Live Casino Poker

Introduction

Poker still ranks among the world’s most popular games, with more than 100 million people playing the game that started all the way back in the 18^thcentury. Its popularity particularly exploded within the last decade thanks to the increased use of the Internet. Online poker resulted in not only even more people playing the game, but also an entirely new generation of fans, along with a large number of poker variants. The most enhanced way to experience poker online is live casino poker. There’s no better way to play poker online than in a virtual social setting with a live dealer to boot.

The obvious main advantage in live casino poker is the stimulating live setting. After a simple and fast registration process with Mr Green, you can start playing right away. With a live poker room providing a live dealer and real players, it’s an experience that is both realistic and exciting. You can see the actual poker table on your screen, with a dealer behind it controlling the game. While there may be a number of other players involved, you won’t be able to see them. You can see the cards being dealt, however. Live casino poker is played in the same way as traditional online poker, so you’ll be able to take the skills you’ve already picked up and transfer them to the live game. In live casino poker, you can either play against other players or the house, depending on the version you’re playing.

Online poker vs. live casino poker

The rules of live poker are the same as in traditional poker, with no major differences existing between live poker and standard online poker. The games typically use a regular 52-card deck, with the cards shuffled between each game. Players bet on the Ante, with the option to make a bonus bet, that will pay out on any hand with a pair of Aces or higher. The dealer deals two cards to each player, including two to himself face down, as well as two community cards, before revealing the two cards he has dealt himself. Each player forms his best five-card hand from the seven cards available to him. The dealer needs to qualify a game played against the house with a pair of fours or higher.

The dealer will greet you and interact with you throughout the entire game. You can send him chat messages and hear his response vis audio. The game features TV quality video streamed  directly to your tablet or PC. You also have control of how you view the game e.g. you can choose and modify your camera view by accessing Settings in the toolbar, or you can choose 3D view, which will display your seat and betting area on the live video.

Evolution Gaming

Evolution Gaming is among the most respected software providers of live casino poker. The firm was established in 2006 and immediately added innovation to live casinos by unveiling its very own platform. From then on, almost every online casino realised that having a live casino poker platform was necessary for them to remain relevant. Evolution Gaming is today focused on delivering the highest quality of live gaming by streaming live casino poker straight to your phone, tablet, or desktop. The firm is a certified live casino poker provider in a number of countries in Europe, including Denmark, Spain, and Italy. The brand further holds certificates and licenses in the United Kingdom, Canada, Romania, Belgium, Alderney, and Malta.

The firm has received numerous awards almost on an annual basis since 2010. Evolution won the EGR Live Casino Supplier of the Year award for the eighth consecutive year in 2017. Just one year later, it received a whole host of acknowledgements, including the Live Casino Supplier of the Year for the ninth straight year at the EGR B2B Awards. The pattern is continuing for the firm as it’s again winning numerous awards in 2019, including its 10th straight Live Casino Supplier of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards London.

Every live casino poker supplier is bidding to build a high-quality and functional studio, with super design and friendly intelligent, and competent dealers. Evolution Gaming is the only developer that has achieved this goal. The company depends on multiple studios, from which the live casino poker games are streamed 24/7. Evolution began with a set of studios and state-of-the-art TV production in Latvia. However, these facilities soon grew into 2,000 square metres to meet the demand for bespoke environments and dedicated tables for certain operators. In 2013, those studios became Europe’s largest singe-site operation, with 100+ tables hosted. Evolution later constructed a production hub in Georgia, and another in Canada in 2018. That year proved to be a pivotal one for the company, as it was the first live casino poker game developer to open its own studio in the United States.

Safe and secure

With any first-rate casino game software developer, you’d expect that they’d integrate strong security measures to ensure the safety of the player’s banking and other personal information. Evolution Gaming safeguards each transaction with the very methods of encryption as used by financial institutions. This means that users can safely make a deposit using any one of a number of payment methods, including e-wallets, prepaid cards, credit or debit card, and bank transfer.

Evolution Gaming is only one of a small number of casino software developers with a large selection of poker games. The majority offer one at the most. Evolution not only offers multiple poker games, but each is of superb quality, as well as being optimised for mobile devices, aesthetically pleasing, and high in innovation. Live Casino Hold’em offers a Bonus Bet and Progressive Jumbo 7 Jackpot side bet. Evolution streams Live Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Hand Casino Hold’em, Live Three Card Poker, Live Caribbean Stud, and Side Bet City.

