blackjack minimum?

[myra711]

What's the lowest table stakes on NCL (Gem)? I have only rarely played Blackjack in a casino, when the stakes were low, and would enjoy playing again. Thanks for the info.

[cb at sea]

On most ships, the min. is $5...if it gets really busy and hopping in the casino, they may raise it to $10 or more.
Please know the rules and follow the play recommendations!!!

[myra711]

On most ships, the min. is $5...if it gets really busy and hopping in the casino, they may raise it to $10 or more.
Please know the rules and follow the play recommendations!!!

Thanks for the info, and don't worry. I never deviate from the recommended moves.

[ready2travel54]

On most ships, the min. is $5...if it gets really busy and hopping in the casino, they may raise it to $10 or more.
Please know the rules and follow the play recommendations!!!

Everybody has to learn sometime. I plan on playing and don't know what you mean by "play recommendations" Can you explain?
I played a couple of times in Vegas with really nice, patient people.

[ready2travel54]

On most ships, the min. is $5...if it gets really busy and hopping in the casino, they may raise it to $10 or more.
Please know the rules and follow the play recommendations!!!
tried to post this before and did not work......

Everyone has to start somewhere. I meet some really nice people who helped me learn the game in Vegas.

What do you mean "follow the play recommendations" ?

[cb at sea]

Get a basic stratagy card....all of the recommended plays are on there. You can get them online.

[MrCo9]

tried to post this before and did not work......

Everyone has to start somewhere. I meet some really nice people who helped me learn the game in Vegas.

What do you mean "follow the play recommendations" ?They mean to follow "Basic Strategy" this gives you the best chance to win based on the expected outcome over thousands or millions of hands. It does not guarantee that you will win, but if you play by these rules (http://www.blackjack.org/strategy/)you should not piss off too many "Expert Players".

[ready2travel54]

They mean to follow "Basic Strategy" this gives you the best chance to win based on the expected outcome over thousands or millions of hands. It does not guarantee that you will win, but if you play by these rules (http://www.blackjack.org/strategy/)you should not piss off too many "Expert Players".
I'm trying not to be dense, but why will I piss off expert players if I play stupid and throw my money away....
Does my play affect theirs?

[MrCo9]

I'm trying not to be dense, but why will I piss off expert players if I play stupid and throw my money away....
Does my play affect theirs?YES it does. But for the better or worse is up for debate. Let's say the dealer is showing a 4, you have a 12 and are the last player to act (AKA 3rd base), you hit and get a 8 to give you a 20, dealer turns over a 10 and hits a 7 for a 21, had you not hit, the dealer would have had 22 and everyone would have won.

Same situation, but this time instead of the 7, the dealer gets a 5, you still win, but those players that stayed on their 13s, 14s etc lost when they would have won if you had "not taken the dealer's" 8.

Same situation, you take the 8, but the dealer turns over an 8 instead of the 10 and the next card is a 10, if you had not taken the 8, the dealer would have gotten a 20 and beaten most players at the table.

How you play your hand affects all other hands IF the dealer has to hit. And it affects all other hands until the dealer shuffles the cards. You make the other players win or lose this hand, but it would take a Cray computer to figure out how it affected all the other hands through the deck/shoe.

You maybe Ready to travel, you may not be ready to play table games.

[davecttr]

Of course blackjack is not a team game so the best advice is to play your hand for yourself and don't worry what effect it might have on the other players.

Basic strategy information is easily found on line and you can practise at home so when you finally do play you don't make stupid mistakes, at least when you are sober :D

[MrCo9]

blackjack is not a team gameYou're half correct. You only win if your hand wins. But, if everyone uses basic strategy and avoids rookie/dumb moves, you can all work as a team and watch the dealer bust in certain situations.

[davecttr]

You're half correct. You only win if your hand wins. But, if everyone uses basic strategy and avoids rookie/dumb moves, you can all work as a team and watch the dealer bust in certain situations.
Hardly likely to happen aboard a cruise ship though, at least over here in the UK. On my last cruise there were only 2 regular players who basically knew what they were doing. I played my hand, sipped my drink and watched the carnage unfold :D The other regular got really stressed with other peoples plays. There was one player betting big but for some unknown reason he kept splitting pairs of tens :confused: He must have paid the staff saleries for the fortnight as he was even splitting on a dealer 9 :)

One sea day they had a happy hour in the afternoon and the table minimum was £1, yes, $1.50. No one playing and a bored dealer so OK I said, I will play 2 boxes. He could deal!. After a hour of frenzied play I had lost exactly £2.50 :( This shows that basic strategy can at least lower your losses.

