Best USA Live Dealer Online Casinos: Games & Bet Limits

Live dealer casinos are one of the signs of an elite online casino. Any top US casino site needs to offer its players access to live casino games. Unlike most simulated games online, real-life dealers deal with games like blackjack, baccarat, and roulette like they would in a land-based casino. Meanwhile, these games are streamed live to your computer screen in real time.

Many online players don’t like random number generators and simulated games. They prefer real-life table games in brick-and-mortar casinos. Live dealer casinos combine the fun of land-based table games with the privacy and comfort of online gambling. The best US online casinos devote a whole section to their live casino offering.

What is a Live Dealer Casino?

Live dealer casinos use real dealers and croupiers. These employees deal cards, handle roulette spins, and roll craps dice in a live studio somewhere in the world. Cameras film the games from several angles, while the video is streamed to players’ devices in the privacy of their own homes.

Live dealer games restore the social aspect of gambling. The software includes a live chat feature, so you can talk to the dealers in real time. Sometimes, you can chat with other players. Live dealer hosts and hostesses walk the gaming floor, sometimes offering bonuses for answering trivia or simply for participating.

How Do Live Dealer Casinos Work?

As a bare minimum, live dealer casinos offer games of live blackjack, live baccarat, and live roulette. Some live casinos feature other games like craps, Casino Holdem, Super 6 baccarat, or a variety of other table games. In most cases, bets range from $1 to $10,000.

Once seated, the games happen much like they would in the table games section of a land-based casino. It’s better, though, because you bet and collect winnings with the same easy controls you use for traditional online casino games.

Live dealer games are live video streams, so it’s best that you have a high-speed internet connection and a PC or mobile device with a high-quality video card in order to enjoy the game fully.

US Live Dealer Casinos: Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette Bet Limits

Who Provides Live Dealer Games?

Most online casinos do not handle their own live casino games. Instead, they license with a live casino provider. Depending on the US state, you might be playing with Evolution Gaming live dealers. More likely, you’ll play with live dealers from Visionary iGaming (ViG) or Fresh Deck Studios.

Which Live Dealer Games Are the Most Popular?

A world-class live casino must have certain games: blackjack, baccarat, and roulette. Some sites offer more games. Here is a quick recap of the live dealer games you can expect to find.

Live Blackjack

Blackjack is popular because it is both a game of chance and a game of skill. Players who study basic strategy optimize the house edge, thus enjoying one of the best bargains in a casino. Online casino software reshuffles the deck after each hand, so which makes card counting useless. Live dealer blackjack uses a real deck of cards, which restores blackjack to its live glory.

The game rules are the same in live blackjack. The bet limits tend to be $5 or $10 on the minimum bets, while the max bet limits range from $2500, $5000, or $10,000.

• Bet Behind Rules: Live blackjack does have some differences. Because it’s a world full of blackjack players, it’s hard to keep enough dealers on hand to satisfy the customers. Thus, casinos offer the “Bet Behind” rules. If you’re waiting in line, you can bet on the outcome of another player’s hand — someone sitting at the table. It’s best to know the rules, so you can pick the player who is playing optimally.
• HD Blackjack: Another common feature is HD Blackjack. This provides enhanced graphics and more camera angles. It also allows you to replay the hand and slow down play to assure fairness.

Live Roulette

As a rule, live roulette comes in two flavors: European Roulette and American Roulette. Most live dealer studios offer both versions, though experienced roulette players know they should always play Live European Roulette. In either case, the bet limits range from $1 to $5000 in most cases.

We’ve seen a few live dealer casinos that offer Live French Roulette, though this is more likely in international live dealer casinos. Some studios offer more exotic versions of the game, such as Speed Roulette or Two-Ball Roulette. For the most part, you will be playing Live American Roulette or Live European Roulette.

Live Baccarat

Due to the huge popularity of baccarat in Asia, most decent live casinos have one or more versions of Live Baccarat. They all have a live version of Punto Banco, which you will see referred to as Live Baccarat most of the time. This game has bet limits like Live Blackjack, with games as low as $5 to $10 a hand or games as high as $10,000 a hand.

