Royal Caribbean Blackjack

Anything I should be careful of? I've heard that some dealer have certain "tricks" that they can get away w/on cruises, but not in on-land casinos. I've never played this game on a ship!

What "tricks" are you aware of? Do tell! :D

I know I've heard of at least two, but offhand, there's only 1 I can think of:

Dealer sees (somehow) card that comes next out of deck and pretends to deal all the card in order to player, but actually keeps the one card under his hand. I'm not sure how this benefits dealer bc the more players win, usually the more they tip.

I know I've heard of at least two, but offhand, there's only 1 I can think of:

 

Dealer sees (somehow) card that comes next out of deck and pretends to deal all the card in order to player, but actually keeps the one card under his hand. I'm not sure how this benefits dealer bc the more players win, usually the more they tip.

Wow! That is pretty sneaky there. If I caught the dealer pulling that BS they would have me on camera pulling out his adam's apple. :D

Ahh, here we go...

I don't know if this was the exact site that I saw awhile back, but this explains it: http://casinosmack.com/blog/devious-blackjack-dealers-cheating-strategies-you-need-to-know/

Basically, the author first explains that these cheating tactics are more likely to take place by dealers on cruise ships, as opposed to Atlantic City or Vegas, bc ships aren't "governed and monitored by the Nevada Gaming Commission."

"Let’s talk about the blackjack cheating technique known as the “second deal”. This cheating technique makes it appear that the blackjack dealer is giving you the top card but in fact what is dealt is the card that lies under it. Just think about money that can be made when you get a low card at the precise time you need it and how you also crash on a high card when it comes up at an inopportune time. Well, a top-notch and brainy “second dealer” can turn the fates of even the most notable blackjack player upside down in a very short period of time.

The other blackjack cheating technique is termed as “high-low pickup”. It’s usually done in an environment where there’s hundreds of distractions swirling around. The “high-low pickup” is done through the “false shuffle” wherein the blackjack croupier (dealer) makes it appear to reshuffle the cards when in fact the decks remain in their original position."

A dealer has no incentive to cheat on their own. Their earnings are contracted wages and tips. Two theoretical possibilities exist:

1. They could cheat in collusion with a player: Unlikely - because the dealers keep rotating after 15 minutes. A player would have to keep rotating tables to be with their partner dealer and/or take a lot of cruises on that ship which would cost a lot in itself!

or

2. If the casino asked them to cheat to help the casino : Again unlikely. Think of the negative publicity if someone caught them. A dealer who is asked to do this by the casino could very easily blow the whistle. Even drunk customers could spot some of the tricks mentioned on the blog.

Just to clarify, if a dealer is caught cheating in Nevada, New Jersey, heck any US state, they will be arrested, they will be jailed and they will have to stand in front of a judge.

The ships are different, if a dealer is caught cheating, they will be fired, they will be off loaded and they are done in the whole business.

Take a look around the casino next time your on a ship, you will find that the majority of the staff are east European, for them they now have a dream job, the get to travel the world, they get to make more money than they ever had a chance to back home, only an idiot will cheat. Am I saying is doesn't happen, no, but I would bet more land based dealers get caught cheating than sea based.

Oh and just to clarify that, when a dealer cheats it's not for the house, the vast majority of the time they are working with one of the players at the table, so they are cheating the casino.

2. If the casino asked them to cheat to help the casino : Again unlikely. Think of the negative publicity if someone caught them. A dealer who is asked to do this by the casino could very easily blow the whistle.

And as a card dealer I can tell you...refraining from running our mouth IS NOT our strong suit. :D SOMEONE would have blown the whistle by now!

Oh and just to clarify that, when a dealer cheats it's not for the house, the vast majority of the time they are working with one of the players at the table, so they are cheating the casino.

I don't think the dealers "cheat", but they are some HOT BJ players---on our last trip, we couldn't even PUSH with a 20!