[bluesman0711]

It is aggravating watching a player stand on a 15 with the dealer showing a 10 because they have a feeling. I find it best to color up and leave the table since I can't control their bad play, but I can move to another one.

[ready2travel54]

I was thankful when playing in Vegas that other more knowledgable players would help me. After all it is a game! I wouldn't mind being at a table with you Dave. Now I need to do some practicing.
any good on line places to do that?? I have months before I go and I at least know not to split 2 tens lol

[SailBadtheSinner]

Here's free one at the Wiz of Odds: http://wizardofodds.com/play/blackjack/
that will point out errors in your play.


SBtS

[davecttr]

I was thankful when playing in Vegas that other more knowledgable players would help me. After all it is a game! I wouldn't mind being at a table with you Dave. Now I need to do some practicing.
any good on line places to do that?? I have months before I go and I at least know not to split 2 tens lol

If people ask I don't mind saying stuff like 'I would not do that etc etc' but I am not a expert on the game and only play for recreational purposes when on a cruise.

SailBadtheSinner's recommended site is a good one to start with.

The general idea with the basic strategy is to practice at home so you automatically know the best play whatever card the dealer is showing. It is like learning multiplication tables at school so you can multiply in your head without thinking, if they still do stuff like that in school? It has been a looong time since I was there :) Of course the strategy does not mean you will win but minimises your losses so if you get a lucky streak you can win a little money. It is a game of chance!.

[AndyTheK]

My personal favorite for practicing all games (except craps - for which I downloaded WinCraps) is http://casino.bodog.com/ ,A lot of pracrice play there has taught me two things - never play Let It Ride for real money and ditto Caribbean Stud.

Practice play can teach not only the correct basic strategy, but also what betting patterns work FOR YOU. Another thing I've learned is that there will be times when you simply can't win a hand no matter what you do ("That dealer is MURDERING me!!!")

As for others at the table, I'm one of those who don't get emotional about how others play. MtCo9 above gave some excellent examples of what MIGHT happen on any given hand.

On cruise ships, we're late diners, so when we finally hit the casino after dinner, many of the "casual curious" have come and gone, and the craps table is open. When I play blackjack rather than craps, it's alongside DW. She's an excellent player (but a little more conservatove in betting strategy). I sit shortstop(next to last) and she sits third base. The only thing she's fuzzy on is splitting 2,3,6, and 7. She'll ask me. Surprising how quickly the two of us become the "experts" with people asking what to do. My usual answer is "The book says...".

[davecttr]

I like a game of mindless violence for small stakes, otherwise known as Caribbean Stud :)

even so with its simple strategy some players still manage to lose large sums of money, betting blind and raising a jack high seem popular :D

last year the dealer had a full house which was greeted with cries of disbelief. I did not mind as I had 4 sevens :D:D It was the third deal of the evening and the poor girl was immediately sent to the naughty corner :eek:


she was a demon at dealing herself blackjacks though :(

[KirkNC]

tried to post this before and did not work......

Everyone has to start somewhere. I meet some really nice people who helped me learn the game in Vegas.

What do you mean "follow the play recommendations" ?

You need to play by "the book". One reason I never play at the minimum tables is there are too many people who don't know how to play. I am not patient when their play cost me money.

Kirk

[bdklein]

I have a cheat sheet that I use for all in the card combinations. I always use it at non-cruise casinos (AC, Vegas, Detroit, Florida). Any idea if I can use it on the NCL Gem?

[windham depot]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I have been playing blackjack for a long time myself, I don't however think that makes me an expert. It is called gambling for a reason. More often then not I do pretty well when I play. I don;t blame another player for the way the cards come out. If I thought I was such an expert and was bothered by someone playing with little or no experience I would not sit at a $5.00 or $10.00 table. Maybe the people who think the cards are controlled by the last seated player should sit in that last seat and take controll of the cards. In my experince people who complain the loudest will not sit in the last position, they just need someon else to blame. If you want to go to the casino and play blackjack and don't have much experience or no experience go for it. It is your money and I would be happy to sit and play with you. Everyone has a first time they play. HAVE FUN WITH IT.

