Live Dealer Guide
For a long time, casino players were divided between their preference for online casinos and brick-and-mortar or live ones, as each option offers players a unique casino experience. You could use real people rolling the dice and shuffling the cards, or computer software, which does the same thing using Random Number Generator technology. But with the addition of the live dealer option, online casinos now have the potential to feel just like your neighborhood casino.
In our casino, live dealers are real people who work in a casino studio, operating various casino gaming stations. They run the casino table games the exact same way they would in a brick and mortar casino, but with the live dealer component, the action is filmed and streamed online in real time. At this moment, we have two casino versions of each of the following three games: Live Dealer Blackjack, Live Dealer Roulette and Live Dealer Baccarat. With this guide, we’ll explain how these live dealer games differ from the standard online versions of the games.
What’s Casino Live Dealer?
A live dealer casino uses a land-based studio with real people who operate the casino games manually. Everything is filmed with cameras and streamed online in real time. Your game decisions appear on screen just like they would with regular online casino games; however, you get to interact with the casino dealer and other casino players as you play.
The Difference Between Online Casino and Live Dealer
The biggest difference between online casino gaming and Live Dealer gaming is the human element. With regular online gaming, you’re up against computer software, so you’re playing solo. Most of our online games use Random Number Generator technology to determine the outcomes of the dice rolls and the cards that are dealt. But with live dealer casino games, you’re connected with a real person who manually deals the cards while chatting with the casino players.
In addition to getting to chat with the dealer, you can also talk with other players sitting at the table through a text box, what a bonus. And in the case of Blackjack, you can back bet the action of other players, which is a great advantage when they’re experiencing a win streak, or if the table is simply full, but you want to get in on some bonus casino action.
Why Play Live Dealer?
There are many benefits to playing Live Dealer casino games over regular online ones, including the social aspect, the extra features, and getting to play games that are exclusive to the Live Dealer Casino.
Social Aspects
When you play a Live Dealer casino game, it feels like you’re part of a social event. The casino dealer greets you by name and other players may engage with you through the text box. With the Live Dealer version of our games, you get to play with others included in the game, as opposed to playing independently as you would with the online casino version of the game.
Bonus Betting Features
Live dealer casino games include features that the regular games don’t have—especially with Blackjack. For one, with certain games of Blackjack, you can muck your hand early in exchange for an “early payout,” which is much more interesting than just the standard Surrender option. Another feature that can be just as beneficial if used at the right time is the back betting option. Back betting is betting on another player; you match their bets and win and lose alongside them. Just be sure that you like their playing style before beginning to back bet because you can’t get your money back if you disagree with any of their decisions.
Certain bets become available in the Live Dealer version of games. For example, with Live Dealer Blackjack, there are two betting options under the Main Bet circle: Pairs and Rummy. A Pairs side bet pays when you’re dealt two cards of equal rank off the initial deal. It pays 11:1. A Rummy side bet pays 9:1 when your initial two cards plus the Dealer’s up card form a Rummy, which is accomplished in one of three ways:
• Three matching suits. Ex. 4s,7s,Js
• Three cards of equal rank. Ex. 2s,2h,2c
• Three cards that form a straight. Ex. 9c,10s,Jh
Exclusive Game Options
One game that is offered only in the Live Dealer section of the casino is Super 6, which is essentially Baccarat with five bonus side bets and a different payout structure for Banker wins. We’ll cover the difference between standard Baccarat and the Super 6 version in the Super 6 section below.
The Live Dealer Etiquette
Whenever real people are involved in a casino gaming session, etiquette comes into play. Since you’re able to chat with the Live Dealer and other players, we ask everyone to keep the conversations friendly and respectful. If someone abuses other players or the casino dealers through the chat box, their privileges will be revoked.
Tipping is an option with Live Dealers. While not obligatory, you may choose to tip dealers by selecting the appropriate chip denomination for the tip and then clicking or tapping on the tip box on the table. The casino Dealer will thank you by name.
Live Dealer Casino Games
At this point in time, we have four types of table games included in our Live Dealer Casino. Learn a bit about each game to find out the best one for you.
Blackjack
When you play online Blackjack, live dealer versions of the game offer new opportunities for betting. We have both an Early Payout Blackjack and a standard one. As mentioned, the Early Payout version lets you forfeit your hand early in exchange for an unknown payout. The value of the payout depends on the strength of your mucked hand vs. the Dealer’s up card, and it can be greater or lower than your stake. You won’t know what it is until you receive it.
Any beginner Blackjack players will benefit from playing Live Dealer Blackjack with Early Payouts, as this version offers directions on how to play each hand optimally. Every time you receive a card, the optimal move (according to basic strategy) will be highlighted. There’s no need to adhere to it, as you may prefer to go with your gut instincts. The choice is yours.
Roulette
Choose between American and European Roulette when you play Live Dealer Roulette at Ignition Casino. The American version of the game comes with a wheel that contains 0, 00 and numbers 1 to 36; the European version has just the 0 and numbers 1 to 36. All the same bets offered in our online versions of Roulette are also available in the live dealer version. What a bonus- the ability to play different versions of roulette table games.
Baccarat
Live Dealer Baccarat has the same basic premise as our online punto banco version of Baccarat. Place a bet on the Banker, the Dealer, or a tie, and then watch the Dealer distribute two cards to each side, and depending on the scores, potentially deal a third card to conclude the round. The side with the higher score (the maximum score possible being 9 points) wins, and if you bet on them at the start of the round, you win too.
One new addition to the Live Dealer version of Baccarat is the Dragon Bonus bet, which provides players the opportunity to win up to 30X their bet. To win the bet, the side you choose to wager on (Banker or Player) must win the hand by landing a Natural (8 or 9 points off the initial two-card deal), or must win by a margin of 4 or more points. The wider the win margin, the greater the payout, with the top payout (30:1) coming from a 9-point win margin.
Super 6
Like Baccarat, Super 6 also offers the Dragon Bonus side bet, which is one of five bonus bets offered in this Baccarat twist. The other side bets include: Player Pair, Banker Pair, Either Pair and Super 6. The Pair side bets pay when the initial two-card hands are of equal rank (ex. Js,Jh), with Player and Banker Pair bets paying 11:1 and the Either Pair side bet paying 5:1.
The Super 6 side bet complements the unique payout structure of Super 6. If you’ve played Baccarat before, you’re probably used to the Banker paying even money minus a 5% commission, but with Super 6, the Banker pays even money (no commission) except for when the Banker wins with a score of 6—in which case you get paid 50% of your bet. This is where the Super 6 side bet comes in: When the Banker wins with 6 points, the side bet pays 12:1.
Since debuting a couple of years ago, the live dealer experience has reinvented how we gamble online. It offers players yet another way to play online casino games from the comfort of home. If you’ve ever felt that your online gaming sessions have lacked a social element, give the live dealer versions of your favorite table games a try; the live dealer (for real money) versions might just become your new favorite way to play online casino games.
