Best Live Poker Online Casinos and Games in 2025

Live casino poker is an iteration of casino poker that is played with human dealers and real equipment. These poker games are played live on location and are live-streamed to the online casino, allowing you to place bets and make decisions in real time. Live dealer poker games are run by professional dealers with years of experience, creating an immersive gaming experience that traditional games cannot match.

Live poker casinos are gambling sites with a speciality in live dealer games. These gambling sites typically have an entire section of the site dedicated to live casino games, offering a variety of live poker options. You'll often find a mix of traditional casino poker games and modern iterations that have built on the classic gameplay.

Most popular live poker games

Casino poker games are a popular option among players thanks to their moderate house edge and hands-on playing mechanics. Over the years, there have been many iterations of casino poker, each offering new twists on the gameplay mechanics, and have cemented themselves as mainstays of online poker libraries.

A number of these games have made the transition to live dealer games, allowing you to enjoy them in an immersive gaming environment. To help you choose your next poker live game, we've explored the most popular options.

1. Caribbean Stud – Also known as Casino Stud Poker, in this game, both the player and the dealer are dealt five cards, with the dealer turning their fifth card face up. The player must decide whether to fold their hand, losing their original ante wager, or "raise," by placing a bet worth 2x the ante. If the player continues, both hands are turned face up and any winnings are paid out. This game sometimes features a progressive jackpot for straight and royal flushes, increasing the potential payouts.
2. Casino Hold'em – A game similar in structure to Texas Hold'em, both the dealer and player are dealt two cards face down, and three community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. The player must decide whether to "call," which requires wagering 2x the ante bet, or "fold," which surrenders their initial ante bet. If the player calls, the turn and river are dealt, and both hands are shown down to determine who has the best five-card poker hand. Winnings are determined based on the quality of your hand, paying out more for better hands.
3. 3-Card Poker – Rather than the traditional 5-card rankings, this game uses a unique set of 3-card rankings to account for the smaller hand sizes. Once all bets have been placed, the player and dealer are dealt three cards. Players must decide whether to fold and surrender their bet or to "play," by matching their initial wager. If the player continues, the hands are turned face-up to determine the winner. If the dealer qualifies, the winnings paid out based on the strength of the player's three-card poker hand.

What are the pros and cons of live casino poker games?

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with both the positive and negative aspects of a game before playing for real money. To that end, we've highlighted the key advantages and disadvantages of playing live dealer poker games.

Pros

• Easy to learn – Live casino poker games such as 3-Card Poker are much easier to learn than player vs. player poker games such as Texas Hold'em, making them more accessible to beginners.
• Social interaction – Live poker games allow you to interact with the dealer and other players as the game is being played. The live chat feature offers a level of social interaction that's not found in the traditional animated versions of the game.
• Interactive playing experience – Unlike some casino games, live poker has an interactive element, requiring you to make decisions while playing the hand. This gives you a level of control over the results, making you feel like a bigger part of the playing experience.
• Gameplay transparency – These games are played with real dealers and professional equipment, recreating the brick-and-mortar casino experience while playing from home. As you can see the cards being shuffled and dealt, live poker games offer a greater level of transparency over the results than animated games that use an RNG.

Cons

• Slower gameplay – The pace of the game is slower than the animated version as you have to wait for everyone to place their bets and play their hand.
• Variable house edge – Each variant of casino poker has a different house edge, making it hard to pick the best-value game.
• No demo version – It is not possible to play live poker games for free before playing for real money. This is due to the high cost of running these games.

What to look for when choosing a real money live poker casino

Given the number of live online casinos offering live poker games, it can be hard to identify which sites are worth your time. While our experts have provided a list of the top live poker casinos, we understand that you may want to conduct your own research.

That's why we've listed the top five features you should consider when choosing your next online live poker site:

• Live poker portfolio – Before committing to joining a live casino, it's important to consider which poker games they offer. Make sure they provide the games you want to play and check out the site's software developers to evaluate the quality of their portfolio.
• Security and reputation – Live poker websites that have a good reputation within the community are always preferred, as they're the most likely to offer a fair, stable, and secure playing environment. We also recommend checking the licensing status of any prospective casino (although licenses do not necessarily guarantee 100% safety) as well as the site's security features, such as SSL encryption and firewalls.
• Payment options – When choosing a live casino, make sure that the site offers your preferred payment method. Having access to your preferred banking options makes it easier to deposit your funds and withdraw your winnings. Don't forget to check the site's payment fee policy and average withdrawal times.
• Player support – Customer support is a vital part of any live casino. You need to know that you'll get the help you need, when you need it. Take a look at the availability of the support teams to ensure they're available during your regular playing hours and consider how responsive and helpful the team is.
• Promotional offers – Many of the top live poker casino sites offer generous promotions and casino bonuses to both new and existing players, giving you great value for money on your first deposit and beyond. These offers can increase the size of your bankroll and extend your playing time, so it pays to shop around for the best deals.

Play live poker online on mobile

The top live poker casinos all offer mobile gaming platforms that allow you to play your favorite games from your mobile device. These platforms can take the form of mobile-optimized websites that can be accessed from your browser or downloadable mobile apps. While both provide a good gaming experience, we've found that the apps often offer better performance levels, making for smoother gameplay.

When playing live poker from your mobile, you'll notice that things are a little different compared to the desktop version. Touch screen controls have been implemented, allowing you to easily place your bets and make decisions with a single tap. The size of the buttons has also been increased relative to the size of the screen, making them easier to press.

Online poker live dealer casino customer support

If you have any questions or concerns when playing live poker games, the best course of action is to contact your casino's customer support team. It's common for live casinos to offer multiple support channels, allowing you to pick your preferred option. These channels include:

• Email
• Social Media
• Live chat
• Phone support

Live poker summary

In conclusion, live poker games offer an exciting poker experience for online casino players. They provide you with social features, such as the live chat box, that enhance the gameplay, and the HD streaming service makes it easy to follow along with the action.

AUTHOR

Jordan Conroy

Casino expert and writer

Jordan Conroy is an accomplished iGaming writer with more than four years of experience in the industry. He has a passion for online gambling which he channels into insightful content that provides value to both beginners and experienced players. Jordan's articles cover a variety of topics, including blackjack, roulette, and baccarat, offering detailed breakdowns of the most popular live casino games.

When Jordan isn't writing iGaming articles, he enjoys playing poker and following sports, such as snooker, football, and F1.