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Deal or No Deal

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Florida_gal_50

Florida_gal_50

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I wish the OP would come back and explain more about the game and what makes it a rip-off. True, lots of people didn't win anything. But aren't there people at Bingo who don't win anything? Did the ship promise someone in the audience would win $1000? Or did they say "you could win up to $1000"?

Good point but it sounds like a big cash outlay for little upside in my mind.  If others think it’s a great deal so be it.

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Q Family

Q Family

Posted
Posted
On 3/4/2023 at 8:59 AM, Alabaster Cruiser said:

Just trying to let others know since it is new to Holland.  That's what Cruise Critic used to be about.  Obviously not anymore from the rude replys.

I appreciate the info, I saw a video on YouTube and was confused as to what it was.

thank you

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cruiseagona

cruiseagona

Posted
Posted

We have seen this game played many times on NCL. (We have been on 10 of their cruises.) Everything about it is controlled by a computer except for the suitcase that the contestant chooses. People in the audience who buy games to play at their seats never win anything decent. Let's say the contestant is choosing their suitcases as the game goes along. If contestant calls out "suitcase #1" and it has $200 in it, you open your card. If it matches you do not win $200. You have a match. Audience members win a certain number of matches. We saw it played a week ago and out of about 200 audience members, I would say 5 people had 4 matches. They may have won a free photograph at most. Does this help? I will add that my name was called once. I played on stage and won about $150. I stopped there. The most I could win was $400 and the chances weren't good that I would. 

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3rdGenCunarder "Live from...." Rare

3rdGenCunarder

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, cruiseagona said:

We have seen this game played many times on NCL. (We have been on 10 of their cruises.) Everything about it is controlled by a computer except for the suitcase that the contestant chooses. People in the audience who buy games to play at their seats never win anything decent. Let's say the contestant is choosing their suitcases as the game goes along. If contestant calls out "suitcase #1" and it has $200 in it, you open your card. If it matches you do not win $200. You have a match. Audience members win a certain number of matches. We saw it played a week ago and out of about 200 audience members, I would say 5 people had 4 matches. They may have won a free photograph at most. Does this help? I will add that my name was called once. I played on stage and won about $150. I stopped there. The most I could win was $400 and the chances weren't good that I would. 

 

I still don't understand how it's controlled by a computer. 

 

I can see that the odds of winning anything are terrible if you have to get 4 matches. How many suitcases get opened in one show? 

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cruiseagona

cruiseagona

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I still don't understand how it's controlled by a computer. 

 

I can see that the odds of winning anything are terrible if you have to get 4 matches. How many suitcases get opened in one show? 

Not for the contestant but it is for all the others playing. Because all numbers eventually called, the computer knows how many matches there will be.

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3rdGenCunarder "Live from...." Rare

3rdGenCunarder

Posted
Posted

The suitcases are physical, not electronic. The cards are physical, not electronic. A computer does not control the suitcase, or the cards, or what the contestant chooses. So everything about it is not computer controlled. 

 

So where is this computer and what is it really controlling? OP implied that a computer was somehow manipulating things so people couldn't win much.  If the TV game had a computer behind the scenes controlling (rigging) everything, the game would be shut down and the producers would be in prison. How has the ship taken the TV game and used a computer to make it harder to win anything? 

 

I think that the "rip-off" in this game is that the odds are terrible, not that anything is being manipulated. There probably are more card values than suitcase values. So perhaps there are 20 suitcases, 20 different values to be matched. But there could be 100 different values on the cards, meaning 80 percent of the cards could never be a match. Is that what you mean by "the computer knows how many matches there are"? 

 

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Destiny0315

Destiny0315

Posted
Posted

What you should find most disturbing about this whether it be HAL, NCL, or any other cruise line is why are they running carnival side show type games when they have so much more they could offer to travelers. What's next the ring toss or knock down the milk bottles games set up by the pool deck?

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iceman93

iceman93

Posted
Posted

Look, some people really enjoyed Deal or No Deal on TV.  My best guess is it was because of the gorgeous models holding the suitcases because I personally found the host (Howie Mandel) to be incredibly annoying.  But anyone who thought the offers from "the banker" were just random must be a particularly rare form of fool.  Those offers were all based on pure math; the statistical chance that the next suitcase (or set of suitcases) would earn a particular outcome vs. the sure thing a contestant could get by taking the offer.

