Casino: Celebrity must be really hurting for $ if they're ripping off players this badly in Video Poker

[Pinboy]

12 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Maybe I will be a winner and pay for a good portion of the sailing??? LOL

Good Luck !! 

I tried that on many cruises ---- with no luck.

On every cruise , on day 1 the casino staff ( ?? ) spreads a rumor that on the previous cruise " someone " hit the jackpot for $ 20,000--- ( always the same amount ). 

So----$100 later ( I told " you know who " it was only $ 20 )  --- there I am sitting on my balcony.

Next cruise I'm gonna try a new " system " that I heard about on CC ---- Split Kings !!

( Ya learn lot's of " stuff " on CC--- especially when 99.9 % of CCers have a different opinion that you ).

 

 

[AndyCapn]

The difference between a 95% payback and a 93% payback for most cruisers is negligible at best. 

 

1) It's measured in the long haul: tens of thousands of hands. Even if you play at a relatively fast rate of 10 hands a minute, it's 16 hours and 40 minutes of play before you even hit 10,000 hands, let alone tens of thousands. And most people are playing slower than six seconds per hand.

 

2) It assumes you play perfect strategy 100% of the time. Most players don't, so they're already giving up much more than 2%. Winning two extra bets on a full house isn't going to overcome bad play.

 

3) Since most people cycle through their winnings, all that 2% difference is the amount of time they spend at the machine. That's about one minute less per hour.

 

Of course you should play better pay tables if they're available. But objectively, any negative-outcome game is setting your money on fire regardless of whether it's at a 5% or 7% burn rate. It's a ridiculously small thing to sweat about on your vacation.

[davekathy]

On a positive note. At least Celebrity doesn't allow smoking in their casinos. 😁

[PTC DAWG]

Learn to play Craps..bet enough for 3/4/5 odds.  You're welcome.  

[PTC DAWG]

44 minutes ago, davekathy said:

On a positive note. At least Celebrity doesn't allow smoking in their casinos. 😁

One of the many nice things about Celebrity ships, IMHO.

[PTC DAWG]

10 hours ago, Nursecruisers couple said:

Is there a craps table?  We love playing

Yes...

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

17 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

(Single line)

It's the same paytable not matter .25 all the way to $5 denomination.

 

for Jacks for Better, it's a dismal 91.1% return (8.9% casino profit). 😮

For Deuces Wild, it's at 91.4% return (8.6% casino profit)! 😮

That's really horrible for VP.

 

I've only seen these paytables in casinos located in some 3rd world countries.

You know it's bad when betting a number on Roulette is better! (94.3% return or 5.7% casino profit)

 

Now on multi-line VP, JoB is slightly better with 6/5 paytable which is 95% return and DW is 96% return.

It is still garbage compared to NCL. (At $5 denom, you can get 99% return.)

 

 

 

 

I used to play a little JoB - I seem to recall that the 9/6 machines were the ones to look for. Here's a screenshot from 2011 on the Epic (playing on the stateroom TV!) with the $5 game. I was killing time waiting for Cheryl to finish getting ready for dinner (perhaps 10-20 hands played):

 

 

Tom

 

 

[Denny01]

If Anyone is playing video poker or really any of the casino games because they want to be a ‘winner’,……good luck. I’ll play a bit with $20 and ‘enjoy’ it for whatever reason I play any game of chance. Up Down Equal. The diff between 91 and 94% is of little matter to chump-change players such as I….and I’m well aware the casino is living off my type of player. 

 

I don’t go around looking for what is the ‘best odds’, I play what I enjoy, and it isn’t that important or a focus at all. 

 

Den

[Janthere]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

On a positive note. At least Celebrity doesn't allow smoking in their casinos. 😁

this is HUGE - love it!

 

[DirtyDawg]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

On a positive note. At least Celebrity doesn't allow smoking in their casinos. 😁

They are not being nice, X is just keeping the video poker suckers alive longer to lose more and more money. 😁

[fstuff1]

7 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I used to play a little JoB - I seem to recall that the 9/6 machines were the ones to look for. Here's a screenshot from 2011 on the Epic (playing on the stateroom TV!) with the $5 game. I was killing time waiting for Cheryl to finish getting ready for dinner (perhaps 10-20 hands played):

 

 

Tom

 

Ncl epic?

And wow they allowed gambling in your cabin.

Wonder why they stopped that? They should be printing cash for people killing time waiting for their significant other

[LuvCruzn4Evr]

2 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I used to play a little JoB - I seem to recall that the 9/6 machines were the ones to look for. Here's a screenshot from 2011 on the Epic (playing on the stateroom TV!) with the $5 game. I was killing time waiting for Cheryl to finish getting ready for dinner (perhaps 10-20 hands played):

 

 

Tom

 

 

I agree that the 9/6 JOB poker is what was considered 'full pay'. Seems the 10/7 (as shown in OP's first post) would be much better than 6/5.

[davekathy]

59 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

They are not being nice, X is just keeping the video poker suckers alive longer to lose more and more money. 😁

Win win for us as we don't smoke or gamble. 😁

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

5 minutes ago, LuvCruzn4Evr said:

I agree that the 9/6 JOB poker is what was considered 'full pay'. Seems the 10/7 (as shown in OP's first post) would be much better than 6/5.

 

Yep. I agree with another poster here, it's the two pair payout that really gets you (more meat and potatoes than full house/flushes). Ideally it should return 2:1 for two pair rather than even money.

 

Tom

[fstuff1]

1 hour ago, LuvCruzn4Evr said:

I agree that the 9/6 JOB poker is what was considered 'full pay'. Seems the 10/7 (as shown in OP's first post) would be much better than 6/5.

