Live Dealer Casinos – Personalized Service without the Crowds

Crowded casino in Copenhagen

I used to be an avid casino goer. Growing up in Aranda, I had easy access to Canberra Casino shortly after it opened in 1994. But I soon tired of the crowds, the noise and the stench of old ladies’ cigarette smoke. Weekends were the worst, but even mid-week, the seniors come out in droves to hit up the pokies.

By the early 2000’s, I discovered online casinos. I was entranced! The blackjack tables were never full, my favorite poker machines always available, and you couldn’t top the home cooked meals (leftovers beat overpriced burgers and leathery steaks any day!).

After a while, I felt something was missing. Playing online is faster, more convenient, and affords a lot more opportunities, but it’s just so impersonal.

Then, it happened. They came out with something called live dealer casinos. This revolutionary new concept merged the best of both worlds, combining the personalization of a land-based casino experience with the crowd-free, homebound convenience of playing online.

Unfortunately, technology wasn’t nearly so advanced when they first showed up about a decade ago. Anyone with a superior desktop computer could appreciate the wonderment of these new live dealer casino games to their heart’s content, but for me, sitting in the nook of my den with mouse in hand, staring into the screen of an obsolete (but affordable) 2002 iMac G4, streaming a live dealer casino just wasn’t enjoyable.

I knew that one day this revolutionary design would be incredible, and in 2008—thanks to a great night at Canberra when I won $3k on roulette (the first and only time I’ve hit a single number on that cursed game)—I upgraded my internet speed and system, purchasing a then-newly released MacBook Air. Ahhhh, it was wonderful!

Can you guess the first thing I did with my new laptop? I went right back to my old haunt, Royal Vegas, and dove into the live dealer casino experience. They had blackjack, baccarat and roulette on the live menu, and while I’m not a huge fan of roulette (despite that one lucky hit years ago), nor am I a big baccarat player, the blackjack tables were all I’d hoped they would be.

Hooray for Live Dealer Blackjack!

The same software companies that provide online and mobile casino games have teamed up with professional casino services, purchased massive warehouse space and built genuine casino floors within them. They come complete with standard-class gaming tables, professionally trained dealers, even floor walking managers who supervise the activities. The only difference is the cards are jumbo sized, so you won’t have to squint to see them.

The studios that house live dealer casinos are, in fact, a full-fledged casino gaming floor, minus the foot traffic of patrons (and the free beer, that’s a negative).

Instead of having seats around the table, they are equipped with high-quality webcams to live stream the games. From home, we can take a position at a table, be dealt physical cards, and convey our decision (hit, stand, double, split, etc.) to the dealer by simply clicking a button.

There’s an interactive chat window to converse with the dealer and other players at the table, bringing back the personalization of a brick-and-mortar casino experience, without the cramped, noisy, and oft-times odoriferous nature of a land-based experience.

The same can be said of live dealer baccarat and roulette, if you’re into those games. So the next time you groan at the thought of entering a real casino, but don’t feel like bearing the detachment of a traditional online casino, consider playing live dealer casino games. If you’re anything like me, you won’t regret it.