 

So if HAL is running it the way it sounds like they do from the posts here, the game itself is totally legit and the choice of suitcases absolutely random, but of course the house will always win over time.  So like most games of chance (like Bingo), the participants need to consider it a form of entertainment and not a way to get rich quick.  Sure, one or two people every time will win more than they paid to participate, but overall the house is going to take in way more than they're going to pay out.

 

Does that make it a rip-off?  Not at all.  No more than bingo, or slot machines, or the table games in the casino.  Yes, the occasional player will win big and that's what makes people want to play.  But most people will lose, and as long as they're getting sufficient entertainment value out of their investment then it's all good.

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LetsGoToo

LetsGoToo

Posted
Posted (edited)

I think what’s happening in this topic is that there are people who have actually played this game on a ship and then there are others that are speaking based on what they “think” they know. 
 

The game is not a fair game nor is it a game with odds anything like the game show.

 

For instance, there is one $0.01 case on the board. This is the board on the screen that an audience member is selected to choose from.
 

However, your card may have four or five $0.01 cases, meaning that every case on your card can’t possibly be a match. You won’t even have every amount on your card. 
 

That’s why people are saying it’s a rip off. It is. It’s not remotely similar to the gameshow where the gameshow decides its cut and that’s factored into the offers (similar to how casinos run slots and table games to take a 10% or so cut depending on game). 
 

Here, the house cut is more around 80% I’d guess. 
 

OP is correct. It’s a rip off and it’s not at all fun once you realize that you’ve been taken for a ride on this. 
 

Bingo is run differently and has much better odds.
 

And, yes, the casino runs Deal or No Deal. They prohibit minors from winning and I’ve only seen this game played when the casino is open. 

Edited by LetsGoToo
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Colorado Klutch Excellent Advice! Rare

Colorado Klutch

Posted
Posted (edited)

It seems to me this thread is an example of something I've observed over the years: Most people have no idea how games of chance work. Since "Deal or No Deal" is a game new to most people, it's understandable most people would not know how it works. So, thank you to the OP for explaining how it's a REALLY lousy game. 

What baffles me are people who gamble all the time and still have no idea how games of chance work. If you like to gamble because you think it's fun, cool. But I think people should be familiar with what they're playing. Examples I've actually heard in casinos:

- "If you pull the lever instead of hitting the button, the slot machine is more likely to pay out." Nope, this is completely bogus. There is no difference between pulling the lever or hitting the button.

- "Hold this machine for me while I go to the ATM. I've got it warmed up and it's about to pay out!" Nope. This is completely bogus. You CANNOT warm up a slot machine. The odds of it paying out are based on VERY LARGE numbers. Sure, if you were sit there and play for many weeks, it would eventually pay out exactly what it's programmed to pay out. But you would lose a LOT of money.

- "The Pit Boss manipulated the machine I was playing so I couldn't win." Nope. Completely bogus. The rate of pay out for slot machines and video poker machines are programmed at the factory. It's burned into the computer chip. It cannot be changed by the Pit Boss or anyone else. On land, those rates of pay out are regulated by local Gaming Commissions. On a cruise ship, those rates of pay out are whatever the cruise ships wants. And you can bet those rates are very tight. (Pun intended.)

- "The roulette wheel has hit RED six times in a row. You should bet on BLACK because there's no way it's going to hit RED again!". Nope, the odds are still about 50/50. If you were to watch the roulette wheel over a period of many weeks, you would see it come up with the same color many times in a row. But over those many weeks, it would be 50/50.

If you want to gamble, have fun! But I would politely suggest you do some research about how the games you are  playing work. If you know how the games you are playing work, good on you. Sounds like "Deal or No Deal" is worse than Keno! 😀 

Edited by Colorado Klutch
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Colorado Klutch Excellent Advice! Rare

Colorado Klutch

Posted
Posted
44 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

https://movietvtechgeeks.com/beat-casino-lived-movies/

We all need Raymond Babbit to cruise with us.🙂

 

Imagine the surprise if someone figured out how to improve the odds with "Deal or No Deal". 

There's a famous story about a contestant who figured out how to beat the TV game show "Press Your Luck". That guy didn't do so well after he won all that money, but it was fun to see him devastate the people who ran the game. 

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