Oasis - Poker Room?

[lawyerboy5555]

I've read that Oasis of the Seas is supposed to have a poker room on board in the casino. Does it have a poker room with live dealers dealing live games (as opposed to the Poker Pro machines)? Is it open pretty much the entire time the casino is open? For people who are poker players, what games and limits do they run? I'm especially interested in no-limit Texas Hold 'Em. Do they do tournaments, or just cash games? How do the waiting lists work there? Can you call down from cabin, or can you only sign-up in person? Are wait times ever really bad, or do they have enough tables? I appreciate any information you might have.

[MickeyB426]

I've read that Oasis of the Seas is supposed to have a poker room on board in the casino. Does it have a poker room with live dealers dealing live games (as opposed to the Poker Pro machines)? Is it open pretty much the entire time the casino is open? For people who are poker players, what games and limits do they run? I'm especially interested in no-limit Texas Hold 'Em. Do they do tournaments, or just cash games? How do the waiting lists work there? Can you call down from cabin, or can you only sign-up in person? Are wait times ever really bad, or do they have enough tables? I appreciate any information you might have.

 

Poker Room is generally open when the casino is open, but cash games rarely happen during the day. Sign up is in person.

 

No live dealers. Only Poker Pro. Three tables.

 

They play cash games. Either $2-$5 or $3-$6 ante no limit.

 

9 sit-and-go tournaments for the week (3 each Day at Sea, $100 buy in), with the winners facing off on Friday for a free cruise in December for the annual Tournament of Champions.

 

All games in the poker room are Texas Hold'em. There are also two or three individual head-to-head tables if you wish to play that way. Didn't seem to get much use that I noticed.

 

Wait times varies. Some nights you can walk in and sit down, other nights there's a 4 or 5 person list. However, it's safe to say if you are really looking forward to playing, you won't have a problem getting a game.

 

Here's a link showing a walk-through of the casino and poker room

 

[lawyerboy5555]

thanks for the info! I thought I read a while back that Oasis would have a poker room with live dealers, but I guess they thought better of it.

[gosaints2006]

9 sit-and-go tournaments for the week (3 each Day at Sea, $100 buy in), with the winners facing off on Friday for a free cruise in December for the annual Tournament of Champions.

 

 

How does this work? Does each sit-&-go have one winner and they all play in a big tournament on the last day for the free cruise?

[MickeyB426]

How does this work? Does each sit-&-go have one winner and they all play in a big tournament on the last day for the free cruise?

 

Correct. Some cash prizes for second and third are given out as well.

[JoeLongIsland]

Does the tournaments fill up fast? 6000 people and only 80 or 90 spots. I guess signing up the first day right away would be the way to get in. I never played on the machines though. Are they easy to get used to. Guess it would help in figuring out odds.

[ravenone]

I love hole'em but that looks like such a waste of space. Headsup seems silly. I would be really nice if they could have live dealers. I would actually play on the ship whereas I and I'm sure others avoid the computer hold'em game they use now. :(

[JoeLongIsland]

I stumbled upon this on Rccl site

 

Royal Poker Tour

From now until June 2011 all sailing's four days and longer on all Royal Caribbean International ships will offer a Texas Hold-em Poker qualifying tournament**. The tournament is offered based on sufficient demand and available operating time. Winners of each satellite tournament will receive a free cruise*** for two people, and one entry into the Final Royal Poker Tournament onboard Allure of the Seas on December 11, 2011 with an estimated prize pool of $100,000.

 

For more information about the Royal Poker Tour email us at royalpokertour@rccl.com.

 

To enroll in the tournament, guests must go the Casino Cash Desk once onboard.

 

*Tournament entry fees subject to change.

** A minimum number of entries is required in order for the tournament winner to be awarded the free cruise and qualify for the final event. Minimum varies by ship. Tournament entry fees vary per ship. Tournament end date subject to change.

