Playtech are regularly regarded
as one of the market leaders in the live casino industry, and for good
reason. Their live casino system is incredibly reliable, versatile, and
quick, and a large number of casinos offer
their live dealer games. Offering 9 games, including Blackjack,
Baccarat, Roulette, Dragon Tiger, 3-Card Brag, Casino Hold’em, Spin a
Win, Sic Bo, and Hi-Lo, Playtech’s games cater to a wide variety of
players, and they all offer pretty decent betting limits.
In this Playtech live casino review,
we’re going to be taking a look at the games they offer – in detail –
along with where you can play
them. We’ll also look at their betting interface, and details of their
streaming quality. Let’s begin by taking a brief look at who Playtech
are, and how they’ve come to be such a figurehead in the online gambling
world.
Best Playtech Live Dealer Casino
Company Information and History
Playtech are one of the largest
companies in the iGaming world, and they were founded back in 1999. A
couple of years after their creation, Playtech opened their first online
casino, and this was where they really started to gain traction in the online gambling world.
Today, Playtech have offices and development studios in 12
countries around the world, and they employ some 3,600 members of staff.
They cover everything from game development and market research to
player retention and fraud management, and more recently, they opened
their Live Casino product.
Playtech hold over 140 gambling
licenses around the world, and this allows them to offer their games and
services to a massive number of players. Some of the more notable
licenses they hold include ones from the UK’s Gambling Commission, the
Maltese Gaming Authority and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.
Playtech Live Casino Review: The Games
Playtech offer a massive range of
live dealer games. Their games are run from Romania, Latvia and the
Philippines. We tried all of them out when writing this Playtech live
casino review. See what we thought, below.
Playtech’s Live Roulette
Playtech currently operate some 27
different Roulette tables. They also offer a number of different
Roulette variations, which you can read about below:
- Single Zero Roulette:
Single Zero Roulette (essentially European Roulette) is a single-zero
game, and the wheel contains a total of 37 numbers. This is Playtech’s
most popular Roulette variation thanks to its speed, ease-of-use, and
accessibility. - Speed Roulette: Speed Roulette is another European Roulette game from Playtech – with the game’s main emphasis on speed. The game offers substantially more rounds per hour, allowing players to enjoy more gambling, less waiting!
- Prestige Roulette/ Prestige Roulette Lite: Prestige Roulette uses a single-zero European Roulette table. The game’s USP is that it’s streamed using multiple HD cameras
– allowing players to see more of the action, in crisper quality.
Prestige Roulette Lite uses less cameras, offering a more
straightforward gaming experience. - Country Roulette:
This is a unique offering from Playtech, and it allows players to play
Roulette in an environment tailored to their country. London Roulette is
one example. The game features a backdrop of Big Ben, and London’s
iconic red buses can be seen in the distance. The dealer is also a
native English speaker, adding to the authenticity. - French Roulette:
Playtech offer a couple of French Roulette tables. This allows players
to enjoy a wider selection of betting options. Unfortunately, their
French Roulette games don’t offer La Partage. - Themed Roulette:
Playtech recently released their ‘Themed Roulette’ tables. These are
based around some of the game developer’s popular video slots – the Age
of Gods series. Like the slots, Playtech’s themed tables come with
progressive jackpots, which can be won by any player on any spin!
Naturally, it took us quite a bit of
time to play all their Roulette games when we were putting this Playtech
live casino review together. One thing that really stood out to us was
the quality of the games. We’d go as far as saying they’re the best live
Roulette tables we’ve come across.
Playtech’s Live Baccarat
Like Roulette, Playtech offer a
number of Baccarat variations. All games use a total of 8 decks. The
games also offer some side bet options including Player/Banker Pair,
Big/Small, and (on some tables) Progressive Jackpot options. Read all
about them below:
Baccarat 7 Seat: Baccarat 7 Seat is
Playtech’s most prestigious Baccarat table and as the name suggests it
sits 7 players. It’s definitely one of the provider’s most upbeat and
vibrant Baccarat games, so it’s well-worth a play!
Baccarat Squeeze: Baccarat Squeeze uses regular Baccarat rules. The main difference is the way in which the game is filmed. A number of close-up cameras allow you to ‘squeeze up’ closer, immersing you fully into the game.
VIP Baccarat: Playtech’s VIP
Baccarat table sits up to 7 players. The game uses some of the
best-trained dealers Playtech have. The betting limits are also a bit
higher at these tables, suiting them to high-rollers.
