Gambling tips

[MrsTffx]

Anyone know of any gambling tips for the casino - which games are the best for your odds, etc.?

[wolfganghowell]

blackjack has the "best odds" if you know how to play it properly. you can practice online ahead of time. roulette is fun and relatively easy to learn and depending on how much you are willing to bet, you have many ways to play. craps is harder - you need to take a lesson or learn from someone playing. 3 card poker is great but again, gotta know what you are doing. Let It Ride is supposed to have very good odds and is relatively easy to learn and offers the chance to play for a long time with minimal losses and hopefully good wins.

 

SLot machines - well, I love them but they don't call them one armed bandits for nothing. But I have hit a few jackpots in my day and there's no feeling like seeing $5000 show up in a split second!

[johnql]

In terms of best odds, stick with either blackjack or craps. Played properly, both games have very slim house edges against the player. All the other games are weighted more heavily against the player.

[cherub44]

I agree about blackjack having the best odds compaired to other games, however.....

 

If you are used to playing blackjack in Vegas where the table rules are very favorable to the player you will be disappointed. For instance, I know that the dealer hits on soft 17 on cruise ships, there is no surrender, and the splitting and doubling rules aren't favorable either. These would probably make no difference to many players, but if you are an avid blackjack player these rules suck.

 

That said...if you are going to spend time in the casino regardless, BJ is still the way to go.

[gwen_cpk]

Tip: Stay away from roulette- the house has good odds on this. Also IMHO I feel the slots are tight.

 

Best to play craps and blackjack. The casino on the ship is very helpful when it comes to teaching you how to play. You can ask the dealer "should I hit on this" and he/she will give you great advice. They usually offer lessons too if you wanna learn- just keep an eye on the schedule for the times.

 

I highly recommend learning craps- it's a really fun game! Make sure you join the table when its 'hot'! When you hear all the hootin and hollarin :D - you will wanna jump in. When the tables are cold- you're gonna loose. :eek:

 

Hope this helps,

gwen

 

Always remember, who has the bigger house/boat? That's who's gonna win.

[deborah grimes]

My DH notice also if you play the slot Machines do it the first night and the last night after 12:00pm. They pay out first night becouse they wont you to keep comming back. Some reason we notice the last night after 12:00 pm you will also see a lot of people winning. What ever you do just have a ball doing it!

 

DEB

[mdmourges]

The best odds are the "back-up" bets in craps. They pay true odds. In Vegas you can actually do multiples of back up bets but not on RC.

 

Mark

[kenandlaura06]

I am trying to learn craps, but I will probably just stick with throwing $25 at the slots for the week and seeing where it gets me! I know, I know, the house always wins, but I do like the slots!

[Iamthesea]

My DH notice also if you play the slot Machines do it the first night and the last night after 12:00pm. They pay out first night becouse they wont you to keep comming back. Some reason we notice the last night after 12:00 pm you will also see a lot of people winning. What ever you do just have a ball doing it!

 

DEB

Do you mean 12:00 am (after midnight) or afternoon (after lunch?)

[barbyma]

DON'T BE AFRAID OF CRAPS. It's not that difficult if you play because you don't need to learn the whole table.

 

First, play only the "come" line and 6 & 8. Once you get to know the game, there are a few other bets you can play, but MOST of the table is a sucker's bet. No need to even try to understand "field" bets or anything in the center. As another poster stated, this game gives you the best odds when you back up your come bet.

 

On the ship, the video poker payouts are horrible, the slots are very tight, and the blackjack rules create an unfair advantage to the house. Roulette, although an easy game to play, is ALWAYS a sucker bet.

 

I'm a statistician & we're kind of known for gambling, even though we know the odds are against us! But, I lose very slowly at the craps table and even walked away with $1400 of the casino's $$ on the Serenade last month!

 

Barb

[tazboyles]

I usually stick with blackjack but I have seen people with big chips having a blast at the craps table. Would it be really rude to go over and duplicate the betting of someone who is hot and seems to know what they are doing?

[barbyma]

I usually stick with blackjack but I have seen people with big chips having a blast at the craps table. Would it be really rude to go over and duplicate the betting of someone who is hot and seems to know what they are doing?

 

It would be flattering, IMO. There are always those touchy people who think you're changing their "luck", but most craps players live a little more in the real world. Also, most craps players are pretty friendly and willing to give you some tips on play. So are the dealers.

 

Barb

[WeLuvVacation]

An easy rule of thumb is the higher the payout ratio the better for the house.