Many US live casinos also offer Super 6 Baccarat, which is called Live Super 6 in most places. This game adds alternate rules with the number 6, though the game has lesser odds than standard Live Baccarat. Another common version in international live casinos is Live Dragon Tail. Once again, this version has a higher house edge, so most players should avoid it.

Live Casino Holdem

The next most common game you’ll see is Live Casino Holdem. This is like the game Caribbean Holdem, a popular table game based on the rules of poker. Live Casino Holdem borrows rules from Texas Hold’em, the world’s most popular version of poker. Because it’s a table game, it’s you versus the dealer and bluffing has no bearing on the game.

Most versions of Live Casino Holdem have one or two side bets. These bets have a much higher house edge than the main game, which has a house edge between 2% and 2.5%. As a rule, the payouts on the side bets range as high as 100 to 1.

Live Craps

At one time, Live Craps was the fourth most common live casino game. It’s still popular with players, but not so much with live casino studios. That’s because a proper game of craps needs four dealers instead of one, so the payroll is four times what it is for Live Blackjack, Live Baccarat, and Live Roulette.

If you can find it in an American online casino, then take the chance to play Live Craps. It seems to be a dying breed now. If you do, then learn the basic bets and stick to those. Most other craps’ bets are sucker bets.

Other Live Dealer Games

In recent months, several of the top US online casinos began to step up their game when it came to live casino games. Wild Casino and Super Slots each not only expanded their live roulette and live baccarat to include penny players with 50-cent bets, but they also increased the limits to cater to high rollers with five-figure wagers.

Beyond that, they added a huge list of new live dealer games. The offerings include live versions of Wheel of Fortune, War of Bets, Dice Duel, Speedy 7, Classic Wheel, Andar Bahar, and Satta Makda. They include Live Football Grid, plus three Live Lottery games: Lucky 5, Lucky 6, and Lucky 7.

Live casino gamblers could spend a lot of time in the Wild Casino Live and Super Slots Live and not be able to sample all the games. They’re our recommendation for the top US live dealer casinos of the moment.

How We Review Live Dealer Casinos

Rating a live dealer casino is much different than rating a traditional online casino. These games have a personal touch that does not exist with standard online gambling sites. Game selection, betting options, and game controls are still important, but we consider other factors in the game. Here is a quick rundown of the factors we consider when rating live dealer games — and factors you should consider, too.

• Open to US Players: Not all live casinos cater to players based in the United States. Since we focus on a US audience, we only review sites that are accessible to US players.
• Wide Range of Bonuses: We rate high sites that offer a live dealer bonus because most sites do not. Typically, many casino bonus offers exclude live dealer games.
• Exciting Games: An outstanding live dealer casino that supports classic games like roulette, baccarat, and blackjack, as well as innovative new games.
• Top Payment Methods: We look for casinos that accept deposits and withdrawals through the most popular banking methods. The best live casino sites readily accept Visa and Mastercard, and many crypto casinos also accommodate Bitcoin payments.
• Live Games for Mobile: In 2023, it is equally important to have access to live casino games on the go. Thanks to advancements in mobile technology, top-notch live online casinos now enable players to enjoy live dealer games on dedicated iPhone and Android casino platforms.
• Safety & Security: We prioritize safety above all else and meticulously assess new live casinos. We prefer casinos that hold current and valid gaming licenses from reputable authorities. Additionally, we look for casinos that employ encryption and firewall software to ensure security.
• Solid Customer Service: While not as flashy as other factors, customer service is a crucial aspect of any excellent live casino. We appreciate sites that offer multiple means of contacting customer service, including live chat. When contacted, support staff should be friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.
• Superior Software: Players require a seamless live casino experience with smooth video streaming. Moreover, the software providers are known for their exceptional dealers, who know the rules, are friendly to players and maintain professionalism and a positive game environment.