Typical online casino sites allow you to play casino gambling games that have outcomes determined by random number generators. When playing at live dealer casinos, however, game outcomes are determined by actual dealers instead of a computer program. This makes the experience remarkably similar to playing in a live casino, despite the fact that live dealer gambling sites can be played from your own home. When choosing a live dealer casino, it’s important to consider factors such as game types, bonuses, software, deposit methods and customer support.
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Game Types at Live Dealer Casinos
When you sign up at online casino sites, you’ll be able to choose from several different available game types. Some of these games include the following: Craps, Slots, Red Dog, Blackjack, Casino War, Caribbean Holdem, Video Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Baccarat, Let it Ride, Three Card Poker, Roulette, Sic Bo, Keno
However, only some of these games (usually the most popular, so long as they typically use real dealers in live casinos) are offered with live dealers at live dealer casinos. The most popular game types that include live dealer options include live blackjack, baccarat, roulette and Sic Bo. While the games themselves may be available for both real money and free money play, most live dealer game types at online casinos are played exclusively for real money.
Software at Live Dealer Casinos
Live dealer casinos usually offer two types of software, including downloadable and instant play. Instant play online casino sites are convenient because they launch directly in your web browser and work on all operating systems. There’s no need to download and install software, which can take up precious hard drive space. However, most live dealer casinos do not offer live dealer games in their instant play packages.
As such, most players looking for live dealer casino games seek downloadable casino sites, which offer software packages that you must download and install onto your hard drive. These programs require specific operating systems, and they run as standalone applications separate from your browser. These programs offer the graphical power necessary to run live dealer games as well as additional game types and user options.
Live Dealer Games at Live Online Casinos
Within a live dealer casino site’s downloadable software, you’ll find several game types available for live dealer play. As you play, you’ll view a live video stream of your actual casino dealer, complete with high quality audio. You’ll still interact with the game using a graphical betting interface, making it practical to place wagers. This creates an online casino experience that is much closer to what you would find at a live casino when compared to the experience offered by most online casino sites.
Bonuses at Live Online Casinos
The best live dealer casinos offer several promotions and bonuses as incentives for new and existing players. New players often receive initial deposit bonuses, such as 100% up to $500 or more. This type of bonus rewards a player with an amount of bonus money that matches a portion of your first deposit. Reload bonuses do the same for existing players making later deposits, but these bonuses are usually smaller in size.
Other promotions at live dealer casino sites include Refer a Friend bonuses, which offer cash rewards or merchandise for players who refer their friends to the site. The best sites offer bonuses of $50 or more for each friend you refer.
VIP programs can also be quite lucrative, especially for players who frequently engage in live dealer games. You’ll earn VIP points for each dollar you wager, win or lose. These points can be redeemed, in most cases, for cash and prizes.
Customer Support at Live Dealer Casinos
The highest quality live dealer casino gambling sites provide customer support in several different ways, including email, phone, fax and live chat. Most players prefer real time support methods such as phone and live chat, since they allow you to receive instant answers to your questions. Support should be offered for free, 24/7. The only exception to this is phone service, which may incur fees for players in certain countries.
Deposit and Withdrawal Options at Live Online Casinos
In order to play for real money at live dealer casinos, you’ll first need to make a deposit using a safe, secure banking method. For USA based live dealer casinos, things are much more complicated. Banking options are usually classified as credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, prepaid cards or ewallets, with common examples including Neteller, Moneybookers, Visa, ClickandBuy, PaySafeCard, UKash, eCheck and Instadebit. Reputable live dealer online casinos process virtually all deposit submissions for free, though they sometimes charge fees for certain withdrawal methods. Deposits should be instantly available for real money wagering.
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