Live casino: real dealers, familiar maths
In a live casino, cards are dealt and wheels spun for real in a studio in front of cameras; you bet through the screen within a timed window and watch the result happen in real time. It is the part of the lobby closest to a physical casino floor. This page explains how live tables work, where the house edge sits in each game and what changes when you have bonus money at 389win. Which tables are available to you, in which languages and with which limits is something only the lobby shows.
How a live table runs
Every round has a betting timer. When it closes, the dealer acts and the system reads the outcome — through sensors in the wheel or card recognition — and settles bets automatically. Unlike slots, the pace is set by the table: live roulette completes far fewer rounds per hour than a software game. That cuts hourly turnover, which in practice makes a session cheaper at the same stake per round.
Live roulette
The maths is classic roulette: about 2.70% house edge on a single-zero wheel and about 5.26% on a double-zero wheel. Variants with multipliers or bonus rounds redistribute payouts — check each table's paytable. Among the games we reviewed, Monopoly Roulette is a themed roulette variant; details are on its page.
Live blackjack
In blackjack, your decisions affect the result. Following basic strategy — the chart of when to hit, stand, double or split against the dealer's upcard — brings the house edge down to the minimum for that rule set. Rules such as the blackjack payout (3 to 2 is the classic standard; 6 to 5 is much worse), the number of decks and whether the dealer stands on soft 17 change the numbers. Read the table rules before you sit down.
Live baccarat
Baccarat is almost entirely automatic: you choose banker, player or tie, and the cards follow fixed rules. The tie usually has the highest payout and the worst value for the player. "Speed" versions run shorter rounds — more rounds per hour means more turnover and more total cost at the same stake.
A session in units
| Game | Rounds per hour | Stake | Hourly turnover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live roulette | 40 | 5 | 200 |
| Speed baccarat | 80 | 5 | 400 |
| Slot | 500 | 1 | 500 |
Illustrative example, not a 389win term. Hourly turnover is what determines a session's expected cost. A slow table at 5 units a round can cost less per hour than a slot at 1 unit a spin.
Live games and bonuses
By industry practice, live games usually contribute little or nothing to wagering, and some offers ban hedged bets such as covering red and black together. If you mostly play live, declining the bonus and keeping withdrawals free often makes more sense — see bonus terms and wagering.
Connection and mobile
Live streams use more data than slots. On mobile, an unstable connection can make you miss a round's betting window; generally a bet only counts if it registers before the timer closes. Prefer stable Wi-Fi and check the table history to confirm your bet was accepted. For timer-free software versions, see table games.