Mini Baccarat: Mini Baccarat
is regular Baccarat – but it’s played on a much smaller screen. This
allows it to be opened (and played) from different areas of the casino
website, meaning players can – for instance – play it while betting in
the sportsbook, or while playing slots.
Playtech’s Live Blackjack
Playtech currently offer three
variations of Blackjack and we played them all when writing this
Playtech live casino review. All games are played with a total of 8
decks, and these are shuffled manually or automatically dependant on the
variation. The dealer stands on all 17s, and you can Double Down on any
two cards. Doubling is also allowed after splitting. Below, you can see
the three variations:
Ultimate Blackjack: Ultimate
Blackjack (also known as Unlimited Blackjack) allows an unlimited number
of players to play at once. The game includes Perfect Pair, and 21+3
Side Bets.
7-Seat European Blackjack: In
Playtech’s 7-Seat European Blackjack, the dealer takes just one card
initially. While the table sits only 7 players at once, you can “Bet
Behind” – which lets you play behind one of the seated players.
7-Seat Vegas Blackjack: In Vegas Blackjack, the dealer draws two cards initially. Other than that, all game rules are the same. It’s also possible for players to “Bet Behind” as well.
Playtech’s Live Casino Hold’Em
Playtech’s Live Casino Hold’Em is a
variation of Texas Hold’Em poker. Instead of playing against other
players though, you play against the dealer instead. The basic goal, is
to make a better 5-card hand than the dealer. The game is played with
one deck of cards, and these are manually shuffled after every hand.
Like virtually all Casino Hold’Em games, there’s an optional Pairs Plus
side bet. This pays out when you make a pair or better in your hand, and
the payout is awarded regardless of the dealer’s hand.
Playtech’s Live Dragon Tiger
Dragon Tiger takes its inspiration
from Baccarat, and as player you just need to guess whether the Dragon
or Tiger hand will be higher in total. Playtech’s Live Dragon Tiger is
played using an 8-deck shoe, and one card is dealt to the Dragon and one
to the Tiger. The highest card wins – and it’s as simple as that!
There are also a couple of optional
side bets available, including Odd/Even and Big/Small. As the game is
played out, a Baccarat-like Roadmap will start to form too. We played
Dragon Tiger for a good hour or so when writing this Playtech live
casino review and it’s fair to say it’s one of the better versions we’ve
come across.
Playtech’s Live Sic Bo
Head to Playtech’s Asian studio, and
you’ll find Sic Bo. It’s a very simple game, and it revolved around the
rolling of three Dice. You simply need to bet on the outcome of these
Dice, and if you pick correctly, you win! There’s over 50 different
betting options available, so it’s a great game for those wanting more
action.
Playtech’s Live Hi Lo
We’ve seen Hi Lo offered by a number of Live Casino providers, and Playtech have decided to release their own
variation of the game. Hi Lo is played using 6 decks, with all of the
10’s removed. As the player, you simply need to predict whether the next
card dealt will be higher, lower, or the same value as the previous
one.
The cards are dealt automatically from a ShuffleMaster machine, and for each hand, the first three
cards are burnt. The fourth card is then played. As with most of
Playtech’s live dealer games, Hi Lo offers a wide variety of betting
options.
Playtech’s Live 3 Card Brag
3 Card Brag is a variation of 3 Card
Poker – and it’s an exclusive game from Playtech. The game is played
with one deck (52 cards in total), and the player and dealer are both
dealt three cards. The best hand wins – it’s as simple as that. (In
order to qualify the dealer’s hand needs to be a Queen high or better.)
There’s one side bet in 3 Card Brag –
Pair Plus. This can be played by itself or alongside the Ante Bet and
it pays out for forming a pair in your hand or better.
Playtech’s Live Spin A Win
Spin a Win is Playtech’s answer to
Wheel of Fortune type games – something we’ve seen popularized by
providers like Evolution Gaming. As the player, you simply need to bet
on which number you think the Wheel will stop on. There are a total of 6
numbers on the Wheel, and there are also two multiplier notches – 2X
and 7X. If the Wheel lands on one of the multipliers, it is re-spun,
with the multiplier values attached to any wins formed.
It’s pretty much a carbon clone of
Evolution Gaming’s Dream Catcher, but it’s worth checking out if you’re a
fan of Playtech’s live dealer games.