*** Free cruise does not include airfare, gratuities, fuel surcharges, transfers, taxes or fees.

[AmandaKaye79]

We played each night on Oasis. The cash game tables didn't open until 8pm. They were not open the same hours as the casino. There are no live dealers. There are 3 tables with 10 seats at each table. Some nights there was no wait, some nights we waited over an hour to play. It just depended on the crowd.

As far as the tourneys, there were a few sit and go tourneys usually around midnight. they had 10 people max. The other tourneys had no more than 30 people because there are only 30 seats in the room. There were no tourneys with 80-90 people as suggested in earlier posts.

[JoeLongIsland]

I read somewhere, trying to find it, that the 3 sea days have sit n goes and the winners from that play a final table on the last night, I guess like a shootout. I figured 30x3 days were 90 ppl. 1 winner from each table would make the final. I hoping to play for the free cruise in Dec 2011 on Alure.

 

What did you think of the poker pro tables?

[MickeyB426]

Regarding the Poker Pro tables:

 

The poker purist will hate it. But most of them come around. The tables are excellent.

[KKB]

I LOVE poker...almost all I play in Vegas. Anyone who plays a lot of poker DESPISES those tables...

We had them on Princess. I rarely played except for the tourneys (that worked...DH won a free cruise:-)

I find it to be a VERY different game than with live dealers...less interaction...people are very focused on the "cards"--either theirs or the community "cards" in the center...it's like they have forgotten their are other players. Almost like they are playing a video game. VERY weird. And spots on the table seemed very cold/hot--much more so than in games with live dealers. I have played many many live hands...And since it was my only choice on Princess, I did play some (quite a bit of tourney play).

Horrid things, really.

[popapez]

I just sailed on Freedom of the Seas last week and won the free cruise for two and entry into their big poker tournament on Dec 11, 2011. While looking for information about this tournament, I came across this thread and thought I would share my poker experiences from my cruise:

 

There was 1 electronic poker table on the Freedom and it would be a full table from around 8pm-2 or 3 am every night. I play a lot of poker and did not mind the electronic table at all. The players were friendly and I became friends with all of the regular players pretty fast.

 

The cash games were very juicy. It was full of casual players with lots of money. The rake is high (%10, $15 max) but is definitely fun and beatable. It was a $2/$5 game usually, but they reserved a few hours of the week for $1/$2

 

As far as the royal poker tour satellites: they had 3 each day at sea, and I think all but one filled up completely. It was not hard to get into the satellites if you signed up in the morning. The structure for these tournaments was AWFUL. 10 minute blinds which almost doubled every level. If there were more than 7 players, they would give out two seats to the final table on the last day and if there were less, only one.

 

On the last day, the structure was the same. First place got the cruise for two and entry into the big tourney, 2nd got about $600 and 3rd got about $250.

 

 

If anyone knows any information about the championship tournament, I would love to hear it!

[chajec]

Hello,

 

Thanks for the good information regarding FOS and the poker tables. You mentioned that there was some 1/2 NL at times and also some 2/5. Being that it's on a cruise and a lot of casual players, what did you notice people typically buying in for at the 1/2 and the 2/5 games?

 

Do they also have any other NLHE tourneys that are not for the free cruise? I mean if we had enough guys, could we get the Pit Boss to open the table and for us to play a tourney ourselves or a cash game at any time?

 

One more question, how did you get money into the Electronic tab les?

 

 

Thanks.

[popapez]

Hello,

 

Thanks for the good information regarding FOS and the poker tables. You mentioned that there was some 1/2 NL at times and also some 2/5. Being that it's on a cruise and a lot of casual players, what did you notice people typically buying in for at the 1/2 and the 2/5 games?

Most people bought in for around minimum, which was $50 at the 2/5 game. I played with the same 10-15 people the entire cruise and they mostly bought in for around $50-$100. Maybe 1 or 2 people bought in for $200-300. Near the end of the cruise, people starting buying in for more.

 

I never watched or played the 1/2 game so I don't know. They only ran that for 2 hours a day I think.

