Blackjack

[CrankySailor]

Avid player...but didn't play a single hand on the 12/13 Eclipse sailing.

 

Casino was running games with all 8-deck shoes, with "dealer hits soft 17s" rules (even the $100 table - which is cra-zy!). There was one single deck game, also a "hit soft 17s" made worse by a 6-5 blackjack payout. Those 8-deck/hit S17 games are murderous. Unless you can catch a streak and bet aggressively (then walk away), the game will grind you down. Necer saw anyone doing well.

 

Question - what happened to the new rules Celebrity rolled out where all blackjack games would be "dealer stands on all 17s"? I remember a press release about this (or at leat an email), and I played on Constellation in January with stand 17 rules....but you can get to any press releases from 2014 on the X website (shocking, I know, that something on the X site isn't working properly).

[need2bespoiled]

Agree, it's brutal. No competition means you can't go play next door so no incentive for them to change.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

Sent from my iPad using fat fingers and Tapatalk

[Desertbelle]

If you think that is bad try to win at poker with a $15 rake. The casinos on ships have a captive audience and can pretty much what they want. :(

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

More Casino concerns. Seems that 3 card poker minimum has been raised from $5 to $10 again. Celebrity tried this about a year ago, and it failed miserably. This information is according to a post on the Live from Eclipse thread : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48580129

 

Here is my reply :

 

=================================

 

Hi Ken,

 

Thank you for the reply. Very sorry to hear about the $10 minimum at three card poker. We enjoy the game, but wont play it for that minimum, as there's 3 bets involved, and it becomes $30 per hand under typical circumstances. At $5 min, It's very easy to lose hundreds of dollars in a short time, and I have zero interest in doubling down on the bet. I can understand why raising the minimum to $10 may make sense at a single bet table - but, definitely not for 3 card poker, where it's a triple bet in many cases.

 

Celebrity tried this nonsense about a year ago, and the 3 card poker table was virtually empty for entire cruise. I hope it happens to them again, so the incompetent folks making this decision, will roll the minimum back again. I guess they didn't learn from last time.

 

Oh well... 3 card poker is $5 minimum on most other Cruise lines, so I guess we have no choice but to keep our options open.

Edited December 26, 2015 by Host Andy

[donaldsc]

Agree, it's brutal. No competition means you can't go play next door so no incentive for them to change.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

Sent from my iPad using fat fingers and Tapatalk

 

Simple solution - don't be a gambling sucker on the cruise ship. Come to my home town of Las Vegas where you will have lots and lots of gambling options. In the end you will probably still loose but your money will last longer.

 

DON

[ghstudio]

Simple solution - don't be a gambling sucker on the cruise ship. Come to my home town of Las Vegas where you will have lots and lots of gambling options. In the end you will probably still loose but your money will last longer.

 

DON

 

or stick to the craps table which have max 5x odds.

[Oceangoer2]

How many cards can the dealer take on a soft 17? Does the hand get read as a 7 if it suits the dealer?

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Avid player...but didn't play a single hand on the 12/13 Eclipse sailing.

 

Casino was running games with all 8-deck shoes, with "dealer hits soft 17s" rules (even the $100 table - which is cra-zy!). There was one single deck game, also a "hit soft 17s" made worse by a 6-5 blackjack payout. Those 8-deck/hit S17 games are murderous. Unless you can catch a streak and bet aggressively (then walk away), the game will grind you down. Necer saw anyone doing well.

 

Question - what happened to the new rules Celebrity rolled out where all blackjack games would be "dealer stands on all 17s"? I remember a press release about this (or at leat an email), and I played on Constellation in January with stand 17 rules....but you can get to any press releases from 2014 on the X website (shocking, I know, that something on the X site isn't working properly).

 

I recall the press release they had. I play BJ, but I can't say I remember any specifics to BJ, just that they're going to have a single 0 roulette wheel. I don't play roulette, but I have an employee who loves the game - and I'm taking them all on the Equinox in March.

 

Now to go back and try and find that press release!

 

Either way, H17 or S17, I'll be there playing. In the big scheme of things, it's not going to make a major difference anyway. I'm at least pleased they deal from a shoe, and not a CSM. You will, however, never find me at a 6:5 table. I recall once in Vegas I was at a "party pit" and was not aware of this until I got my first BJ. I colored up and left after that.

