Perhaps more than in any other casino game medium, live dealer games are affected drastically by the software provider, making the difference between feeling like a voyeur and feeling like you’re actually there. This feeling of immersion is the chief factor in live dealer games being so exciting – the real-time interaction with real-life people. So, you need to make sure you’re getting the most out of the experience, by playing with the best.
From the perspective of the provider, these games are technically complex, requiring top level audio visual recording equipment, live, error free and swift camera work and top spec studios. Anything less just doesn’t cut it, so choose games that have received a large amount of investment (cash, time and talent) from developers who have the capability and experience to achieve perfection.
Below you will find a complete guide to live dealer casino games in the USA. We have literally spent hundreds of hours playing these for real money and know the providers, casinos and games inside out. Almost everything is fact based, but of course we also share our educated opinion about which games we think provide the best playing experience. Enjoy!
Staff Picks - Top Games
Arrow's Edge Blackjack
Arrow's Edge offers a very solid live blackjack product to all USA players. We were relieved to discover that this has gone live on several legitimate online casinos, as it is also available on mobile devices.
Previously players were forced to play VIG live blackjack, which does not seem to run on smartphones at the moment.
AE blackjack is dealt using 8 decks, offers a chance to split and double after split as well as place 21+3 and perfect pairs side bets.
The offering is easily as good as most of the European live casino suppliers have, which we are ecstatic to see.
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VIG American Roulette
Why would we recommend American Roulette, which has the highest house edge of all? Because VIG have created a version with altered payouts that turn the worst roulette type into one of the best ones.
The house edge in this game type is 2.44%, which is lower than European Roulette (2.70%) and much less that the original American Roulette (5.26%).
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Early Payout BJ
Another quite unique live dealer game from VIG. In this live blackjack you get to choose an instant payout based on your hand and the dealers hand. They adjust it for your chance of winning and take the same margin of 0.50% - pretty awesome.
Surrender option is also available on this table, but what's even more cool is that if you time out or disconnect, your hand is automatically played according to basic strategy.
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Arrow's Edge Roulette
This version of roulette is accessible even to novices thanks to the clear communication channel between both the players and the dealer, live chat (which can be used for game related inquiry and casual conversation, making it nicely social) and the integrated game history, providing information on previous spins results as well as statistics to help guide your bets.
Multiple cameras give a sense of being in the room and there’s a zoom in table option, alongside adjustable sound and video quality settings (low, medium, high and HD), enabling you to have a bespoke experience, tailored to your needs and preferences.
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Of course, this is just a small selection from the vast ocean of live dealer games on the market, but they are definitely some of the best. We would also recommend trying out tables like Turbo Blackjack and Portomaso Roulette (we've seen this offered at Drake Casino) that is streamed directly from a brick & mortar casino.
Best Live Dealer Games by House Edge
The house edge is essentially the advantage that the casino has over you the player and helps you calculate the likelihood of return.The graph above shows the house edge for a selection of live dealer games, but do be aware that different variations of any given game can have a greater or smaller house edge.
For example, were you to play a game of blackjack, wagering 10,000 throughout the evening with a house edge of 1.5%, you could expect an average loss of 150 – although this depends on a number of game play factors.
House Edge Chart
You may want to pick your game based on the house edge and your increased likelihood and having your cash returned to you having lost as little as possible. Blackjack might offer a 3:2 payout and some side-bet potential, but there are games like Dream Catcher where you can win several thousand times your bet, as well as variations of roulette (like Double Ball Roulette from Evolution Gaming), where the top payout is 1500:1.
Working your way through the stats of every game would take forever, so we’ve compiled a bar chart to compare this potential, saving you the time and hassle (and probably a considerable amount of cash).
Winning Potential Chart
Tables With Lowest Betting Limits
Depending on the game type you've chosen the minimum table stakes will vary greatly. However, it's fair to assume that you'll be able to wager as little as $1 on live roulette and about $5-10 on live baccarat and blackjack. USA casinos have slightly higher limits than the EU ones, but not by much.
VIG American Roulette
Min Bet: $0.5
Arrow's Edge Roulette
Min Bet: $1
VIG European Roulette
Min Bet: $1
Gravity Roulette
Min Bet: $0.01
VIG Blackjack
Min Bet: $10
Early Payout BJ
Min Bet: $5
Arrow's Edge Blackjack
Min Bet: $10
Take Deal or Risk Blackjack
Min Bet: $1
Tables With Highest Betting Limits
US friendly live casinos have pretty much the same betting limits across the board. We have not seen a site that offers live blackjack or baccarat for more than $5,000 per hand and lets you wager more than $200 straight up on live roulette.
Games By Language
When playing at a live dealer casino, being able to do so in your native tongue is very important to avoid confusion or critical misunderstandings. Arrow's Edge offers games with both, native English and Spanish dealers.
VIG tables are located in Costa Rica, but the dealers are instructed to only speak English.
Frequently Asked Questions
Betting the tie on live baccarat (13-14%) and American Live Roulette (5.26%) are the two games to avoid, as the house edge on these is crazy high.
Live blackjack is almost always under 1%, in case of VIG's Early Payout BJ the house edge is at 0.50%.
This means that you'll get a lot more playtime for your money, which an activity like gambling should be about.
For USA players there is no contender to the newcomer - Arrow's Edge Live Blackjack.
Their stream quality and user experience is second to none in this market, but they lack in terms of numbers of tables offered. Give them a shot by visiting Drake Casino.
VIG on the other hand has plenty of tables, but they aren't quite up to par with Arrow's Edge.