 

Do they also have any other NLHE tourneys that are not for the free cruise? I mean if we had enough guys, could we get the Pit Boss to open the table and for us to play a tourney ourselves or a cash game at any time?

I believe that they did have 1-table tourneys but the rake was awful. At least with the cruise tourneys you didn't really know how much was being taken out of the prize pool because you were playing for a cruise and a tournament entry haha.

 

The pit bosses on our cruise were great- the last day of the cruise a bunch of people wanted to play a 5/10 game and he said he would change the stakes if everyone agreed. I don't know that he would set up a private tourney because there is only one poker table.

 

Also, the casino can only be open while the ship a certain distance from land, so he couldn't open it for you while the ship is docked ever.

One more question, how did you get money into the Electronic tab les?

 

 

Thanks.

You put money on a separate card and then the card has a balance that you can either clear every night or just leave money on the card the entire cruise and cash out the last day. You put it into the poker screen and choose how much you want to put on the table right then.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[chajec]

Thanks for the great information. I'm surprised at the low amounts of the buy ins. I mean that is only 10BB. Typically I'll buy into 1/2 game for 100-150, so if 2/5 is only 50-100, wow. Probably a lot of casual players maybe trying it out.

 

I thought I read somewhere that there was 3 tables on FOS, but you indicate only one. That doesn't leave much room for getting on the table if there is only one. Is the poker table ever open during the day?

 

Thanks again and I forgot to say Congratulations on your cash and Free Cruise. Good luck in the big one in December.

[JeffersonSea]

We were on Oasis last April and played almost every night. We are not fans of the electronic tables at all, but after the first night got used to it. I think the enjoyment of the game is greatly determined by the crowd you're playing with. We were pretty lucky that we had pretty much the same people show up every night, and everyone had a blast, laughing, drinking and joking around together.

 

There are 3 tables, and the pit boss that ran the poker room was great, echoing what another poster said. He would set the stakes and payouts to whatever we asked for. Whenever there was a free table, or if everyone at the table wanted to play a sit n go, he'd set it up. We would set up the payouts, and often there were chops at the ends.

 

Most of the buy-ins were around $100, sometimes people would buy in for 2-300, but there weren't very many crazy huge pots. I did very well (up about $500 for the week), and yet it was far from super aggressive, cutthroat poker. There was always a light, fun atmosphere.

 

Also, the waitresses paid plenty of attention to those in the poker room, and we never waited long for a drink order.

 

Very rarely were all 3 tables full, and if they were, there was never that long a wait to get a seat. It really was one of the more enjoyable times on our cruise day, because of the fun people we got to play with.

[popapez]

Thanks for the great information. I'm surprised at the low amounts of the buy ins. I mean that is only 10BB. Typically I'll buy into 1/2 game for 100-150, so if 2/5 is only 50-100, wow. Probably a lot of casual players maybe trying it out.

Yes, exactly. A lot of people playing that really have no idea about the game haha

 

I thought I read somewhere that there was 3 tables on FOS, but you indicate only one. That doesn't leave much room for getting on the table if there is only one. Is the poker table ever open during the day?

Yeah, there is only one table on the Freedom. Most nights I could get a seat right away, a few nights I had to wait about 30 minutes.

 

They will open it up during the day on days at sea, but they're not allowed to open the casino while at port.

 

Thanks again and I forgot to say Congratulations on your cash and Free Cruise. Good luck in the big one in December.

Thanks!! :)

[ZoeyVictoria]

I just sailed on Freedom of the Seas last week and won the free cruise for two and entry into their big poker tournament on Dec 11, 2011. While looking for information about this tournament, I came across this thread and thought I would share my poker experiences from my cruise:

 

There was 1 electronic poker table on the Freedom and it would be a full table from around 8pm-2 or 3 am every night. I play a lot of poker and did not mind the electronic table at all. The players were friendly and I became friends with all of the regular players pretty fast.

