Every game you play online relies on coders – lovely, loving, and harmless nerds who understand numbers and can make games work.
This even applies when the “front end” of a game – the bit you see – appears to be completely human run.
And this brings us to live casino games!
Live games have boomed in recent years, and are now ubiquitous in the online casino world. Almost every site of every size has some sort of live casino in 2021, and players are obviously going all-in on these games that mix an internet connection with traditional casino games (and some innovative newcomers) to deliver a hybrid experience that you can’t get enough of.
Let’s open up the hatch and take a look at Live Casino Software.
What is Live Casino Software?
We’re not going to get too technical here, but it is possible to get more into this subject if you are interested. An interesting way to do that is to visit the websites of companies that make live casino software – that way you understand how those companies see the end-user, essentially as part of the product of the game. It’s eye-opening.
The live casino software is the machinery that makes a live casino game possible.
As far as the customer is concerned it is the interface between them and the game.
This means that it is how the player interacts with the game and communicates the many many decisions that any player must make during most gambling games.
We cannot cover in detail here every possible live casino software set-up, but we will look at a fairly typical one.
An example of a live roulette casino software
We looked at an example from Evolution Gaming, using one of their Instant Roulette Games – in part because these games take the human interaction largely out of the equation.
The screen is divided into two: at the top is the filmed action, this is based in a remote studio and it may feature casino staff. It may be multi-angle or feature animations or other special effects too.
At the bottom of the screen is the section that the player uses to make their decisions. This is done via a mouse click on a desktop or via a tap if you’re using a touch screen or mobile.
The screen features a control panel at the left that allows the player to open a chat window if they would like to talk with other players.
Under this is a balance total and a bet total.
In the rest of the bottom half of the screen is a full roulette betting board.
In the centre is the “inside” part of the board, where you can pick out individual numbers, the three dozens, low and high, red and black, and odds and evens.
To the right is another set of betting options, showing the specialist bets in this game (French roulette) which are based on runs of numbers on the actual reel.
At the top of the screen are a number of shortcuts to chat, changing camera angles, the sound, and the usual cog control that allows you to set up other options. You can click at the very top right to set the game to a full-screen display.
Playing live casino games for free
It is hard to practice on the live casino software. Because they use staff to deliver the experience, live casino games are more expensive to run and are rarely found in free offers or with a demo mode.
You can get around this by heading to YouTube and searching for the game you are interested in playing and seeing if there is a video of the game in action. Most of the big slots companies have YouTube channels and upload videos of their games in action, and there is also a healthy number of players who film their game play.
Less healthy on YouTube (apart from the often toxic comment sections) are channels that promise you “ways to win”.
There is no system that will get around a single fact at the heart of all gambling games: they are random. Systems and random events don’t compute, so stay away from anyone offering you guaranteed tricks or tactics to win live casino games.
You can also play something very like live casino software by picking out an RNG version of the game you want to play. RNG stands for Random Number Generator and it’s simply a shortcut for a computer simulation of a casino game.
Most live casino games follow standard sets of rules and it should be a relatively similar experience to the live game. You can almost always find a version of an RNG casino game that you can set on demo mode, or that you can use at a review site – after stating that you are of an age to gamble.
What is a live casino lobby?
Live casino games are often chosen via a lobby.
This is just jargon that has travelled from the real world to the online world. Really, it’s just a visual menu.
A casino lobby is often full of slots games, and bingo lobbies are full of bingo games, so live casino games are full of live casino games, usually divided by game title or broader game types.
Because live casino games run to timetables and cannot all run all the time you will have a choice of “tables” or wheels at which you want to play.
Usually, a lobby will give you a menu that allows you to select a particular game or family of games.
Then, it will show a series of game tiles for each type of that game: for example, roulette games will list American roulette tables, or tables linked to particular casinos, often with a choice of a number of different tables. Some lobbies carry the latest games stats, and almost all will show you how many players are sitting at the table. Each tile should also give you an option to read more about the game.
Live casino software for specific games
Games come in all shapes and sizes, but the majority of live casino games – as you’d expect – have taken their cues from the games in real-life casinos.
These games are, in a vague order of popularity:
Live casino Roulette software
Roulette is a spinning wheel game and it is the most popular casino game. Roulette is filmed for live casinos with a real wheel – or several – and players make bets on a computer mock-up of a roulette betting board that splits bets into the higher risk gambles into single numbers or small groups of them (called inside bets) and the lower risk bets on larger groups of numbers, like half the board, or dozens, that are on the outside of the board.
There are different wheels: the European and French game have one zero and the American wheel has two, immediately improving the house edge.
And there are different betting conventions, rules, and rituals, with the French game adding several extra bets and also including a rule that allows players to reclaim some of the stakes from some lost bets.
There are also some gameplay styles that are unique to online live play, for example, the instant roulette game we mentioned above, which films many reels spinning, in turn, to keep the game going with no breaks.
Unlike blackjack where players use a deck of cards and play against a dealer, there isn’t a practical limit on the number of players who can play at each wheel so large numbers of players can play at once.
Please read the rules on the roulette casino software you are using.
