Been spending a fair bit of time on the live tables lately instead of the usual slots grind, and yeah... once you try a few different setups you start spotting the same stuff straight away. For me the big thing isn't even the game list anymore. It's the stream quality, how long the dealer takes between hands, whether the UI gets clunky on mobile, and if the lobby is a mess when you're just trying to jump into blackjack without digging around for 10 minutes like a goose.
The better ones feel smooth from the second you load in. No weird delay, no freezing when a few more players join, and the dealers actually keep things moving. Blackjack is where I notice it most. Some tables are nice and sharp, side bets work properly, betting window feels fair. Others drag like mad and kill the mood. Roulette is a bit easier to get right, but even there, a dodgy camera angle or laggy spin result gets old fast. Baccarat's usually the cleanest if you just want quick rounds and no fuss.
Couple of things that matter more here too: decent evening traffic, sensible minimums in our time zone, and not getting stitched up by a platform that hides the lower-stakes tables when peak time hits. AUD balance display helps as well, sounds minor but it makes a difference if you're tracking what you're actually doing. I've also found some sites push the flashy game-show stuff heaps, which is fine for a muck around, but if I'm sitting down properly I'd still rather a solid roulette or blackjack table that runs clean.
If I had to give my rough take, the live side is miles better now than it was a few years back, but there's still a big gap between the operators that just slap the tables on the site and the ones that actually make it easy to use. Keen to hear what everyone else is playing at the moment — proper live blackjack, roulette, baccarat, even the game-show tables if you've found a ripper one that isn't just chaos.