Live Dealer vs. Traditional Online Casino Games: What's the Difference
Live Dealer Games – A Casino Experience You Play Online
What you should know to start is that live dealer games are a type of online casino game. Yep—They are a type of games you play at your online casino of choice. If you desire something more authentic and similar to the experience, playing in front of a live casino dealer brings you as close as you're going to get to actually being in a casino from your home computer. But what sets them apart from standard online casino games? Let's establish the two before we proceed further.
Live Dealer vs. Online Casino Games
In most online casino games, you’re essentially playing a video game version of something you’d find in a physical casino—just in a digital format. At first glance, they may seem very similar. But look a little closer, and you’ll spot some key differences—mainly in how the game is played and how the experience is delivered through your screen.
Some games, like slots, were more inclined to be converted to the online world since they were already computerized. Others, like table games like blackjack and roulette, always relied on physical pieces. Converting them to the digital world was some extra work to replicate the process and maintain the illusion of playing with physical objects.
While some of the casino experience must inevitably be "lost in translation" when transferred to the internet, the loss is larger in games that originally were premised on physical elements—like cards, roulette wheels, or casino tables—than in software-based games that never did. Gamers value this distinction, even if they enjoy standard online games.
Live dealer games fill the gap.
A live dealer game is an online casino game which is overseen by a live human croupier. You can observe the dealer dealing the game in a private or public studio—or even a physical casino—over a live video feed. While your experience is virtual, the game itself—roulette, poker, blackjack, whatever—is dealt out in real time with real tables and cards. The aim is to make the online experience resemble as closely as possible a conventional brick-and-mortar casino.
Key Differences Between Live Dealer and Other Online Casino Games
Although some would say either format is superior to the other, both live dealer and standard casino games have their advantages. Let's have a look at their pros and cons in order to understand better what sets each apart.
Here are the essentials of the main differences between live dealer games and typical virtual casino games:
Live Dealer Games
- No RNG software: Live dealer games do not use random number generators (RNG) to generate results. Here, actual dealers deal cards, wheels, or chips, and sheer luck decides your destiny—just like in a real casino.
- Higher costs: Offering a live dealer experience is expensive. Studios, lighting, camera gear, dealer salaries—all of it costs money. This usually translates to higher minimum bets than RNG-based games.
- More interactive and social: Live dealer games bring a human element. Until AI can tell jokes or create festive settings on its own, live hosts are the only way available to replicate the social aspect of a real casino online.
- Dealer controls the tempo: Unlike computer games, in which you can slow or stop, live dealer games have predetermined time limits to keep the game moving smoothly.
- Tipping: Just like in traditional casinos, a few live dealer games let you tip your host after completing a round.
Traditional Digital Casino Games
- Software-based results: From online slots to roulette and poker, most games on the internet use RNG algorithms to generate results. These are honest and trustworthy, but others view the process as less exciting.
- Less costly: Software games are cheaper to run, so players find lower minimum stakes—sometimes even just a few cents per round.
- Fewer social interactions: Ordinary digital games are isolative. Even with multiplayer or chat options, the mood is typically less lively than in a live dealer game.
- Available 24/7: Software games don't need breaks. You can play at your own time. Even though live dealer games might be available 24/7, your favorite dealer won't be around all the time.
- You set the pace: With table games online, you set the pace. Delay your bets, step away, or do multiple things at the same time without disrupting the game.
- Faster action: If you don't have much time and wish to play many rounds in a single session, software games are for you. They are designed to give you fast gaming sessions, different from live dealer tables which are slower.
Choose the Right Casino Game for Your Purpose
And there you have it. Each of these two categories has its own unique experience with its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on what you are looking for. The better news? The most popular online casinos offer both, so you won't have to do either or. Experience both types, and judge for yourself which is best for you!