Cruise casino advice

[Clarea]

8 minutes ago, Demixl said:

I want to go in a cruise, but i wanna play in poker, also in machines, the question is there are all kind of gamble on board?

Yes, the mass market cruise lines have all kinds of machines and also live gaming.

[Icon901]

There are very very few ways to game casino comps systems on land.

 

You can get lucky and track down full-pay video poker machines that, if played perfectly over time, will return roughly even, with a CHANCE at +EV (expected value). That said... playing perfect VP strategy for extended periods is unlikely and boring. 

You can cheat (count cards, edge sort) but you're likely to get discovered and asked to leave if you're playing for any sort of balance. 

You can attack programs like "Diamond in a Day" pretty aggressively to gain status during promotions. 

But in the end, playing for a comps on land is almost always a losing proposition. At sea, it's even moreso, as it's a captive crowd with no competition. Odds are often worse. Machines are tighter. It always makes me chuckle when people claim they "usually/always win". I would be willing to wager a nice sum that very few if any people could produce records that showed as such over a legitimate sample size. 

CASE IN POINT: "Free drinks" cards are 1500pts or $7500 coin in. 

Many people try to earn them via Slots, which have a fixed payout schedule. My educated guess is most slots are terrible on cruise ships... raking 15-20% (or worse)... meaning that card is likely costing you $1000-1500. For most folks that means your "Free" well drinks are costing you $30 or more, each 😄 

IF you want to gamble... do it for the enjoyment of it.

Make sure to use your card to get points, but never play for comps. It's one of the main rules of casino gaming. 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Icon901

[bnbeyer]

I guess I'm what they consider a high roller.  I like to play blackjack for $10 or $25 per hand, but I took my first CC with my family in June, and I mostly played slots. I ended up with around 13,000 points on my card, and I lost probably around $1000, though I didn't really track it to be sure.  I ended up with a free cruise for 2 with balcony and DOU and $200 OBC and a seat in the slots tournament finals, even though I didn't actually get around to entering the preliminaries. That cruise is Nov. 2 to the western Caribbean, and I'm taking it!  They also gave us 3 steakhouse selections at dinner, treats delivered to our room a few times, and a really enjoyable mani/pedi with shellac at the spa!  But I didn't gamble expecting those things. I was just on vacation and gambled because I enjoy it.

 

I also tipped my casino waiters for every single drink, and I talked with all of the dealers and pit bosses about my story, which is a pretty compelling one with a high speed head-on collision car accident leading to a complete new attitude on life, career, spirituality, and life.  A couple of the dealers ended up crying and thanking me for telling them my story. I think they liked me.  🙂

 

Just a week ago I got an offer by email for elite casino cruise offers which were pretty fantastic. Free everything, including shore excursions and drink packages (everywhere, not just casino), balcony room, priority boarding, boarding and departing gifts, drinks in our room on boarding, laundry, etc., etc., etc, plus $1500 on board credit. Too bad none of them fit into my schedule/life.  But I can honestly say that it does happen.  

 

I didn't realize I was a high roller, but I guess I was...