 

And that's how they sucker semi-knowledgeable players into playing more, thinking it's a great pay table.

The catch is that 2pair pays 1, instead of the usual 2 for JoB. 😮

Having a higher full house/flush payout no where near compensates for that, as seen from my OP!

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by fstuff1

[Fly and Sail]

23 hours ago, Nursecruisers couple said:

Is there a craps table?  We love playing

 

Currently on Solstice - There is a Craps table here and it's very busy. Last time on EDGE the Craps crew was out of commission due to Covid quarantine.

[Fly and Sail]

14 hours ago, Pinboy said:

Good Luck !! 

I tried that on many cruises ---- with no luck.

On every cruise , on day 1 the casino staff ( ?? ) spreads a rumor that on the previous cruise " someone " hit the jackpot for $ 20,000--- ( always the same amount ). 

So----$100 later ( I told " you know who " it was only $ 20 )  --- there I am sitting on my balcony.

Next cruise I'm gonna try a new " system " that I heard about on CC ---- Split Kings !!

( Ya learn lot's of " stuff " on CC--- especially when 99.9 % of CCers have a different opinion that you ).

 

 

 

Hah! 😄 Well on my last cruise a lady indeed won BIG, iirc it was around $70k but she was also playing slots at $40 a spin so it's also not that difficult to lose $70k over time.

 

As far as I'm concerned I'm fine with "losing" ~ $1000 per cruise if in return I get a free cruise offer and can let my bankroll last long enough to generate sufficient points to maintain my tier level (Amethyst).

 

I'm also churning through my daily $3000 no advance fee slot cash that I cash out entirely, charge it on my Sapphire Reserve or Amex Green and get 3 points per $1 charged. This cash I'm depositing either after or during the cruise straight into my checking account (I use Wells Fargo just for this purpose as they have branches in Alaska).

 

These cruise offers are  usually either a free balcony cabin or $140 upcharge for Aqua Class which is a no brainer for obvious reasons - AQ any day!

 

On my current cruise I'm down $900 which represents ~ 15% breakage from my coin in. I was able to book TWO cruises, one Greek Islands in AQ for $210 incl tax and a 15 days Panama Canal in AQ for $670 incl tax. Even with the extras I have to pay on top that's a huge discount compared to the regular prices on these sailings, especially in Aqua Class.

 

I'm CC Elite now after taking several comp cruises so the benefits are even better from now on.

Edited May 12, 2022 by Fly and Sail

[fstuff1]

3 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

On my current cruise I'm down $900 which represents ~ 15% breakage from my coin in.

I was able to book TWO cruises, one Greek Islands in AQ for $210 incl tax and a 15 days Panama Canal in AQ for $670 incl tax. Even with the extras I have to pay on top that's a huge discount compared to the regular prices on these sailings, especially in Aqua Class.

 

I'm CC Elite now after taking several comp cruises so the benefits are even better from now on.

 

Blue chip is using your play on your CURRENT cruise to book those 2 cruises?

[Fly and Sail]

11 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

Blue chip is using your play on your CURRENT cruise to book those 2 cruises?

 

Yes they send people offers to the cabin on day 2/3 saying to visit the Future Cruises Desk for a future booking. This (I would think) is based on the discretion of the host.

[Janthere]

9 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Yes they send people offers to the cabin on day 2/3 saying to visit the Future Cruises Desk for a future booking. This (I would think) is based on the discretion of the host.

That is interesting - I have never had offers sent to the cabin and I play quite a bit of VP and am now sapphire. I also was told i could book only 7 night cruises comped veranda. We are on Eclipse in July - i am hoping our host on board is better (from a comp POV) than the previous ones I have dealt with.

That is so smart to take advantage of the fee free slot cash advance on the cabin with Chase 3x.

Enjoy the Sostice! 

[Fly and Sail]

1 hour ago, janbear said:

That is interesting - I have never had offers sent to the cabin and I play quite a bit of VP and am now sapphire. I also was told i could book only 7 night cruises comped veranda. We are on Eclipse in July - i am hoping our host on board is better (from a comp POV) than the previous ones I have dealt with.

That is so smart to take advantage of the fee free slot cash advance on the cabin with Chase 3x.

Enjoy the Sostice! 

 

They have gotten extremely stingy. There were only 9 people on the comp list during this cruise, even the people in the booking office were surprised. I'm not a big player, roughly ~7k coin in at this point (all slots). I wouldn't expect much to be offered to table or VP players as they have a lower house edge on those games. Slot players lose the most money so it makes sense to bring them back.

[RedneckBob]

Be careful and don’t gamble on Holland America. The story goes that to hit the jackpot on the slot machines you much have on the pay line three prunes. And once you hit the jackpot you go immediately to the dice table and crap out 😀

[NutsAboutGolf]

11 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Yes they send people offers to the cabin on day 2/3 saying to visit the Future Cruises Desk for a future booking. This (I would think) is based on the discretion of the host.

 

Visual aid, for anyone interested...Guessing it's play specific:

1) Often can book multiple sailings

2) Two weeks ago they would only allow you to book sailings in 2022, this wasn't the case in the past

3) You have to pay $10/day to FCV where as if you book with BCC you avoid that fee

4) FCV stated they have a promo where elevate (upgrade to prem drinks and fast internet) is included and it did show on my booking confirmation but, I wonder if you need to pay for perks al la carte as AI generally isn't included for BCC bookings

 

[mahdnc]

Boy, I could use a copy of that card.....

[Fly and Sail]

25 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Boy, I could use a copy of that card.....

 

Won't help you. The flyer alone means nothing it's just a visual aid. Your name will be on a spreadsheet provided to the Future Cruises Desk by the Casino Host/Manager.