From its early beginnings, Evolution Gambling started to work with the big operators. This speaks volumes about the brand and how prepared it was to revolutionise online gambling, especially when it comes to live gaming. Here are the main characteristics that Evolution Gaming prides itself on.

• The dealers communicate clearly, and are always polite and courteous, providing a relaxed and enjoyable gaming experience.
• The dealers enjoy great relationships with frequent visitors to the games, building and maintaining a great rapport with the customer.
• The company prides itself on teamwork and integrity to ensure honest and ethical relationships with all involved parties, establishing and maintaining excellence in all spheres.
• Reliability, flexibility, and innovation ensures Evolution Gaming is always at least one step ahead of its competitors.
• Evolution Gaming software has grown to the level of popularity that it has due to its ease and quality of integration with the majority ofcurrent software, without interfering with other any other virtual casino software that a casino may already be running.

Mr Green might be a relatively new addition to Evolution Gaming’s list of partners, but we are a well-established casino, and now that we’ve added live casino poker to our portfolio of services, we offer even more choice to our already exciting line-up. Play live casino poker and take advantage of our 100% welcome bonus. The live platform is compatible with Mac iOS and Windows, and the Instant Pay version can be accessed on any Flash-based system.

Live poker games

• Live Casino Hold’em

This is the first of the live poker games offered to online live casino online players. It’s also the widest available and the most popular to play at online casinos. The game begins with a player placing a forced Ante bet, along with an optional Bonus side bet. Each player is then dealt two cards face up, with the dealer’s two cards faced down. A three-card flop is then dealt in the centre of the table. Each payer and the dealer can use these community cards, along with those in their hand, to form the best five-card combination. Two further community cards are dealt over two subsequent rounds, and the player with the best hand wins.

• 2 Hand Live Casino Hold’em

This is an exclusive variant developed by Evolution Gaming. In terms of how it’s played, there’s just one difference between 2 Hand Live Casino Hold’em and standard Casino Hold’em. In 2 Hands, you have the option of playing hands for two people. If you choose not to, it’s your choice which hand you play. Each hand offers the Bonus bet, and the rules are consistent with the other variations.

• Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Ultimate Texas Hold’em was released by Evolution Gaming in 2017. It features a similar game structure to Live Casino Hold’em, with the key difference being how you bet. In this game, you’re completely involved in the action until the very last card is dealt. Like the majority of card games, you’re forced to play an ante bet before play begins. Once the bet is placed, a bet equal to that amount (known as the blind) has to be made. So these two bets are required for the game to start.

There’s also an optional bet, known as a Trips side bet, which pays out on hands that rank three of a kind or higher. Both the player and dealer then receive two cards, and the player chooses whether to bet or check. The flop is dealt, and if the player has yet to bet, he can bet a maximum of 2x the Ante or check. The turn and river are then dealt, and the player can either bet the Ante or fold. The dealer shows his, cards and the players with the best combination of five cards wins. The Trips side bet pays out no matter what cards the dealer has.

• Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker

This is really a variant on Ultimate Texas Hold’em. Rather than having to choose whether to make a 4x bet upfront, however, your initial decision only requires that you play or fold. Playing costs the value of the Ante, and as the rounds progress, you can either bet or check until the round is over. If you bet in each round, that would amount to 4x the Ante. The Bonus side bet is different in that it pays out for high card combinations and pairs, as opposed to ranked hands, which is typically the case with other variants.

• 3 Card Poker

Along with 3 Card Brag, this is the easiest live casino poker game to get to grips with. The player makes an Ante bet, as well as optional 6 Card Bonus side bet, and an optional Pairs Plus bet. The player receives his cards face up and the dealer deals his own cards face down. If the player decides to play his hand, he must bet an amount equal to the Ante. The dealer then shows his cards and the best hand wins.

• 3 Card Brag

Very similar to 3 Card Poker, with the sole difference being pay scales and hand ranks. The best hand is three of a kind (known as a Prial). This pays 40:1, whereas with 3 Card Brag, you’d get 40:1 for a Straight Flush. So if you like winning, you’d be advised to play 3 Card Brag, as three of a kind occurs more frequently than a Straight Flush.

