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A live blackjack table: key labels
A live table states its own rules on screen. Here is which label decides what.
The table name is already part of the rules
Live blackjack table names usually encode how the table runs. "Speed" indicates a shortened dealing cycle; "Infinite" or "One" indicates an unlimited-seat format where many players act on the same dealt hand; "Party" or "Grand" is closer to a studio or presentation distinction.
That is why the live catalogue here groups tables by type. A different name means a different flow, and a different flow means different things worth checking on screen.
Limits and seating
The lobby lists a minimum and maximum before you enter, and those differ by table and can change through the day. Seated tables have a fixed number of positions, so a full table means waiting or watching; unlimited-seat formats remove that constraint.
One caveat specific to this site: Microgaming's live-dealer tables publish no bet limits in the hub catalogue. Where that field reads "not listed" here, it is because the studio has not stated it, not because the entry is incomplete.
The rule labels change the game
A short list of labels actually determines how a blackjack table plays: whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17 (H17 / S17), whether blackjack pays 3:2 or 6:5, whether doubling and doubling after a split are allowed, whether surrender is offered, and the number of decks.
These appear on the table's rules screen or beside its name, and two similarly named tables from the same studio can differ. If there is a checklist for reading a live table, this is it.
Side bets are separate rules
Side bets such as Perfect Pairs or 21+3 carry their own paytables. They sit in the same area of the screen as the main hand, which makes them look like one ruleset, but they resolve separately and pay separately. The rules screen keeps them in their own section, and that is the section to read.
It is also why the live catalogue lists different features per table: which side bets a table offers is part of that table's specification.
Live tables do not have demos
Unlike slots, live-dealer tables have no play-money demo. The table is a broadcast from a real studio, so there is nothing to run in practice mode. A studio page occasionally embeds a showcase stream, but that is a preview with the betting interface inactive — not a demo.
Live is therefore covered here through the catalogue and format guides. The rule labels above tell you most of what you would otherwise be looking for.
Terms used here
- S17 / H17
- Whether the dealer stands or hits on soft 17.
- Soft hand
- A hand containing an ace counted as either 1 or 11, so it has two values.
- Surrender
- The option to forfeit a hand and recover part of the stake. Not offered at every table.
- Side bet
- An additional bet resolved against its own paytable.
- Unlimited seats
- A format where many participants act on the same dealt hand.