 

The only time I passed on playing on a cruise (if you'd call it that) was a 2 night sailing on the Regal Empress. There was nothing "regal" nor "empress" about it. I was pleased to hear it was sold for scrap a few years ago. At any rate, they only offered a $5-100 table so even people digging out crumpled up bills from their pocket were playing. You could only split one time... you could only double on a 10 or 11 (no soft hands). Really the worst game I ever played.. for about 15 minutes!

 

Tom

[jagoffee]

How many cards can the dealer take on a soft 17? Does the hand get read as a 7 if it suits the dealer?

 

 

Yes, that is exactly what it means. It is to the players advantage if the dealer is forced to stay on a soft 17. Three opportunities to improve the dealer's hand- a low card, an ace, or two cards.

I would never stay on a soft 17 unless I was counting cards with a single deck.

[Oceangoer2]

Paying 6/5 on blackjack, 8 decks, hit on soft 17. Profits must be down.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Paying 6/5 on blackjack, 8 decks, hit on soft 17. Profits must be down.

 

So that there's no confusion - in their standard shoe games, it's still 3:2 BJ's.

 

EDIT -- just noticed, looks like we'll be seeing you in March !! :)

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

Edited December 26, 2015 by Tom-n-Cheryl

[Desertbelle]

Paying 6/5 on blackjack, 8 decks, hit on soft 17. Profits must be down.

 

 

The only time I have seen 6/5 blackjacks on a ship was in a single deck game, not a shoe or shuffler.

[Oceangoer2]

I will probably keep my game to Hold 'em. Maybe a little roulette. Just watching the Canada/USA junior game in the world hockey championship. Pretty evenly matched so far.

[Desertbelle]

I will probably keep my game to Hold 'em. Maybe a little roulette. Just watching the Canada/USA junior game in the world hockey championship. Pretty evenly matched so far.

As I said earlier, be ready for a $15 rake on the poker table.

[ghstudio]

As I said earlier, be ready for a $15 rake on the poker table.

 

I am not a poker player on Celebrity, but I thought they had a 10% rake. Has that changed to $15 a hand?

 

I did play the blackjack tournament....and based on the payouts, I believe the house kept 45% of the entry fees. That's pretty steep. I wonder what the rake is on the texas holdem tournaments?

[Oceangoer2]

$60 buy in, house takes $10. Not horrible I guess. Cash games are $15 last I saw.

 

Dave.

Edited December 26, 2015 by oceangoer2

[Desertbelle]

Our last cruise was on a Royal Caribbean ship and the rake was 10% up to $15....but it was a $2/5 game, so pots got big, quick. That was the first time I had see a $15 rake (it's been $10 for years and years) and rumor has it that it's been raised on most ships.

 

We will be on the Reflection in April and I am hoping they are still at $10, but I am not getting my hopes up. I brought this subject up on the Royal Caribbean forum and someone said that it was $25 recently on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. Casinos getting greedy.

 

Considering that the normal rake on a poker game in Las Vegas is $4 max, and you get free booze and credits towards other benefits, $15 is crazy! When you consider that there are approximately 20-25 hands an hour on a poker table and say the average, with a 10% rake up to $15 is $10 per hand, that table is making $200-250 an hour (compared to Vegas where the table would make about $60-80)....if the table is busy from 9pm to 1 am each night, that table makes about $1000.

[stratixman]

Real simple. Don't gamble on the cruise. I quit frequenting the tables a couple of years ago. Terrible odds/paybacks vs terrestrial casinos. No competition at sea. Apparently Celebrity has figured out that there are plenty of compulsive gamblers on any given cruise that raising the table minimums has minimal effect on the overall action.

[ghstudio]

Real simple. Don't gamble on the cruise. I quit frequenting the tables a couple of years ago. Terrible odds/paybacks vs terrestrial casinos. No competition at sea. Apparently Celebrity has figured out that there are plenty of compulsive gamblers on any given cruise that raising the table minimums has minimal effect on the overall action.

 

Actually, on many of the cruises I've been on over the past couple of years, the tables start at $25 minimum bets and on the second night they miraculously become $10 tables. I have occasionally seen some $5 tables.