[davecttr]

Yes, have fun, it is entertainment and even more fun if you don't mind other players comments. I don't mind being the last player as I have more time to work out what play to make. I only play for small stakes and usually bring 30x the minimum bet to the table. I have lost over two thirds of this in a couple of hours but also won over two thirds so it balances out. Mostly the outcomes are somewhere near the the middle, win a little, lose a little. This is what I like about blackjack, enjoy yourself without high risk. It pays to learns basic strategy though and I practise about a thousand hands a week with the strategy tuned to the casino rules on the ships I use. European style, stand on soft 17, no surrender, double on split except aces, refuse insurance etc. The house advantage is 0.5% or less with these rules and maybe very slightly worse as I have the lazy habit of standing on 16 v 10.

Now roulette is different, I bring enough to the table for 40 straight up bets and play 8 times. Walking away when the money is gone is best plus if I reach double my existing stake in 8 plays I cash in. Two or three wins and you make a healthy profit.

[ready2travel54]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I have been playing blackjack for a long time myself, I don't however think that makes me an expert. It is called gambling for a reason. More often then not I do pretty well when I play. I don;t blame another player for the way the cards come out. If I thought I was such an expert and was bothered by someone playing with little or no experience I would not sit at a $5.00 or $10.00 table. Maybe the people who think the cards are controlled by the last seated player should sit in that last seat and take controll of the cards. In my experince people who complain the loudest will not sit in the last position, they just need someon else to blame. If you want to go to the casino and play blackjack and don't have much experience or no experience go for it. It is your money and I would be happy to sit and play with you. Everyone has a first time they play. HAVE FUN WITH IT.
Yah Life is too short to be grumpy about someone else's way they play. Ihope to have fun gambling.

[kchobbs]

They mean to follow "Basic Strategy" this gives you the best chance to win based on the expected outcome over thousands or millions of hands. It does not guarantee that you will win, but if you play by these rules (http://www.blackjack.org/strategy/)you should not piss off too many "Expert Players".

Any expert player should know that what the others do at the table really has no bearing to what you do. I have seen this all the time and it is a topic of heated discussion. For every time that a player may do something against basic strategy, and it hurts everyone at the table, there will be an equal amount of times when he actually helps the table. Any book on blackjack i have read says that it is a myth about people screwing up a table because of lack of knowledge.
Best advice is to play basic strategy and not worry about what anyone else is doing. If you can not accept this, then play at a table by yourself.

[myra711]

Thanks for all the comments. I was in AC last weekend, and the dealer there was very nice about informing me of the advised moves. (Didn't help me any; still went bust :( )

Anyway, the main answer to my question seems to be $5 minimum, unless anyone has other info.

I hope you all win!

Sue

[MrCo9]

The dealer there was very nice about informing me of the advised moves. (Didn't help me any; still went bust :( ) Yeah, but how long did you play and how long would you have played without the dealer's coaching?? If the dealer's coaching alllowed you to play longer that is all that matters. The # of hands played is what matters if you're going to play until all your $ is gone. At any point were you winning? If so, why didn't you quit then??

[myra711]

Yeah, but how long did you play and how long would you have played without the dealer's coaching?? If the dealer's coaching alllowed you to play longer that is all that matters. The # of hands played is what matters if you're going to play until all your $ is gone. At any point were you winning? If so, why didn't you quit then??

No I was never up. I would have switched tables, but I was with my newly minted 21 y/o daughter, who wanted to play for low stakes, We were at a $1.00 minimum table (with .25 fee/hand), and it was specifically a learning table. Dealer was lucky.

[Amadawn1]

Thanks for the Blackjack practice link, STBS! Been awhile since my last trip to Vegas, and am looking forward to some play on my cruise in May!

[MrCo9]

We were at a $1.00 minimum table (with .25 fee/hand), and it was specifically a learning table. Dealer was lucky.P.T. barnum was right, there is one born every minute. ;-) In addition to collecting on your losing hands the casino collected $.25 per hand JUST for the opportunity of playing??

The casinos in California used to charge per hands, but that was back when they could not bank the hands, the players got to bank the tables. I don't see how it could be legal for an AC casino to charge you to play.

[jt_83]

I try not to get upset at people not playing basic strategy, because there are times when it's worked out for the table. However, your odds are best if you do follow basic strategy, so that's how I play, and I would recommend that others do as well.

[davecttr]

I try not to get upset at people not playing basic strategy, because there are times when it's worked out for the table. However, your odds are best if you do follow basic strategy, so that's how I play, and I would recommend that others do as well.
I play basic strategy for low stakes and on my last cruise a couple of weeks ago I was £150 up the first week and £200 down at the end of the second. As the dealer said, every time I dealt you 2 aces you split and had a 2 or 3 on the hit :(

Never mind, next cruise I will have 2 weeks of good cards :D

[gimpysfamily2]

We were on a three day and the minimum on real tables was $10. They had three electronic tables that were $3 and then went down to $2 because no one was playing them. I would have preferred a real $5 table but I was up for the cruise so I can't complain.