Streaming Quality
Playtech have invested heavily in their live casino technology, and this means they offer one of the best video streams of all
the live casino software providers. When our team were putting this
Playtech live casino review together it was often noted just how
versatile their live casino platform is.
All of their games display in crisp HD, and unless your internet connection is very poor, you shouldn’t experience any issues while playing.
One thing worth noting, is that
Playtech still offer a downloadable casino client. While the quality of
the video stream is still just as good in this client, the loading times
are a bit
longer – so just bear this in mind. Overall, however, Playtech’s live
casino’s streaming quality is superb – and definitely one of the best
out there.
Playing Interface and Betting Options
One of the first things we noticed
when writing this Playtech live casino review, was that the developer’s
games are all incredibly easy to play. The user interface on all tables
is simple and uncluttered.
Due to the large number of games
offered by Playtech, each game gets its own mini lobby. Here, you’ll see
all of the tables open in that game category, and you can use a filter
tool to narrow down the tables by betting limits or the number of seats
available. You can also choose to be sat at a random table.
At the tables themselves, you’ll
enjoy a wide variety of options to customise your playing experience.
You can change the camera mode from Mixed, to Full Table – this gives
you different views of the table pertaining to your personal
preferences. You also have the standard sounds on/off toggle available.
You can choose to enable or disable
the auto confirm option. If left enabled, you’ll need to manually
confirm your bets each time a new hand is dealt – this can get quite
annoying if you’re playing lots of rounds. You can also choose to switch
the dealer’s voices on or off as well as hiding your bets if you
desire.
We were pleased, when writing this
Playtech live casino review to find that they’ve recently built a Multi
Table option into their software. This allows you to play up to three
different games at once, from a single screen. It’s very useful if
you’re playing multiple Blackjack or Roulette tables, but a word of
warning – we found it gets pretty confusing quite quickly if you’re
playing different game types.
Languages Offered
Playtech’s live dealer games are
offered in a number of languages, and you’ll find the dealers in their
studio speak English, Spanish, German, French, Russian, and Turkish.
While writing this Playtech live casino review, we played games in
English.
The UI itself offers even more
languages, so even if you can’t understand the dealers, you’ll still be
able to play the games without any confusion. Note: The main language is
English, and this is the most commonly spoken language by Playtech’s
dealers.
Playtech Live Mobile Casino Review
All of Playtech’s live dealer games
are optimized for mobile devices, and as one of the market leaders, it’s
clear they’ve put a significant amount of time into developing
their games for cross-platform use. It doesn’t matter whether you’re
playing from a phone or tablet, the games will automatically resize to
fit the screen of the device you’re playing from, and all of the game
controls and betting options scale down accordingly too, making mobile
play incredibly easy and straightforward.
Playtech’s Live Dealers
Playtech uses a combination of male
and female dealers, and the majority of their croupiers are from Eastern
Europe, or Asia. Our team spent time interacting with the dealers when
writing this Playtech live casino review. We found them to be friendly,
attentive and professional, and they’re regularly seen engaging with
players, making for a pleasant environment in which to play. Playtech’s
training program is one of the most rigorous in the world, and for this
reason, you can expect any of their dealers to be extremely competent when it comes to actually dealing/running the games.
Playtech Live Casino Review: Our Thoughts
Playtech have been at the forefront
of live casino gaming since it first started becomming popular, and
they’re one of the leading providers operating in the niche. Playtech’s
entire live casino operation has been recently updated too – giving
their playing interface as modenised, cleaner-looking display. Today,
the company’s main studio is based in Riga, Latvia, and they employ only
the most experienced, well trained dealers.
Something that became immediately
apparent to us when writing this Playtech live casino review was the
quality of their videos streams. Unlike some of the smaller live
providers, Playtech’s games almost always display in full HD, and it’s
very rare to experience buffering or lag. They also offer a
comprehensive game range, including titles like Roulette and Blackjack,
along with some less-well-known games like Sic Bo and Dragon tiger.
Their dealers are now more chatty
than ever (since the overhaul), and Playtech have also built a dedicated
training facility. They train all of their own dealers in-house.
It’s very hard to find any faults
with Playtech’s live casino software and if you’d like to try out their
games you’ll find that all of our recommended casinos below carry their
games. Choose the site you’d like to join, click the link and you can
begin playing right away!
Where To Play Playtech’s Live Casino Games?
[SHORT CODE]
