camleish

the fact that you know about 2+2 means you should do great on the ship. Here are a couple pointers I learned from my cruise...

 

-lots of calling stations so don't even think of trying to buy pots. You will get called down with anyone sporting bottom pair.

 

-unless you have a monster starting hand, its almost pointless to raise preflop if you are doing so to chase players from the hand. In a 1/2 game even if you raise to $10 you will still get several callers. I went with the limp and pray strategy which leads me to my next point. Case in point, I lost one hand with pocket aces because I raised 5x bb preflop and had a caller. Flop came out 8-3-3 so I bet it, figuring that no one with a 3 would've called my pre flop raise. Ended up losing to a guy who called my raise with 10-3. But it was suited, which became a running joke all week amongst the players at the table who knew what they were doing.

 

-unlike a real game, once you make the nuts or near nuts you can be guaranteed to have at least one caller no matter how much you bet.

 

 

My first night in the casino I lost about $100, each night after that I improved and brought in $300 on the last night and could've easily been alot more but I checked down several hands with friends of mine who I didn't want to take money from. Also lost out on $50 when some drunk idiot tried to string bet a $50 raise with a pair of 8s while I had a set of Kings.

 

 

Just be prepared to change up how you normally play is the best advice I can give you. The last night one of my friends lamented that she would've won a hand if she played her 9-5 and I told her that for $2 you might as well play 9-5 every time. To make a point, I played it the next time I got it and won a big pot with a straight. I played it 3 more times that night and won every time.

 

On the other hand, I lost every single hand all week where I had AK.

this is very good advice. it's almost more difficult to play against some first timers with $1k to throw around than at a real table. but, if you play tight and bet big with the nuts some real money is possible.

i'm type one, but have cruised without problem and have felt that my experience was every bit as good as my non-diabetic colleagues. one thing i very highly recommend is waking up a bit early and spending an hour or so in the gym. it will really make a big difference in how you feel and having some extra guilt-free food. in general as a diabetic, you need to pay attention to carbs and food's glycemic index.

depending on the system you and your doctor have established (i.e. carb counting vs. carb servings) you can still enjoy eating on your cruise just as much as everyone else. some foods that i would stay away from:

-pizza, as it's quite hard to deal with in terms of medication due to the way it breaks down

-pastries/donuts

-non-diet soda and juices with added sugar

-french fries and other battered/deep fried foods

some fun foods that i highly recommend:

-whole wheat breads, which will add complex carbs and stick with you longer

-oatmeal/steel cut oats

-ice cream/frozen yogurt in small servings (hold the toppings, though)

-meat (carb free)

-"protein style" burgers (no bun)

-sushi (the benefits of fish are well documented. the rice is carb heavy, but is much preferable to sweets)

(disclaimer: i am not a medical doctor, nor is this sound medical advice. consult your doctor/dietician before making any changes to your diet.)