blackjack minimum?

[MrCo9]

The dealer there was very nice about informing me of the advised moves. (Didn't help me any; still went bust :( )

Yeah, but how long did you play and how long would you have played without the dealer's coaching?? If the dealer's coaching alllowed you to play longer that is all that matters. The # of hands played is what matters if you're going to play until all your $ is gone. At any point were you winning? If so, why didn't you quit then??

[myra711]

Yeah, but how long did you play and how long would you have played without the dealer's coaching?? If the dealer's coaching alllowed you to play longer that is all that matters. The # of hands played is what matters if you're going to play until all your $ is gone. At any point were you winning? If so, why didn't you quit then??

 

No I was never up. I would have switched tables, but I was with my newly minted 21 y/o daughter, who wanted to play for low stakes, We were at a $1.00 minimum table (with .25 fee/hand), and it was specifically a learning table. Dealer was lucky.

[Amadawn1]

Thanks for the Blackjack practice link, STBS! Been awhile since my last trip to Vegas, and am looking forward to some play on my cruise in May!

[MrCo9]

We were at a $1.00 minimum table (with .25 fee/hand), and it was specifically a learning table. Dealer was lucky.

P.T. barnum was right, there is one born every minute. ;-) In addition to collecting on your losing hands the casino collected $.25 per hand JUST for the opportunity of playing??

 

The casinos in California used to charge per hands, but that was back when they could not bank the hands, the players got to bank the tables. I don't see how it could be legal for an AC casino to charge you to play.

[jt_83]

I try not to get upset at people not playing basic strategy, because there are times when it's worked out for the table. However, your odds are best if you do follow basic strategy, so that's how I play, and I would recommend that others do as well.

[davecttr]

I try not to get upset at people not playing basic strategy, because there are times when it's worked out for the table. However, your odds are best if you do follow basic strategy, so that's how I play, and I would recommend that others do as well.

I play basic strategy for low stakes and on my last cruise a couple of weeks ago I was £150 up the first week and £200 down at the end of the second. As the dealer said, every time I dealt you 2 aces you split and had a 2 or 3 on the hit :(

 

Never mind, next cruise I will have 2 weeks of good cards :D

[gimpysfamily2]

We were on a three day and the minimum on real tables was $10. They had three electronic tables that were $3 and then went down to $2 because no one was playing them. I would have preferred a real $5 table but I was up for the cruise so I can't complain.

[Silverscreencruiser]

We were on a three day and the minimum on real tables was $10. They had three electronic tables that were $3 and then went down to $2 because no one was playing them. I would have preferred a real $5 table but I was up for the cruise so I can't complain.

 

It might have something to do with the fact it was a 3-day cruise. On a longer cruise, people tend to budget their gambling money a little more carefully, and might well sit a day out if they think the game is too rich for them. On a short cruise, one night might be the only chance you have to gamble (especially if you have other plans).

 

I'm sure that if they didn't get significant play with a $10 minimum, it would have dropped to $5, especially during the daylight hours.

[gimpysfamily2]

I suppose you could be right. We were in the Nassau for almost 24 hrs. They did open the casino at 7PM while in port. So we only had 3 evenings and one full day. I thought it was odd since there were few people that played the electronic games. They have those at our local casino that can't have any cards used. They use dealers at our local casino but it just doesn't seem the same as a real table with cards.

[Hoiiip]

Do they allow surrenders?

[AndyTheK]

Do they allow surrenders?

No.

[Hoiiip]

Thanks, Andy.

[davecttr]

I play basic strategy for low stakes and on my last cruise a couple of weeks ago I was £150 up the first week and £200 down at the end of the second. As the dealer said, every time I dealt you 2 aces you split and had a 2 or 3 on the hit :(

 

Never mind, next cruise I will have 2 weeks of good cards :D

 

Just got back from a 12 nighter and those good cards did not happen :(

 

Out of 15 sessions I came out ahead in only 2!

 

Got funny looks the first night when I hit a soft 18 to a dealer 9 and it just got worse so by the end i was full of doubts that this basic strategy was any use at all, even after making all the correct plays. Other players making lots of money with weird plays and telling me I was doing the wrong thing did not help either. At one point I commented that i was sure I WAS making the right plays the dealer said 'you must be reading the wrong book'!

 

The only consolations are:

Another dealer told me I was making the right plays, just not getting the right cards!

 

The table was under close scrutiny at times so I hope nobody was card counting, which would be stupid on a ship as you have no where else to go!

 

Apparently BlackjacK is a pretty variable game so my losing steak might well be within the bounds of expected probablity.

 

did pretty well at roulette :)

 

The table minimum was £3 which is approx $5 and on my next cruise it is only £2 so at least will only lose my money at 2/3 of the rate.

 

Ship was P&O Ventura, 8 decks, US style dealer checks for blackjack, stands on soft 17. Double on any cards, no double on split aces, no surrender, blackjack pays 6:4

[jbanana1]

Sounds like you were making the right plays. You are suppose to hit with a soft 18 vs dealer 9. People who dont know basic strategy will usually stand with that hand. I like bj cuz I come out ahead more often than not but I did go on a long losing streak where I wasn't winning any session. It can happen. Hope you have good luck next time you play wherever that may be.

[AndyTheK]

Sounds like you were making the right plays. You are suppose to hit with a soft 18 vs dealer 9. People who dont know basic strategy will usually stand with that hand. I like bj cuz I come out ahead more often than not but I did go on a long losing streak where I wasn't winning any session. It can happen. Hope you have good luck next time you play wherever that may be.