Live casino Blackjack software
Blackjack is the world’s favourite casino card game. Blackjack is a totals game played by individual players against a dealer. The aim of the game is to get as close to 21 as possible without exceeding that number and “going bust”. If the dealer gets closer than the player, the dealer wins. Most bets in blackjack pay out at 1:1, with blackjacks – a “perfect” total of 21 in two cards – sometimes playing double that.
The game is simple but offers very good value to players. It is easy to learn but has quite a lot of tactical and decision making sophistication. Card counting is a technique whereby blackjack players keep an account of which cards have been dealt from the shoe (a wooden holder holding all the cards from the decks in play) and use this knowledge to increase their chances of winning.
Blackjack software also comes in a number of rule variants and it can also be played in a number of presentational styles. Rule variants – which can be unique to a particular casino or area, or expand into branded variants of the game, which has several international versions – often focus on how the dealer must behave, when players can increase their bets, and whether or not players can split pairs of cards with the same value in order to play two separate hands.
Blackjack is limited. Traditionally there are seven seats at a blackjack table, but a live casino site may be able to offer more. Live casinos often offer the chance to “bet behind” or sit behind a player and wager on how they do in the game.
Live casino Baccarat software
The last of the most popular three casino games is baccarat.
It is similar to blackjack in that it is a totals game played against a dealer, with the dealer and the players trying to get as close as possible to an ideal hand, in this case, a points score of nine.
Players can bet on the dealer to win, on the player to win, or on the hand to be tied.
It’s really very simple but has won a reputation as being super sophisticated. It has achieved though enormous popularity in East Asia where many of the games frills were shaved off to deliver a sleek, fast gambling experience that players value for its flow and for its good value for players – consistently betting for the bank to win is probably the best value bet in live casino play.
Baccarat also has rule variants – Banque, punto banco or American, and Chemin de Fer – and it has related games, like Dragon Tiger, and presentational options, including variants on the Squeeze, as the dealer’s teasing practice of revealing part of their hand is known.
Live casino Poker software
Poker is the game many people think of first when they consider gambling. It is also one of the first games to go online. Poker rooms offer players the chance to meet up online and play against – and bet against – each other directly. You can also play video poker, which is really a type of slot game, at most casinos (they’re really good value for players, you should check them out).
Most live casino poker software features dealer games in which players play variants of poker against a dealer’s hand.
There are too many variants to cover any in-depth here – please always read the rules and check out demo videos and rng versions if you can – but you might expect to see Casino Hold’Em, three card poker and Caribbean stud at a typical casino.
Live casino software other games
There are other live casino games. For example, a number of East Asian games have gone global, including keno and sic bo.
TV game shows have inspired a slew of live casino games, most based on simple Wheel of Fortune mechanics and many of them branded.
You can also bet on mock-ups of sports games in virtual sports studios at many live casinos.
Live casino software account management
The other most important part of the live casino experience for players is to manage their account safely.
To do this you need to keep an eye on your balance and you need to know how to look for and ask for help at the site you’re using.
Make sure you use safe payment methods and make sure that you know the contact details – write them down in case you lose your connection – and the rules of any site you use.
Live Casino Software FAQ
This quick guide takes you through all you need to know.
What is the best live casino software?
That’s a decision for you, the player, to make, but there are five big producers who we rate and who we cover in our guides, they are: Playtech, Evolution Gaming, NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, and Ezugi. Check them all out and see which one you like best.
Is the live casino software safe?
The companies we’ve mentioned are all safe and all have multiple licenses to operate around the world. That’s the first arrow in your quiver as you try to play safely: use only licensed sites, and in the UK that means that you must only play at sites that have UK gambling Commission licensing.
How do you play live casino games for free?
You will have a hard time finding free live casino games. They cost money to run, so letting players run up a tab isn’t easy. Instead, you should do some studying and you should make sure you understand any game you play. Look for a free to play version of the game you’re considering by finding a demo site.
Can I win real money with live casino games?
If you’re lucky you can. You might even win big, and many of the new games cooked up for live casinos put the emphasis on very big jackpot-style prizes. The reality is that the vast majority of players lose small amounts of money. Being in that group isn’t so bad – it’s better than being one of the few who lose a lot. Make safe play your focus rather than big prizes and cross your fingers and hope for the best is our best advice.
What are the best live casino games strategies?
Look for games you enjoy playing at good quality sites and enjoy them. Oh, and run a million miles from any site, social media channel or person who tells you that they have a guaranteed way to win. Such a thing does not exist. Live casino betting strategies may help you to limit losses, but they are likely to be expensive to follow and you should never ever pay money for them.
Can I play live casino games on my mobile?
Any live casino site that doesn’t offer a fantastic service to mobile users is going to go out of business. The choice sites face is whether to offer a downloadable app or not. An app is going to cost more money to develop, but it is likely to develop more player loyalty. And that’s something for customers to consider too – an app is very fast and convenient but it might make you less likely to shop around.
What is the best live casino bet?
If you play baccarat try a run of betting on the bank to win. It’s not guaranteed to win, but this bet is said to have the lowest house edge of any casino bet.