 

The cash games were very juicy. It was full of casual players with lots of money. The rake is high (%10, $15 max) but is definitely fun and beatable. It was a $2/$5 game usually, but they reserved a few hours of the week for $1/$2

 

As far as the royal poker tour satellites: they had 3 each day at sea, and I think all but one filled up completely. It was not hard to get into the satellites if you signed up in the morning. The structure for these tournaments was AWFUL. 10 minute blinds which almost doubled every level. If there were more than 7 players, they would give out two seats to the final table on the last day and if there were less, only one.

 

On the last day, the structure was the same. First place got the cruise for two and entry into the big tourney, 2nd got about $600 and 3rd got about $250.

 

 

If anyone knows any information about the championship tournament, I would love to hear it!

 

That is a very nice way to describe some of the players. I played on board once - I picked up $367 in 25 minutes, but it was nerve-wracking rather than fun. I haven't played since (six cruises ago). Maybe I will give it another try and find the table with the light, fun atmosphere that KimandJeffC experienced. I love the game, but got frustrated with the "all-in, re-buy, lose that money and leave" players.

[Pacemaker36]

Has anyone played in their final $100,000 prize pool tournament and can you share hwo the final tournament went. How many people were in it. What was the grand prize? How many people got paid? What was teh format?

 

I won a seat and cruise for 2 on the Oasis for Dec. 8 2012 but they won't confirm any of this information or tell me the format of past final tournaments.

 

Thanks!

[mark290]

" And spots on the table seemed very cold/hot--much more so than in games with live dealers. I have played many many live hands..."

 

You think a computer random number generator is less random than a human dealer ? I find that hard to believe to be actually true. In fact I find it impossible to be true. That is like buying into the ridiculous notion that a slot is looser on the first night of a cruise. The chip controls this and cannot create a hot or cold spot intentionally.

 

Hot or cold spots are a short term effect of chance. It will even out over the 100,000's of hands that the program is designed to spread the cards over. It is completely, random, complete chance and a hot run is strictly random luck that will even out over many, many hands. No one seat is going to be hotter over the time frame these chips are designed to randomly disburse the cards. The chips are no more prone to creating hot spots than a human, actually less likely.

[Baseballkurt]

When I was on the Oasis in August, the table had to be rebooted because of seats that would not work, someone lost over 300 in the hand because of it. The pit boss got a round of drinks for everyone at the table and that was it. I also found many rookies where at the table with lots of money to loose calling any bet with any two cards hoping to hit on the river. I was not enjoying myself and ended up playing Blackjack and doing very well.

[popapez]

Has anyone played in their final $100,000 prize pool tournament and can you share hwo the final tournament went. How many people were in it. What was the grand prize? How many people got paid? What was teh format?

 

I won a seat and cruise for 2 on the Oasis for Dec. 8 2012 but they won't confirm any of this information or tell me the format of past final tournaments.

 

Thanks!

Yeah, the tournament was actually run really well. The structure was fast, but that's to be expected.

 

There were 360 people in 2011. They did two day 1's that last until there were 45 people from each day left. Then there were 3 more days where they played for about 4 hours from 8-midnight. So the second day they played down to 18. third day they played down to 6 and last day was the final table with 6 people.

 

And they actually payed out way more that $100k, more like 150k. First was 50k, second was 30k, 3rd was 20k then down from there. They payed out 90 people I think, but like 60-90th only made $100 or something stupid.

 

They had a huge conference room with about 30 tables in it and once people started busting the tournament they ran $1-2 and $2-5 games in there. There were live dealers in that conference room and then the casino also has 3 electronic tables.

 

The final table was live in the ice rink. It was cool, they had show girls bring out everyone and an announcer and the final table got a DVD of it to bring home. 1-3rd place got nice trophies and 1st place got a bracelet.

 

Anything else you want to know?

[Pacemaker36]

thanks a big help understanding the format- how did you do?

[popapez]

I got first lol...