works, odds and variants

A live dealer game is a real casino table, run by a real dealer in a studio, filmed and streamed to your phone or computer. You place bets through a digital layout, the dealer deals or spins, and the result is read straight from the physical cards, wheel or dice. The rules and house edge match the standard game unless the variant changes the payouts, and the popular multiplier variants do exactly that.

How live casino works

A live casino round has the same moving parts at every major studio.

1. The studio. Tables sit in purpose-built studios with several cameras per table. Some tables are dedicated to a single operator and branded for it; most are shared by many casinos at once.
2. The dealer. A human dealer runs the game at normal casino speed, talks to players and reads out results. Dealers do not set the odds and cannot change the outcome.
3. The betting window. A countdown timer opens before each round. You place chips on the on-screen layout; when the timer reaches zero, bets lock and the dealer deals or spins. A late click does not count.
4. Reading the result. Studios use cameras and recognition technology to turn the physical cards, wheel or dice into data, and that data settles your bet automatically.
5. The stream. Video goes out over the internet, usually with a choice of quality settings. If your connection drops mid-round, the round still completes and your bet settles under the game's rules; check the help screen for what happens to decisions you had not made yet.

The main games

Blackjack

Classic live blackjack seats a fixed number of players, usually seven. When the seats are full, some tables let others "bet behind" a seated player. Evolution's live blackjack range includes Classic, Speed, VIP, Salon Privé, Free Bet and Power Blackjack, plus Infinite Blackjack, which offers "unlimited seats" by dealing one shared opening hand that every player then plays as they choose. Evolution lists four optional side bets on Infinite Blackjack (Any Pair, 21+3, Hot 3 and Bust It) and a Six Card Charlie rule.

Basic strategy still applies. With good rules (3:2 blackjack, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split allowed) the house edge is about 0.5%; a 6:5 payout adds about 1.4 percentage points. Side bets carry much higher edges than the main hand. See our blackjack guide for the full strategy.

Roulette

Live roulette comes in European (single zero), American (double zero) and auto-wheel formats, where a machine launches the ball without a dealer. Multiplier variants are the big growth area. In Lightning Roulette, launched by Evolution in 2018, between one and five Lucky Numbers are struck by lightning each round and given payouts between 50x and 500x. More on how that changes the maths below. Our roulette guide covers every bet.

Baccarat

Baccarat suits live play because players make no decisions after the bet. Evolution's baccarat range shows how far the variants go:

• Speed Baccarat completes each round in about 27 seconds, against about 48 seconds for the standard game.
• Baccarat Squeeze has the dealer slowly peel the cards for the bigger-bet hand, filmed by more than 15 cameras. In Control Squeeze, players peel the cards themselves on screen.
• Lightning Baccarat adds one to five random Lightning Cards a round with multipliers of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 8x, and charges a 20% Lightning Fee on your total bet.

Standard 8-deck baccarat edges: Banker 1.06%, Player 1.24%, Tie 14.36% at 8:1. Full rules in our baccarat guide.

Bets, payouts and house edge

How multiplier variants change payouts

Multipliers are not extra money from nowhere. The game takes value from somewhere else to pay for them.

Lightning Roulette is the clearest example. On a single-zero wheel a straight-up bet normally pays 35:1. Evolution states that non-multiplied straight-up bets pay 29:1. Without any multipliers, a 29:1 bet would return 30 units on 1 win in 37: an RTP of 30 ÷ 37 = 81.08%. The random Lucky Numbers, paying 50x to 500x, have to make up the rest. Evolution says all other bets, such as splits, corners, red/black and dozens, pay the same as standard roulette, so on our calculation they keep the same 2.70% edge as ordinary European roulette. The straight-up RTP depends on how often each multiplier appears, which Evolution's game page does not publish; the in-game help screen is the place to check it.

What this means in practice:

• On the standard-payout bets, your average cost does not change. On straight-up bets, the difference is mainly how the return is spread; check the stated RTP.
• Straight-up results become far more volatile. Most winning straight-up bets now pay less than usual, and a few pay much more.
• Fees work the same way. Lightning Baccarat's 20% fee is what pays for its Lightning Card multipliers.

Before playing any multiplier variant, open the help screen and read the RTP for the exact bet you plan to make.

The main studios

Evolution has run online live casino since 2006 and says its live offering spans more than 2,000 live tables and game show environments. Its compliance page lists licences from regulators including the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, the AGCO in Ontario, and gaming regulators in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. See Evolution.

Pragmatic Play Live says its live roulette is broadcast from its studio in Bucharest, according to Pragmatic Play. Its range includes Mega Wheel, Sweet Bonanza CandyLand, Mega Roulette, Blackjack X and Dragon Tiger. See Pragmatic Play.

Playtech Live names a flagship studio in Latvia, further studios in Romania, Spain, Peru and Brazil, and US studios in Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, plus a Las Vegas site with MGM Live, on its live product page. Playtech states an RTP of 99.55% for its Blackjack VZN tables. See Playtech.

Table limits

Every live table shows its minimum and maximum bet, and limits vary by table, by bet type and by operator. Limits often differ between bet types, and side bets usually have their own caps. Some games also cap the total you can win in one round; where there is a cap, the game rules state it. Check the limits panel before you sit down, and pick a table where your normal stake is near the minimum, not the maximum.

Etiquette

• Bet within the timer. The dealer will not wait.
• Keep chat polite and in the table's language. Chat is moderated, and abusive players can be muted.
• Do not ask the dealer for advice or to "change the shoe". Dealers follow fixed procedures.
• At blackjack, act promptly on your hand. If the timer runs out, the table applies a default action set out in its rules.
• Tipping, where offered, is optional.

RNG vs live

RNG versions use a certified random number generator instead of a physical table. They are faster, often have lower minimum bets, and usually offer demo play. Live games run at human speed, which means fewer rounds per hour and a lower hourly cost at the same stake. The house edge is set by the rules, not the format: identical rules mean an identical edge. RNG games can also come in different RTP versions, so check the info screen either way. For the wheel-based shows, see our guide to live game shows.

Where to play

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