Cruise casinos

Part of my fun is the ships casino... I am a poker player that enjoys a live game with a live dealer...

My last cruise was on Celebrity and I was disappointed with the casino as the poker table was electronic. I was told it was live ... disappointed.

I think Norwegian is still live ... any others??

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Keith

Part of my fun is the ships casino... I am a poker player that enjoys a live game with a live dealer...

My last cruise was on Celebrity and I was disappointed with the casino as the poker table was electronic. I was told it was live ... disappointed.

I think Norwegian is still live ... any others??

The 3 card poker and black jack tables are live on HAL. I am still sitting here trying to figure out how in the world you play poker at a table without a dealer. What do you mean the "table was electronic"? The only "electronic" things in the casino that I saw was slot machines!

The 3 card poker and black jack tables are live on HAL. I am still sitting here trying to figure out how in the world you play poker at a table without a dealer. What do you mean the "table was electronic"? The only "electronic" things in the casino that I saw was slot machines!

The table is called Poker Pro, a decent sized poker table with glass rather than felt. Cards are dealt electronically as each player has a screen in front of them embedded in the table, at an angle so only they can see. If I recall, the table itself is a large screen that shows all cards, bets, and pot. All bets and other actions are made on the player’s screen.

Real money is handled through a player’s card or room card.

It’s OK, not as much fun as live poker with a dealer and chips.

Neal

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Part of my fun is the ships casino... I am a poker player that enjoys a live game with a live dealer...

My last cruise was on Celebrity and I was disappointed with the casino as the poker table was electronic. I was told it was live ... disappointed.

I think Norwegian is still live ... any others??

Hi - welcome to Cruise Critic - i believe Celebrity was the last holdout in having live dealers, and they have now gone electronic. I just got off the Equinox and their table was broken, so at least you got to play.

From the cruise line's point of view - it makes much more sense to have an electronic table - you don't have to train and rotate dealers. I do hope next time you give them a chance - I actually have found the games on electronic tables to be much more active with way bigger pots than in a live game; you also get more hands in per hour and there is never an issue with identifying winning hands or splitting pots...they don't make mistakes.

Also electronic tables are less intimidating to a new player than live ones - many beginners have played hold-em on their phones the same way they play solitaire. In other words I have found the electronic tables on Princess and HAL to be very profitable.

The 3 card poker and black jack tables are live on HAL. I am still sitting here trying to figure out how in the world you play poker at a table without a dealer. What do you mean the "table was electronic"? The only "electronic" things in the casino that I saw was slot machines!

The OP is talking about a poker game against other players - not a table game...just like you see on ESPN when they broadcast the WSOP tournament.

Norwegian and Royal Caribbean still have live dealers for their 2-5 No Limit Texas Holdem.

I much prefer the Poker Pro electronic tables due to the speed of the game, no arguments, string bets etc. And the rake is typically much lower than live dealers. For instance NCL and RCCL's rakes are 10% of the pot, up to $25 per hand (again $2-5 NL game). While the Poker Pro tables are typically $1-2 NL with a rake of 15% of the pot, up to $8 or so.

Norwegian and Royal Caribbean still have live dealers for their 2-5 No Limit Texas Holdem.

 

I much prefer the Poker Pro electronic tables due to the speed of the game, no arguments, string bets etc. And the rake is typically much lower than live dealers. For instance NCL and RCCL's rakes are 10% of the pot, up to $25 per hand (again $2-5 NL game). While the Poker Pro tables are typically $1-2 NL with a rake of 15% of the pot, up to $8 or so.

thanks for the heads up...I did not know any line was doing 2-5.

I agree with everything you said regarding the Poker Pro tables...

I only started cruising NCL 18 months ago so not sure how long they've spread 2-5. The main issue I've found is that the live games have a hard time attracting enough players (minimum 5-6) to get a game going on ships with under 3,000 passengers. It's really hit or miss each day unless you have 3-4 steady players that are always there. On bigger ships (4,000+ passengers) there is often a waiting list, though the games often don't get going until 8-9pm, but last until 3.30-4.00am

On the other hand, the Poker Pro tables seem to always have a game going by 7-8pm at the latest on a port day. Often around the clock games happen on sea days, as the table stays open overnight when the next day is a sea days.