We’ve all seen the confident men and women in fancy clothes, carelessly holding a drink in one hand and signaling the dealer to hit them up with the other. Dressing fancy and acting suave has its perks, but there is a more relaxed setting to play these table games at – absolutely any time of day or night. By playing live Blackjack at one of the many online casinos, players can enjoy the thrilling card game from the comfort of their couch. Every online casino out there claims to have the best online Blackjack, so we decided to finally put the debate to bet…we mean bed, and spill the live Blackjack tea in this thoroughly researched review.

Here is a list of the best live dealer Blackjack casinos and the best Canadian live Blackjack sites

Best Live Dealer Blackjack Casinos

Best Canadian Live Blackjack sites

Since we’re not ranking the actual dealers, the best live dealer Blackjack Canada casinos are ranked according to their quality and quantity of games. With the best Canadian Live Blackjack sites, we kept a wider focus in regards to payout rates and overall performance of the casinos.

888Casino is a clear winner in this casino comparison, as they boast a huge live blackjack library and have the capacity to host their own live games. This ensures that they can tweak their rooms to better fit players, without having to go through a third party. Here, players will enjoy 888’s many years of experience in the industry, as well as a no deposit welcome bonus that allows them to play practically for free in the beginning.

Leo Vegas is a good runner-up with a heap of awards under their casino belts, whilst sporting great bonuses and a large games library. Their payout rates are a bit lower than the others, but still pretty decent.

Spin casino gets third place in the Best Live Dealer Blackjack Casinos list because of a good selection of live blackjack games, as well as the reputable quality of their games. Their payouts are higher than Leo Vegas, but they lack the numerous awards and have gotten some hate online.

The overall performance of Jackpot City is what gets them on this list. Their live blackjack selection leaves us wanting, but the rest of the casino has yet to be beaten. It has a high payout rate, a pretty decent welcome bonus and a great range of live blackjack games in different settings.

What are the advantages of playing live Blackjack online?

The advantages of playing live Blackjack are numerous. From advances in mobile technology, software programming, gaming expertise to accessibility, the nature of Canadian live Blackjack has changed for the better.

Thanks to advances in technology, live Blackjack Canada doesn’t have to take place in a home office on a dusty old IBM computer that is still running the first version of Windows. Nowadays, any smartphone or tablet device will do with sites either offering players downloadable apps or 100% mobile compatible websites. For any live Blackjack player, this means that a live game can be taken anywhere and played anytime.

Not only is live Blackjack fully mobile these days but it also connects players with other players. When playing a live Blackjack game, players can join a chat room and interact with the dealer as well as other players. Players can bet and watch the game unfold in real time as if they were seated at a real table. It’s a digital reality.

Another great advantage of online Blackjack is that there is little to no distraction from other players. There is no pressure from other players when it comes to betting or playing and players aren’t physically present to judge a player’s every move.  

Many avid live Blackjack game players will be wondering just how fair an online live game is and just how much a player is able to see? But this is where gambling live online has yet another advantage up its sleeve. Most online casinos have got every angle covered with top-notch HD cameras. Players are able to toggle through the various angles on offer, from the dealer to a close-up of the table and the cards. There can be no cheating. Big broth…we mean, players are always watching.

Another big advantage of playing live Blackjack online vs. at a physical casino is the sign-in welcome bonuses on offer. Jackpot City casino will give a C$1600 deposit bonus when a player signs up. Spin Casino will offer a C$1000 deposit bonus. Just remember to check the minimum and maximum bet, wagering requirements and other t’s and c’s since that might dictate the payout terms and game choices related to the deposit bonus. Playing live Blackjack online also opens up a variety of other benefits and promotional offers that are exclusively available online. Taking advantage of these deals, promo offers and loyalty program rewards can actually double the player perks available when gambling. On occasion, online casinos will even offer a small no deposit bonus that will give players the opportunity to win real money on live Blackjack or Poker without having to put down any of their own cash.

Another benefit of playing live Blackjack online is some casino sites give players the opportunity to try for free before gambling with actual money. Try doing that in a brick-and-mortar casino. Players can practice, practice and practice some more before putting their best strategies to the test.

Let’s call a spade a spade here. Blackjack at a casino doesn’t really offer much diversity when it comes to games. Live Blackjack games online come in a huge variety of games such as American Blackjack, European Blackjack, Vegas Strip Blackjack, Blackjack Switch and Blackjack Perfect Pairs. The styles and themes on offer number in the hundreds on a top Canadian live Blackjacks site. And the games library is always innovative with legendary companies like Evolution Gaming at the online helm.

Can you play live Blackjack for free?

This is truly the million-dollar question. The sad news is that there is no free lunch in the world of online casinos, since they are still businesses that need cash flow to survive. So a player will struggle to find completely free live Blackjack table games. There is one obvious loophole regarding this, though: no deposit cash bonuses. The reason why we put 888Casino up as one of the top live Blackjack casinos is that they offer new players $88 without a player needing to deposit any real money. The wagering requirements are as we would suspect them to be when it comes to handing out free money. But the fact still stands that it, technically, is still playing Blackjack for free with the opportunity of winning actual cash.

