Up until the early noughties, live casino gaming would be confined to spectators overseeing poker tables or fruit machines in clubs and bars. That all changed, of course, with the advent of the internet.
These days, live casino online games are available at the touch of a button on sites like Virgin Games. But in the early days of the live casino, only a handful of sites existed offering a limited range of, predominantly, card games.
Having said that, the premise hasn’t changed that much from the early innovators. Then, as now, it involved real dealers presiding over games that could be enjoyed in real-time by a worldwide audience.
But as the first decade of the noughties came to a close, the smartphone had evolved sufficiently to be able to sustain a live casino experience while on the go. But this wasn’t the only reason that live casino gaming became increasingly popular, now the games had live chat enabling real-time social interaction.
Over twenty years have passed since live chat transformed the way we play live casino games. And it’s not just games that involve chance, these days any game is, well, game.
From RPG to driving tournaments, you can get socially involved with virtually any game you care to mention. However, the principles of live gaming still revolve around three significant factors that are the backbone of the genre: the game, the audience, and the player(s).
In live casino games though, there is an additional element that arrives in the form of the dealer. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at live casino gaming.
Table of Contents
Setting the scene
The crucial factor here is that a bespoke studio can be dressed to add drama/tension to make watching the games even more enjoyable. Most live casino games are card-based -popular choices are Poker, Blackjack and Baccarat- but games like roulette, craps, and even Monopoly can be enjoyed live as well.
Obviously, the players or the audience aren’t physically present, so it’s down to the dealer to ramp up the atmosphere and the tension. In this respect, the dealer is more than just a person upholding the rules of play.
All you have to do is choose the game/platform you wish to observe and get stuck in. It’s down to you if you want to interact with your fellow audience members or just watch the game.
Playing the game
Some like to watch, others want to take part. If you want to play, you’ll need to choose a platform that you’ll already be familiar with.
Note, ‘familiar with’. It’s worth noting that diving straight into playing a live online game is seriously unwise.
Spend time watching as many live games as you need before committing to play. Do your research and never underestimate your opponents.
Live games are played for real money. Some of your opponents will be professional players i.e., they play for a living, so keep practicing until you’re one hundred present sure you’re ready.
When you’re ready, enter the virtual lobby of your platform, choose your game and, before transferring any money, read and learn the rules and the terms and conditions.
When play begins, watch the time as there will be a limit and, of course, enjoy your moment. Hopefully, the final step will be cashing out with your winnings…
Top Tips for Playing Live Casino Games
*Using your personal bank account to transfer funds is unwise as it makes your private details visible to unscrupulous operators. Use a digital wallet (like PayPal) but, best of all, use cryptocurrency.
If this is new to you there are a host of online sites that are more than happy to explain how it works. But the bottom line is that it’s dead easy, basically, you simply add funds into a wallet that turns your cash into crypto.
We don’t need to go into the semantics of blockchain technology here, save to say that your business with the casino in question is end-to-end encrypted. In layman’s terms, that means your transaction is 100% secure and you’ll be completely anonymous to the business in question.
*Have a secure broadband connection, because if your internet goes down during a game, you automatically lose. This means playing ‘on the go’ is seriously unwise, especially when you factor in that public wi-fi or 3/4/5G networks can be compromised to steal personal data.
*Last but by no means least, set a budget. The basic rule of ‘never play with more than you can afford to lose’ applies just as much to live games as online slots, say.
No one has ever lost a fortune by having the courage to walk away. Remember, online casinos are supposed to be fun, when it’s not, you’re done.