The Mechanics of Live Casino Poker

In the early 90s, a visit to the casino to put your poker skills to the test was restricted to one evening over the weekend. That’s if the casino had sufficient facilities to play a table game like poker. The major gambling hubs in Europe were cities such as Monaco and Lausanne, and in the U.S., Vegas essentially had a monopoly.

When online poker was introduced, the gambling industry, as a whole, was never the same again. Poker players were no longer restricted to a weekend, but could play whenever they wanted. They also didn’t need to pay for taxi fares to the city centre before hovering around a table to wait for an opening, or spending money on expensive food and drinks. You could now sink back in your chair, or even pull out your smartphone on your break at work, and play poker for as long as you wanted.

In addition to the early adopters, online poker was followed by a great number of gamblers who became online poker converts, and when online gambling really became a success in the 2000s, it was predictable that there would be those who opposed it. After all, many experienced in the game were used to the real-world experience. That’s why Las Vegas casinos are so glamorous with their décor, and why there are always people continually walking around offering food and drinks. The industry is service-centric, and the dealer will congratulate you or sympathise with you depending on whether you win or lose. And if you continue to return, you’ll be treated like royalty.

Unfortunately, this aspect of service can be missing in online gambling. In spite of the well-designed website and wide selection of games, which can be played 24/7, and on almost all devices, virtual poker lacks that human touch. The sole communication that exists with any real-life person in an online casino is via the chat boxes positioned next to select games. That was until the introduction of live casino poker.

Live casino poker is a simple way of playing online poker that recreates an environment you would otherwise only be able to experience in a brick-and-mortar casino. It features a physical location with table games that are broadcast through the use of software and camera crew streaming live images to up to millions of devices, as well as handling any responses by the players, and the outcomes of their choices.

Like a typical game of poker at a brick-and-mortar casino, users enter the game and place a bet in the same way as they would if they were sitting with a real-life dealer in front of them. The game then advances, and just as in an actual casino, cash is paid out for wins and collected for losses.

The dealers in live poker, however, aren’t virtual, but real. They are actual people who are experienced and skilled in running live casino poker. The main difference is that the dealer in live poker needs to deal with up to thousands of players at any one time, all the while appearing to each player that they are having a one-on-one interaction with the dealer. Live casino poker can be entertaining, particularly if live chat is available, where players can share opinions and thoughts. This is where live casino poker really starts to feel like a real-world casino, with bantering taking place between the dealer and the players.

The only requirements for live dealer poker are an Internet connection and a device capable of accessing the live casino’s website, or an app that supports live gameplay.

Live Dealer Poker vs Online Poker

Live casino poker can be confusing to new players who are only just getting to grips with online poker. While they both exist in the same space and are two sides of the same coin, they’re also different in that live dealer poker is just like experiencing the thing. 

When you play live casino poker, you’re presented with a real-life dealer who deals the cards while interacting with you. With the advanced technical capabilities and live streaming that are now available, live casino poker provides real-life dealers dealing real cards right in front of your eyes, making you feel like you’re playing in Las Vegas itself, without the cost of travel and accommodation.

With a live casino online, you can play a whole host of casino games, in addition to poker, such as baccarat, roulette, and blackjack, and you can enjoy them all while sat in the comfort of your living room. While online poker uses a Random Number Generator (RNG) to deal cards, a live casino offers the players a more authentic experience, with a live dealer shuffling and distributing the hands.

Of course, you will need a decent Internet connection, as even online casinos with a strong reputation won’t save you if you don’t meet its technical requirements. Before playing, ensure that you have a Wifi connection and webcam that are up to the task.

In live casino poker, you’ll also be playing against real-life players. While online poker also offers this feature, it doesn’t allow you to engage with them. Bear in mind, however, that as you’re playing with live players, you’ll be expected to demonstrate casino etiquette in the same way as you would in a brick-and-mortar casino. Just because you’re sat behind a screen doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use your manners. So be prepared to respect your fellow players and adhere to the rules of the casino.

RNGs have been used in video poker machines and slot machines for decades and are used by online casinos worldwide. Some of these casinos also use third-party auditing systems such as GamCare and Technical System Testing to audit their records in a bid to give their customers some peace of mind.

Having said that, it’s far more authentic to see the cards being shuffled and dealt by a live dealer that enhances your online poker experience. If you’re used to playing in brick-and-mortar casinos, you will find that live casino poker is the perfect transition into online poker.