Is it possible to count cards in live Blackjack?

Any player that thinks the game of live Blackjack can be mastered by using strategies such as counting cards in Blackjack will most probably find that the live dealers and the online casino is always one step ahead. First of all, in Blackjack, the dealers aren’t just using one pack of cards. There can be up to eight packs in the shoe, and we’re not talking about the dealer’s size 10 loafers. Secondly, counting cards has been a practice amongst players for so long that casinos have managed to refine their methods for countering them.

But is it possible? Of course. Counting cards in Blackjack is not literally counting the cards. As long as players keep track of how many high value cards (10-K) are being dealt in relation to the low-value cards (2-5), then that technically counts as counting cards. Assign each high-valued card +1 and each low value card -1. For each card being played, keep count and keep in mind that a higher score means a higher risk for the player. Just remember to “reset” the score when the cards are reshuffled and keep in mind that this is the most basic way to do this. There are several different methods, each more complicated than the next, that are based on this principle, but to go through all of them would be madness in a review like this.

Whether this is going to work and give players an edge or not is up for debate. There are too many factors that come into play when counting cards to say whether that applies to all live Blackjack games or not. And the fact that 888Casino actually offers players card counting tools and tutorials on their blog page also makes us suspect that card counting might not be the lucrative casino practice many players make it out to be. Live blackjack offers a card counting advantage over machine-driven online Blackjack though since there are no random number generators that can interfere with whatever card counting tactic is being used.

Dealers have also been well trained to look out for players that are using card counting on live Blackjack sites.  For those online casinos that don’t use an automatic card shuffling machine, the dealer will most likely shuffle the cards halfway through. If the shoe has eight decks, then the deck will be shuffled after four of the eight decks have been used.

And last but not least, even though game play is live there is still some software running in the background. As play continues throughout a live Blackjack game, the live casino software will keep track of the bets and hands played and recognize any betting patterns. If it finds a specific pattern that can be traced to a particular player that player will be stopped.

What are the differences between live Blackjack rules and regular casino rules?

The basic Blackjack casino rules apply in both cases. Ace is equal to 1 or 11. 2 – 9 is the same as the face value on the card. 10 and face cards are worth 10. The game will begin when the bets are placed and the live dealer will hand each player two cards as well as deal two cards for themselves.  Players can then decide to hit (get dealt another card) or stay (keep the cards they were already dealt) depending on the value of the two cards. If the player’s hand is closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand, it’s a win for the player. Fairly simple stuff.

There are a bunch of different moves and tactics that can be employed when playing Blackjack, but the bottom line is that the base of the game remains the same, regardless of where the games take place. What can vary are the rules related to specific variants of the Blackjack games such as Vegas Strip Blackjack, Blackjack Switch and Blackjack Perfect Pairs. Online, it’s way easier to have more complicated variants with side bets and odd rules, because online casinos can make the rules available for players right on the screen. In real life, players would risk being made a fool of if they misunderstood the rules or didn’t learn them properly. The difference in rules between live Blackjack and analogue Blackjack are found in the game variations rather than the core of Blackjack games.

The essential basic Blackjack strategies that can be applied to live Blackjack

The most important basic Blackjack strategy when playing online or offline, is to always gamble with disposable income. This is not the place to risk the mortgage in a misguided effort to win bigger winnings.

In terms of general game play strategy, there are a number of complex strategies for playing Blackjack and we know there are some players who claim that they have the answer to playing the perfect live Blackjack as well. We are, however, not so certain and very skeptical of any “sure-thing” strategy. There are some basic strategies that can act as guidelines for any nervous player who feel a little out of practice. What’s important to remember when planning strategies is that gaming rules dictate that the house stays at 17 or higher.

If a player just wants to develop a very basic Blackjack strategy, they can build one using the following tips: Never stop before hitting 15, as the chance of getting a non-bust card is good enough to keep going. Always split pocket aces and 10-K since there’s always a chance of hitting Blackjack or getting a decent enough card on each of the split hands. Always keep an eye on whatever card the live dealer is sitting with. If they are holding an open ace, players will have the option of buying insurance to make sure they get half the money back if the live dealer’s cards show Blackjack. Depending on what the dealer is holding, a player who has been counting cards might figure out what the odds of the dealer going bust is. So, maybe also count the cards a little. Not necessarily like Rain Man, but just a little.

The second most important strategy to apply is to learn the rules and use common sense when playing. Players can’t even ponder moving on to more complicated strategies if they don’t even have the basics of Blackjack down pat. For those who stick to the basics of Blackjack and keep within their budget, playing live Blackjack online can mean hours of entertainment, connecting with others from the comfort of their own home and maybe even a cheeky little win or two.