I spent a weekend playing only live dealer casino games: Here's what I learned

I've always treated live dealer casino games as an occasional side activity compared to slots and software-based table games. I'd try a few hands or spins on the live tables before drifting back to the online casino games I've played since my younger adult years. But as I've seen the popularity of live dealer games grow, I started wondering: what if I really dove into these games and got the full experience? 

So, I decided to only play live dealer games online for a weekend in Michigan. I rotated between BetMGM Casino, Fanatics Casino, and DraftKings Casino to see if any of the casinos were much different in terms of live gaming.

My goal wasn't necessarily to win money but rather to figure out which live games I liked best and how dealers interacted with me. As you'll see later, I came away with a few surprises after a weekend of playing at live tables.

I started my experience by playing live dealer blackjack online at BetMGM, DraftKings, and Fanatics. After depositing $20 across these three casinos, I tried Infinite Blackjack and Lightning Blackjack at each site. These games allow $1 minimum bets, and I needed to make my smallish bankroll last through the weekend.

Not surprisingly, the core live dealer blackjack online gameplay didn't change from casino to casino. Evolution supplies Lightning and Infinite Blackjack to all three sites, meaning the main changes were simply the casino skins and rules when moving between the two variations.

Each operator has exclusive blackjack games that provide a different experience. In hindsight, one regret I have is not trying the Fanatics-exclusive WWE Raw Blackjack during my experiment. I'll go back and play it someday, but I'm primarily a low-stakes player who was doing this experiment in one weekend.

There was more than enough time to strategize in both live blackjack games. I'd look at the counter after my first two cards were dealt and notice 15–17 seconds remaining to make a decision. I personally didn't mind the relaxed pace, but I needed about a dozen hands to get used to the slower speed compared to software-run tables.

Occasional chats with the dealer helped take my mind off the slow-paced play. Speaking of which, I was surprised at how quickly dealers responded to my chat messages. Maybe I just got lucky with table selection, but everybody working the tables responded within a couple of seconds when they weren't talking.

For example, I told a BetMGM dealer that he was "killing me" after I jumped on the table and immediately lost four straight hands. He responded right away, addressing me as Jeremy and saying that the table's luck had turned bad since everybody else was so quiet.

All in all, I felt like the two blackjack variants I played across the three sites made for a pretty good live dealer online casino experience.

After sticking to blackjack on Friday night, I focused on baccarat and roulette the following day. I made dollar baccarat bets, except for a hot run where I increased my wagers to $2–$3 per hand. My roulette wagers stayed at $0.50 apiece, although I'd sometimes risk $1–$1.50 across multiple bets in a round.

The good thing about live dealer roulette is that the European wheel (2.70% house edge) isn't hard to find. This is a major contrast to land-based casinos, where European wheels are normally only available at higher stakes. You're typically stuck playing the American version (5.26%) in these cases.

I found live roulette overwhelming at first compared to software-based versions. The board overlay took up much of my mobile screen, and I was still trying to process it before rounds began. I even mis-clicked a single number when I wanted "red" right before a round started and lost.

After getting the hang of the board and the round speed, I didn't have much trouble playing. A switch from mobile to desktop play also helped. My advice would be to watch at least five rounds and get comfortable with everything before wagering.

Switching to live dealer baccarat, I found it much faster-paced than blackjack. This makes sense given that decisions are limited to banker, player, tie, and side bets. I only wagered on the banker and had a good run at one point. I increased my wagers to $2 and $3 while winning most of my losses from blackjack and roulette back.

The social interactions were spottier during live baccarat compared to blackjack and roulette. Dealers sometimes didn't answer chat messages from other players or me. But I chalked this up to them working in a more continuous manner, versus having extra downtime during roulette and blackjack rounds.

My last stop was the game show sections of Fanatics, DraftKings, and BetMGM. My preferred games were Crazy Time and Red Door Roulette. Much like I'd been doing earlier in the weekend, I played a little of each game at all three casinos.

Both games fit into my low-stakes strategy, with Crazy Time and Red Door featuring $0.10 and $0.20 minimum wagers, respectively. Unlike blackjack, baccarat, and roulette, these were two live dealer casino games I'd never played before. So, I spent a fair amount of time on the info screen with each.

While both games have entertaining atmospheres, I like the presentation better in Red Door Roulette. It feels like a true TV-based game show without going over the top.

On the other hand, I had more success with Crazy Time at Fanatics and BetMGM. But I still found these games to be really volatile and lost some money on them overall.

I never had trouble getting on any of the tables while playing live casino games online in Michigan. Most of the games I played had no cap on seating, including Infinite Blackjack, Lightning Blackjack, European roulette, and Crazy Time. That said, playing during peak hours on Friday and Saturday night didn't affect me.

The only issue I had was "Waiting for the next game" situations on Sunday morning at each casino. For example, I opened a baccarat and roulette game and got these messages while the dealer was waiting for more players. I doubt the slow hours would be much different in any other regulated iGaming state, considering Michigan's fairly large population (10.13 million).

I started the weekend with $60 spread across three online casinos. I ended with $47, which isn't bad considering that I played for at least two hours each weekend day. I was under $35 after playing blackjack and roulette, before making a comeback with baccarat. A few decent wins on Crazy Time kept me from losing too much on the game shows.

One thing that surprised me about live dealer casino games is how cheap they are to play. I'd only occasionally tried live games in the past and had the mistaken impression that they mostly consisted of $5 baccarat and $10–$25 blackjack these days. While higher stakes are widely available, you can easily find dollar live tables and $0.10–$0.20 game shows.

Another surprise is how responsive and personable the live blackjack and roulette dealers are. I didn't expect them to respond in seconds and talk to me like I was sitting at the table.

One more takeaway is that Evolution seems to dominate US live dealer gaming, at least where I played in Michigan anyway. I know that Ezugi offers live tables under the Evolution umbrella, while Playtech also runs live games somewhere. 

But for some reason, I only seemed to find/open Evolution tables. Maybe if Pragmatic Play were licensed in the US, Evolution would have more competition on this front. For now, they pretty much dominate the regulated live dealer landscape.

Live dealer casino games fit a broader range of players than I initially thought. They're mainly good if you're looking for a social experience, low or high stakes, twists on table classics (e.g., Lightning Blackjack), or unique game shows.

So, what online casinos offer the best live dealer games? BetMGM was my personal favorite because of how easy the lobby was to navigate, and the large selection of games and stakes. It didn't hurt that I ended with $19 here—almost breakeven—versus $15 at Fanatics and $13 at DraftKings. Fanatics Casino is good if you're looking for more exclusive games, while DraftKings has the highest table limits.

Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the casinos I played at. They all have dozens of live dealer tables and cheap games if you're looking to ease into things like I was.

Bettors must be 21 years or older and otherwise eligible to register and place wagers at online casinos. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please seek assistance from trained professionals such as the Problem Gambling Help Network at 1-800-MY-RESET.

Jeremy Olson