 

That being said you can win big if you are in the right place at the right time.

 

I won $ 5,600. on Let It Ride on our Carnival Triumph cruise a couple of years ago.

 

Also there are at least one slot and black jack tournament a cruise. It's listed on the daily compass.

[kman]

I don't know anything about Roulette so on our cruise last week, my son-in-law took me over to the table to explain how it was played and what all the various bets meant. In the space of the 10 minutes we were watching, we saw 00 come up twice. My son in law said he had hardly ever seen that number come up before...much less twice in so short a period.

 

Could have just been bad luck (for the people gambling) but it made me think the odds definitely seemed to be stacked in the cruise line's favor.

 

My cruise ship gambling advice: learn to play basic strategy with blackjack and don't take more money than you want to lose.

 

Here's a site (I googled on "blackjack basic strategy" and picked the first one) that can help if you need it:

 

http://www.blackjackinfo.com/

[Aldeya]

Can someone please explain to me how does the slot tournament work?

 

I know there is an entrance fee (usually $20) and then what? You just sit at the slots and play as usual? Until someone wins or what? What is the "trick"? :)

 

TIA

[WeLuvVacation]

You get 5 minutes to get as many credits/points as you can. The machine is set on "tournament mode" so you can only get points and not lose.

 

After about 50 - 55 minutes the top 10 or 12 (depending on # of machines used) have a playoff and the top 3 spots get paid.

 

It is the basic same for black jack except you get a set amount of play chips (2,000 I think) and you play 7 hands at a table with 6 others trying to beat the dealer like normal. After the same 50 -55 minutes the top 7 go to the playoff and again the top 3 win.

[curiousjly]

My neice is a blackjack dealer at a casino. I asked her for some tips, and she looked at me and said, "Don't enter the room". Hummmph :rolleyes:

 

Oh well, I still might try a hand at something. Probably the slots, I have never gambled before, so it is going to just be a fun time one night, go in with a few bucks and probably leave with none. :D

 

Jly

[digital_curator]

I find it interesting that everyone says the slots are tight on the ships. We didn't win big on the NOS but we won everytime we played:) We did think that the machines were paying out more at the beginning of the week though....

 

Our biggest strategy as new (and addicted) gamblers is to only play $10 at a time and to get 2 buckets for your coins. The first bucket holds your original $10. The second holds everything you win. We do not let anything ride and we do not dip into this second bucket. When the first bucket is empty, we cash out....we probably aren't going to win big but it gives us a chance to play knowing we aren't going to loose our shirts, especially since I found out I am one of those "just one more quarter" kinda gals;)

 

Cheers,

[wolfganghowell]

Here's a site for roulette aficionados - the serious players there have built up a bit of a cult. http://www.uxsoftware.com

I have seen the zeros come up many times over the years - usually in cycles, a lot depends on the dealer - they get in the mode of throwing the ball the exact same way so many of the same numbers tend to hit.

[Grumm]

I always think that Ocean (or Caribbean) Poker gives you a good chance, especially if you remeber to play an insurance chip each hand, just in case the biggie comes along.It also tends to last a lot longer than blackjack or roullette. The double zeroes on the roullette tables give the casino too much of an advantage .

 

 

Alan

[timbo89]

There is a mathematical way to win in roulette, but you have to be able to raise your bet significantly over time. The house "caps" or "limits" the amount you can bet in order to prevent you from doing this.

[bigreid07]

I'm a sucker for roulette. While I tend to over-analyze and figure how what's coming up next (which is retarded), in the two cruises I have taken I came out ahead both times. I set myself a limit each time I play that if I win X dollars or lose X dollars I leave. It seems to work out well. I also go with my first instinct--which REALLY paid off on my last cruise numerous times.

 

No mtter how hard I try, I can't get craps!

[Iamthesea]

We do not let anything ride

What does this mean? We play the slots in a similar way.

[johnql]

What does this mean? We play the slots in a similar way.

"Let it ride" means you keep your bet, along with your winnings, in place. For instance, if you bet $5 and you win, you would have $10. Letting it ride would mean placing that $10 as your next bet.

[AirGorilla]

On the ship, the video poker payouts are horrible, the slots are very tight, and the blackjack rules create an unfair advantage to the house. Roulette, although an easy game to play, is ALWAYS a sucker bet.

 

Barb --

 

How bad are the pay tables on Video Poker? I assume that they're not 9/6 on Jacks or Better?