 

I suspect this pattern is a croupier/dealer health and safety action because so many of them were getting concussions as their heads hit the tables as they fell asleep from boredom when the stakes were so high no one played.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Real simple. Don't gamble on the cruise. I quit frequenting the tables a couple of years ago. Terrible odds/paybacks vs terrestrial casinos. No competition at sea. Apparently Celebrity has figured out that there are plenty of compulsive gamblers on any given cruise that raising the table minimums has minimal effect on the overall action.

 

Of all casinos at sea (to borrow an NCL term) I'm most likely to spend time in a Celebrity casino owing to their smoking policy. In that regard, they pretty much beat any land based casino!

 

About the only thing I miss from their shoe game is the ability to re-split aces and the surrender option (which are both becoming less common on land too). The hit/stand on soft-17 doesn't cause me much grief. Actually, it seems whichever type of table I'm at - that I'd do better if they did the opposite :eek: (at least that's how my selective memory works) !!

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

I suspect this pattern is a croupier/dealer health and safety action because so many of them were getting concussions as their heads hit the tables as they fell asleep from boredom when the stakes were so high no one played.

 

LOL :D

 

Actually, on many of the cruises I've been on over the past couple of years, the tables start at $25 minimum bets and on the second night they miraculously become $10 tables. I have occasionally seen some $5 tables.

...

 

I'm all for them offering an ample number of $10 tables as long as they have some $25 to $100 minimum tables as well. I'd like to think that playing the higher minimum tables helps to weed out some of the clueless players. Having said that, I've seen plenty of people throwing away green/black chips who don't even understand basic strategy. Granted, they're just as likely to help your hand as they are to hurt it (when playing "wrong"), but I just prefer a table of people who have a good grasp on the game.

 

Tom

[Oceangoer2]

LOL :D

 

 

 

I'm all for them offering an ample number of $10 tables as long as they have some $25 to $100 minimum tables as well. I'd like to think that playing the higher minimum tables helps to weed out some of the clueless players. Having said that, I've seen plenty of people throwing away green/black chips who don't even understand basic strategy. Granted, they're just as likely to help your hand as they are to hurt it (when playing "wrong"), but I just prefer a table of people who have a good grasp on the game.

 

Tom

I've heard DH say exactly the same thing. You guys are poker snobs...LOL.

 

Carole

[Oceangoer2]

I don't think anyone realistically expects to break the house on a cruise. It is recreational gambling for the most part by those who can afford it. It would be nice to think you had a reasonable chance to win the odd time tho. In my mind Texas Hold'em provides that. At least that is my experience so far, touch wood.

 

Cheers,

Dave

[need2bespoiled]

LOL :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm all for them offering an ample number of $10 tables as long as they have some $25 to $100 minimum tables as well. I'd like to think that playing the higher minimum tables helps to weed out some of the clueless players. Having said that, I've seen plenty of people throwing away green/black chips who don't even understand basic strategy. Granted, they're just as likely to help your hand as they are to hurt it (when playing "wrong"), but I just prefer a table of people who have a good grasp on the game.

 

 

 

Tom

 

 

I agree. My last cruise all of the BJ tables were $5-$300 with many who didn't have the basic grasp. I played less than normal and when I did I often started at a table by myself but was frequently joined by others. There were a few of those fun tables when everyone "got it" and it was fun, social and profitable but in 15 days it was the rarity. It's just not fun for me to play with a bunch of long faces when others wonder why they keep loosing when they stay on 14 with 10

Showing.

 

Oh well, it was still mostly fun.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I agree. My last cruise all of the BJ tables were $5-$300 with many who didn't have the basic grasp. I played less than normal and when I did I often started at a table by myself but was frequently joined by others. There were a few of those fun tables when everyone "got it" and it was fun, social and profitable but in 15 days it was the rarity. It's just not fun for me to play with a bunch of long faces when others wonder why they keep loosing when they stay on 14 with 10

Showing.

 

Oh well, it was still mostly fun.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ouch - all tables were $5 min? On a few occasions I've had to ask for a higher (min) limit table, and they've always been willing to open one. Many times, I would have likely been better off had they not! :eek:

 

Tom