[Silverscreencruiser]

We were on a three day and the minimum on real tables was $10. They had three electronic tables that were $3 and then went down to $2 because no one was playing them. I would have preferred a real $5 table but I was up for the cruise so I can't complain.

It might have something to do with the fact it was a 3-day cruise. On a longer cruise, people tend to budget their gambling money a little more carefully, and might well sit a day out if they think the game is too rich for them. On a short cruise, one night might be the only chance you have to gamble (especially if you have other plans).

I'm sure that if they didn't get significant play with a $10 minimum, it would have dropped to $5, especially during the daylight hours.

[gimpysfamily2]

I suppose you could be right. We were in the Nassau for almost 24 hrs. They did open the casino at 7PM while in port. So we only had 3 evenings and one full day. I thought it was odd since there were few people that played the electronic games. They have those at our local casino that can't have any cards used. They use dealers at our local casino but it just doesn't seem the same as a real table with cards.

[Hoiiip]

Do they allow surrenders?

[AndyTheK]

Do they allow surrenders?No.

[Hoiiip]

Thanks, Andy.

[davecttr]

I play basic strategy for low stakes and on my last cruise a couple of weeks ago I was £150 up the first week and £200 down at the end of the second. As the dealer said, every time I dealt you 2 aces you split and had a 2 or 3 on the hit :(

Never mind, next cruise I will have 2 weeks of good cards :D

Just got back from a 12 nighter and those good cards did not happen :(

Out of 15 sessions I came out ahead in only 2!

Got funny looks the first night when I hit a soft 18 to a dealer 9 and it just got worse so by the end i was full of doubts that this basic strategy was any use at all, even after making all the correct plays. Other players making lots of money with weird plays and telling me I was doing the wrong thing did not help either. At one point I commented that i was sure I WAS making the right plays the dealer said 'you must be reading the wrong book'!

The only consolations are:
Another dealer told me I was making the right plays, just not getting the right cards!

The table was under close scrutiny at times so I hope nobody was card counting, which would be stupid on a ship as you have no where else to go!

Apparently BlackjacK is a pretty variable game so my losing steak might well be within the bounds of expected probablity.

did pretty well at roulette :)

The table minimum was £3 which is approx $5 and on my next cruise it is only £2 so at least will only lose my money at 2/3 of the rate.

Ship was P&O Ventura, 8 decks, US style dealer checks for blackjack, stands on soft 17. Double on any cards, no double on split aces, no surrender, blackjack pays 6:4

[jbanana1]

Sounds like you were making the right plays. You are suppose to hit with a soft 18 vs dealer 9. People who dont know basic strategy will usually stand with that hand. I like bj cuz I come out ahead more often than not but I did go on a long losing streak where I wasn't winning any session. It can happen. Hope you have good luck next time you play wherever that may be.

[AndyTheK]

Sounds like you were making the right plays. You are suppose to hit with a soft 18 vs dealer 9. People who dont know basic strategy will usually stand with that hand. I like bj cuz I come out ahead more often than not but I did go on a long losing streak where I wasn't winning any session. It can happen. Hope you have good luck next time you play wherever that may be.Although the strategy says to hit soft 18 against a 9, this is a rather rare occurrence,and is a VERY close decision - one or two in the third decimal place difference. On my last cruise there was one opportunity, and wouldn't you know, I puled a 3!! The table buzzed. Didn't have an instance of soft 19 against 6 - bet that would have caused comments too (if dealer hits soft 17, basic strategy says to double down).

[davecttr]

Although the strategy says to hit soft 18 against a 9, this is a rather rare occurrence,and is a VERY close decision - one or two in the third decimal place difference. On my last cruise there was one opportunity, and wouldn't you know, I puled a 3!! The table buzzed. Didn't have an instance of soft 19 against 6 - bet that would have caused comments too (if dealer hits soft 17, basic strategy says to double down).
Glad to read that I was making the right decisions. Hopefully those 1000 practice hands per week will pay off one day, not that I expect to win big.
I got several soft 18 hands against a 9 and IIRC 1 did pay off.

I am glad I learnt all the basic stratey moves as, despite losing I can make a decision without thinking and watch others play and generally socialise. Next cruise I intend to leave the table when it is very busy late evening and let the casino maximise their income.