Although the strategy says to hit soft 18 against a 9, this is a rather rare occurrence,and is a VERY close decision - one or two in the third decimal place difference. On my last cruise there was one opportunity, and wouldn't you know, I puled a 3!! The table buzzed. Didn't have an instance of soft 19 against 6 - bet that would have caused comments too (if dealer hits soft 17, basic strategy says to double down).

[davecttr]

Although the strategy says to hit soft 18 against a 9, this is a rather rare occurrence,and is a VERY close decision - one or two in the third decimal place difference. On my last cruise there was one opportunity, and wouldn't you know, I puled a 3!! The table buzzed. Didn't have an instance of soft 19 against 6 - bet that would have caused comments too (if dealer hits soft 17, basic strategy says to double down).

Glad to read that I was making the right decisions. Hopefully those 1000 practice hands per week will pay off one day, not that I expect to win big.

I got several soft 18 hands against a 9 and IIRC 1 did pay off.

 

I am glad I learnt all the basic stratey moves as, despite losing I can make a decision without thinking and watch others play and generally socialise. Next cruise I intend to leave the table when it is very busy late evening and let the casino maximise their income.

 

Quiet times can be interesting as well, on one cruise sea day afternoons have the table minimums reduced to £1 but sometimes not many people play. I was passing through one day and the dealer said do i want a game. Are you bored I replied, yes he said and i like dealing blackjack because i am trying to maximise my speed and hopefully get a job at a better casino. OK I said, two boxes only. Wow, he was fast enough for me and we played for well over a hour with I don't know how many hands. The result was I lost £3 :D

[jbanana1]

Didn't realize that if dealer hits soft 17 you double on a soft 19 vs dealer 6. The strat card I use doesn't differentiate between dealer hitting or standing on soft 17. Found a card at home that does have it. Says for multiple decks double on dealer 4-6 but on double deck double only on dealer 6.

 

Thanks for pointing that out since I've never payed attention to it before.

[davecttr]

Didn't realize that if dealer hits soft 17 you double on a soft 19 vs dealer 6. The strat card I use doesn't differentiate between dealer hitting or standing on soft 17. Found a card at home that does have it. Says for multiple decks double on dealer 4-6 but on double deck double only on dealer 6.

 

Thanks for pointing that out since I've never payed attention to it before.

I learnt all the marginal plays but they don't normally make much difference if you play for entertainment.

 

for example standing or hitting on 16 v a dealer 10 has hit as the best move but the difference to stand is so small that i calculated it would mean one extra hand lost if standing every three cruises. Not really worth bothering about, especially as you stand on 3 cards or if there are lots of 4's and 5's on the table.

 

I have read further and my unlucky spell is well within the expected variation. I will have to play many tens of thousands on hands to see the long term trend.

 

Another excuse to cruise :D

[Silverscreencruiser]

I am glad I learnt all the basic strategy moves as, despite losing I can make a decision without thinking and watch others play and generally socialise. Next cruise I intend to leave the table when it is very busy late evening and let the casino maximise their income.

 

Keep in mind that basic strategy doesn't mean a strategy that always puts the odds in your favor (if it did, casinos would be out of business). A lot of the time, it merely means that the odds against you aren't quite as bad as they would have been otherwise.

[davecttr]

Keep in mind that basic strategy doesn't mean a strategy that always puts the odds in your favor (if it did, casinos would be out of business). A lot of the time, it merely means that the odds against you aren't quite as bad as they would have been otherwise.

Yes, I know that 0.5% house edge will always be there but at least it is not 5%. Further reading tells me that only over very many thousand hands will the actual results maybe approach the expected results. It could be that my bad run will last for the rest of my life :(

 

roll on January and 14 nights floating around the Canaries playing blackjack, with a £2 minimum stake and a Hot fortnight where I win all the time :D

[HouNew2Cruise]

Any expert player should know that what the others do at the table really has no bearing to what you do. I have seen this all the time and it is a topic of heated discussion. For every time that a player may do something against basic strategy, and it hurts everyone at the table, there will be an equal amount of times when he actually helps the table. Any book on blackjack i have read says that it is a myth about people screwing up a table because of lack of knowledge.

Best advice is to play basic strategy and not worry about what anyone else is doing. If you can not accept this, then play at a table by yourself.

 

This is right on the money.

 

When I hear the complainers about a play that costs us, I remind them of the plays that saves us. They never seem to remember those bad plays that helped us win. It all washes out.

 

I played at a table with Asian ladies hitting on hard 14 and 15 against a 6. We were killing that table. The dealer tried to explain to them, but they did not understand. So, bad play after bad play turned my 300 into 6,000. It was unreal with the dealer busting almost all of the time. I caught good cards when I needed. I loved those ladies.

 

I play my BS and let everyone else do what they want.

[sailor_jimc]

Well said Hounew2cruise.... I'm right there with you. It really makes me angry when people complain about someone's play. I have had people make comments about what I do sometimes when I play correct strategy and they think its the wrong play. That really makes me laugh. Especially when my correct play works... Although there was one time when I sat down with a guy who was either REALLY drunk or just did not understand the game and he was doing STUPID stuff (doubling down on 13's and slitting 20's etc). He was willing on the dumb plays and I just couldn't get any cards. So I stopped playing and just sat there and enjoyed watching him do the crazy stuff. By the time he stopped playing we had the pit boss and a couple of other players standing there in amazement. It was then that it hit me that while correct play can increase your odds, its still a game of chance and if your going to hit your going to hit.....

[jsmeeker]

lol

 

splitting 10s

 

 

I've seen this for real. And they had this as a scene in 'Entourage', too.