Blackjack onboard

[Happy2Crews]

Can anyone tell me about backjack onboard? I know on sea days they have $5 tables pool side. Thought I heard once about an automatic shuffling machine that favors towards the house? What's the deal. Any info would be great....and always love to hear about the big winners.

Thanks

Pam

[cmdchiefthom]

I've never seen any casino games poolside, but yes, as I recall, they use a shoe for the cards in the casino. ;)

[johnql]

It's not just an automatic shuffler, a device that shuffles 4-6-8 decks which the dealer then places in a shoe and proceeds to deal. It's a continuous shuffling machine. See link:

 

http://casinogambling.about.com/od/blackjack/a/shuffler.htm

[rubytue]

On the Jewel last week there were poolside tables, but I never saw them open. The $5, $10, and $25 tables did use the automatic shuffler, which shuffles the used cards back into the deck. From what I have read, it doesn't increase the house edge unless you are a card counter. We didn't like it though, as it increases the pace of the game and you never get a breather for a shoe shuffle.

 

The blackjack tournament used a typical shoe with the dealer shuffling. FWIW, I counted 10 aces come out of it (I wasn't playing, just watching).

[vp1]

My experience on the Majesty last February was that they were using the 6 (maybe 8..) deck shoe for BJ tables of $10 or higher. The $5 tables were using the "continual shuffler" to keep the game going - big difference. The only exception was the BJ table "poolside" - they had a open air table on deck 10 open on sea days and this table used the 6-deck shoe and had $5 minimums.

[Happy2Crews]

Thanks for the info...truly helpful. Sooooo was lady luck with any of you?

[cliffd64]

The Dawn had a variety of blackjack setups... from one-deck setups where you have to hold your first two cards in your hand, to six deck shoes, and even a virtual video dealer located in the Spinnaker lounge (this was the only place you could get a $5 table, and as a bonus its smoke free there!)

 

The Gem had mainly six deck shoes ... and the virtual dealer in the Spinnaker again.

 

Didn't see any of the automatic re-shufflers like they have on the Jewel...

 

Overall, if you play well and the rest of the people on your table can play decently you can have some luck :) Last two one-nighters on the Gem I left with a bit of NCL's money...

[thephillykid]

Just back from the Pearl last night, and they had it on both sea days and on the day we sat at GSC (private island). There were 2 tables set up that on my cruise saw limited action. They are on deck 12 and it was quite windy on both sea days. These tables were 6 decks dealt out of a shoe and only paid 6 to 5 odd for black jack and the dealer hit on a soft 17. One of them had an option to play a game called Lucky Ladies for a buck as a side bet. The tables had a $5 minimum and $300 maximum. I hope this helps.

 

Howard

[johnql]

Just back from the Pearl last night, and they had it on both sea days and on the day we sat at GSC (private island). There were 2 tables set up that on my cruise saw limited action. They are on deck 12 and it was quite windy on both sea days. These tables were 6 decks dealt out of a shoe and only paid 6 to 5 odd for black jack and the dealer hit on a soft 17. One of them had an option to play a game called Lucky Ladies for a buck as a side bet. The tables had a $5 minimum and $300 maximum. I hope this helps.

 

Howard

6 decks in a shoe w/ only 6-to-5 odds on BJ? That's horrendous. It's bad enough when they lower the BJ odds with only 1 or 2 decks.

[Carol_Hill]

..and the dealer hit on soft 17?? Crazy..

[johnql]

..and the dealer hit on soft 17?? Crazy..

Unfortunately, it's getting harder and harder to find BJ tables that stand on soft 17 nowadays.

[Grandpaul]

Just back from the Gem one day cruise. They had a $25 minimum, dealt from a shoe and paid 3 to 2 on BJ. Not on all tables though. Most had the auto shuffler. Saw a couple players win big. But then you see players splitting 10's, not doubling with an eleven, taking insurance and taking even money with a BJ when the dealer had an ace up. I think I'm going to open a casino.

[cliffd64]

Just back from the Gem one day cruise. They had a $25 minimum, dealt from a shoe and paid 3 to 2 on BJ. Not on all tables though. Most had the auto shuffler. Saw a couple players win big. But then you see players splitting 10's, not doubling with an eleven, taking insurance and taking even money with a BJ when the dealer had an ace up. I think I'm going to open a casino.

 

Opening a casino would be nice, but unfortunately when you are playing at a table when someone does that... it tends to mess up the whole table's odds...

 

Generally, on a $25 per hand table, if people don't know how to play correctly... I relocate if possible. Usually you don't see those kind of players when the price goes up... but on one-nighters, they have no choice.

[johnql]

Opening a casino would be nice, but unfortunately when you are playing at a table when someone does that... it tends to mess up the whole table's odds...

In actuality, someone playing "incorrectly" at the table has no bearing on the odds. No doubt, it has a negative psychological effect on other players, but someone taking the wrong card could just as easily result in a good card coming to the next player as a bad card. We've all seen the dealer bust when someone mistakenly took a hit when they shouldn't have, but we all take the losses more to heart when the bad play results in our losing money.

 

All that said, yes, it's annoying to watch somebody at the table throwing their money away and not playing the odds correctly, but someone else's play in the long run really doesn't effect you any more one way or the other.

[Grandpaul]

You are correct. I used to try and help people that were playing wrong and then I figured if everyone played correctly they would tighten things even more. So, no more.