Quiet times can be interesting as well, on one cruise sea day afternoons have the table minimums reduced to £1 but sometimes not many people play. I was passing through one day and the dealer said do i want a game. Are you bored I replied, yes he said and i like dealing blackjack because i am trying to maximise my speed and hopefully get a job at a better casino. OK I said, two boxes only. Wow, he was fast enough for me and we played for well over a hour with I don't know how many hands. The result was I lost £3 :D

[jbanana1]

Didn't realize that if dealer hits soft 17 you double on a soft 19 vs dealer 6. The strat card I use doesn't differentiate between dealer hitting or standing on soft 17. Found a card at home that does have it. Says for multiple decks double on dealer 4-6 but on double deck double only on dealer 6.

Thanks for pointing that out since I've never payed attention to it before.

[davecttr]

Didn't realize that if dealer hits soft 17 you double on a soft 19 vs dealer 6. The strat card I use doesn't differentiate between dealer hitting or standing on soft 17. Found a card at home that does have it. Says for multiple decks double on dealer 4-6 but on double deck double only on dealer 6.

Thanks for pointing that out since I've never payed attention to it before.
I learnt all the marginal plays but they don't normally make much difference if you play for entertainment.

for example standing or hitting on 16 v a dealer 10 has hit as the best move but the difference to stand is so small that i calculated it would mean one extra hand lost if standing every three cruises. Not really worth bothering about, especially as you stand on 3 cards or if there are lots of 4's and 5's on the table.

I have read further and my unlucky spell is well within the expected variation. I will have to play many tens of thousands on hands to see the long term trend.

Another excuse to cruise :D

[Silverscreencruiser]

I am glad I learnt all the basic strategy moves as, despite losing I can make a decision without thinking and watch others play and generally socialise. Next cruise I intend to leave the table when it is very busy late evening and let the casino maximise their income.


Keep in mind that basic strategy doesn't mean a strategy that always puts the odds in your favor (if it did, casinos would be out of business). A lot of the time, it merely means that the odds against you aren't quite as bad as they would have been otherwise.

[davecttr]

Keep in mind that basic strategy doesn't mean a strategy that always puts the odds in your favor (if it did, casinos would be out of business). A lot of the time, it merely means that the odds against you aren't quite as bad as they would have been otherwise.
Yes, I know that 0.5% house edge will always be there but at least it is not 5%. Further reading tells me that only over very many thousand hands will the actual results maybe approach the expected results. It could be that my bad run will last for the rest of my life :(

roll on January and 14 nights floating around the Canaries playing blackjack, with a £2 minimum stake and a Hot fortnight where I win all the time :D

[HouNew2Cruise]

Any expert player should know that what the others do at the table really has no bearing to what you do. I have seen this all the time and it is a topic of heated discussion. For every time that a player may do something against basic strategy, and it hurts everyone at the table, there will be an equal amount of times when he actually helps the table. Any book on blackjack i have read says that it is a myth about people screwing up a table because of lack of knowledge.
Best advice is to play basic strategy and not worry about what anyone else is doing. If you can not accept this, then play at a table by yourself.

This is right on the money.

When I hear the complainers about a play that costs us, I remind them of the plays that saves us. They never seem to remember those bad plays that helped us win. It all washes out.

I played at a table with Asian ladies hitting on hard 14 and 15 against a 6. We were killing that table. The dealer tried to explain to them, but they did not understand. So, bad play after bad play turned my 300 into 6,000. It was unreal with the dealer busting almost all of the time. I caught good cards when I needed. I loved those ladies.

I play my BS and let everyone else do what they want.

[sailor_jimc]

Well said Hounew2cruise.... I'm right there with you. It really makes me angry when people complain about someone's play. I have had people make comments about what I do sometimes when I play correct strategy and they think its the wrong play. That really makes me laugh. Especially when my correct play works... Although there was one time when I sat down with a guy who was either REALLY drunk or just did not understand the game and he was doing STUPID stuff (doubling down on 13's and slitting 20's etc). He was willing on the dumb plays and I just couldn't get any cards. So I stopped playing and just sat there and enjoyed watching him do the crazy stuff. By the time he stopped playing we had the pit boss and a couple of other players standing there in amazement. It was then that it hit me that while correct play can increase your odds, its still a game of chance and if your going to hit your going to hit.....

[jsmeeker]

lol

splitting 10s


I've seen this for real. And they had this as a scene in 'Entourage', too.