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Back from cruise
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ko king
- VP Veteran
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- Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:13 pm
Back from cruise
Just got back from a brief cruise, won't name the cruise line. Played a lot of video poker despite poor pay tables 40/25. I also had conversations with several people while playing and not a single person believed that the vp was random, I don't either. Some of the folks mentioned that was the reason they wouldn't open the casino until they left U.S. waters, as for myself I thought the reason would be for tax purposes on the cruise lines part but what do I know. Getting back to the part of the vp being random or not, I've been on 5 cruise in the last few years and played 40/25 pay tables which are pretty bad. I don't really believe that cruise line vp is random but the funny thing is despite playing better pay tables in Tunica, Ms. I don't do any worse. Is cruise ship video poker even said to be regulated, I don't have the slightest idea. I do see the familiar IGT logo on all the machines and they look just like the machines I play on a regular basis. I remember my first couple of cruises many years back and I couldn't believe how pathetic the vp was, it's not that it's any different now it's just that I've gotten so used to playing bad vp over the past few years. It's amazing what you can get used to but it is getting very old.
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Tedlark
- Video Poker Master
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- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:29 am
KO the rumor is that the returns to the player are much lower than brick and mortar casinos. Also I think the casino cannot open until they hit international waters because of gaming laws.
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ko king
- VP Veteran
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- Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:13 pm
KO the rumor is that the returns to the player are much lower than brick and mortar casinos. Also I think the casino cannot open until they hit international waters because of gaming laws.
You're probably right about gaming laws and international waters. I can't really make an educated statement as for the returns or pay back percentages as I've only been on 5 cruises. I have had 2 dealt royals on those 5 cruises playing $1 denomination, both coming on the last night of the cruise. In 20 years of playing at our local dying mini Vegas I have never had a single one. I believe I've had a total of 5 at the casino nearest my location in the last 4 years, bad thing about that place is chocking on cigar smoke.
You're probably right about gaming laws and international waters. I can't really make an educated statement as for the returns or pay back percentages as I've only been on 5 cruises. I have had 2 dealt royals on those 5 cruises playing $1 denomination, both coming on the last night of the cruise. In 20 years of playing at our local dying mini Vegas I have never had a single one. I believe I've had a total of 5 at the casino nearest my location in the last 4 years, bad thing about that place is chocking on cigar smoke.
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alpax
- Video Poker Master
- Posts: 1940
- Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2014 4:42 pm
Ted is right about the returns being much lower than the traditional casinos. I saw a past post from FloridaPhil about the paytables being 6/5 for Jacks and DDB. I also might recall ko king mentioning the royal flush hit was only worth 1500 instead of 4000. I've read some snippets on Mr. Dancers LVA articles where it is best to hold off playing VP for a week even for the most serious of addicts.
In general, at those pay scales, the games do not even have to be rigged in order for the cruise line to make a killer profit in the "short run". All I can recall is that when I played 3 Card Poker, I was forced to bet equal amounts on the Pair Plus bet that paid 3 for 1 on flushes.
In general, at those pay scales, the games do not even have to be rigged in order for the cruise line to make a killer profit in the "short run". All I can recall is that when I played 3 Card Poker, I was forced to bet equal amounts on the Pair Plus bet that paid 3 for 1 on flushes.
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ko king
- VP Veteran
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- Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:13 pm
Ted is right about the returns being much lower than the traditional casinos. I saw a past post from FloridaPhil about the paytables being 6/5 for Jacks and DDB. I also might recall ko king mentioning the royal flush hit was only worth 1500 instead of 4000. I've read some snippets on Mr. Dancers LVA articles where it is best to hold off playing VP for a week even for the most serious of addicts.
In general, at those pay scales, the games do not even have to be rigged in order for the cruise line to make a killer profit in the "short run". All I can recall is that when I played 3 Card Poker, I was forced to bet equal amounts on the Pair Plus bet that paid 3 for 1 on flushes.
Good memory my friend, I did hit a royal flush on my very first cruise playing $1 DDB at 5 credits and it did only pay $1,500. It was a very weird deal to hit a royal and be so pissed off, but I was. I raised all kinds of you know what and refused to play a single hand more. I don't know if you remember the entire post but quad aces w/kicker playing the same game, same denomination and same credits paid $2K dumbest crap I had ever seen. When I got back I sent e-mails to the cruise company, made phone calls and finally got to talk to the director of gaming who sent me voucher for a future cruise along with an apology that pretty much admitted they were in error. I've been on the same cruise line 3 times since that happened and the royal pays $4K for $1 denomination at 5 credits. I played $1 TDB this time around and the pay table was 40/25, I can find that same pay table in Tunica, Ms. for the same game, I remember walking in with the wife checking pay tables and leaving, there was only one person playing vp in that entire casino, I didn't make a head count but my best would be that there were less than 100 people in the entire casino. All in all even considering the reduced pay tables offered on cruise lines I have found it to be no worse than the junk vp offered up at our mini Vegas casinos here who even have better pay tables. I'm leaving in just a little while to take a guy from somewhere around Reno, I don't know the guy but I was told he only plays vp. I'll give him all the choices and let him decide where he wants to play, I may not even play the first hand of vp and stick to playing Three Card Poker.
In general, at those pay scales, the games do not even have to be rigged in order for the cruise line to make a killer profit in the "short run". All I can recall is that when I played 3 Card Poker, I was forced to bet equal amounts on the Pair Plus bet that paid 3 for 1 on flushes.
Good memory my friend, I did hit a royal flush on my very first cruise playing $1 DDB at 5 credits and it did only pay $1,500. It was a very weird deal to hit a royal and be so pissed off, but I was. I raised all kinds of you know what and refused to play a single hand more. I don't know if you remember the entire post but quad aces w/kicker playing the same game, same denomination and same credits paid $2K dumbest crap I had ever seen. When I got back I sent e-mails to the cruise company, made phone calls and finally got to talk to the director of gaming who sent me voucher for a future cruise along with an apology that pretty much admitted they were in error. I've been on the same cruise line 3 times since that happened and the royal pays $4K for $1 denomination at 5 credits. I played $1 TDB this time around and the pay table was 40/25, I can find that same pay table in Tunica, Ms. for the same game, I remember walking in with the wife checking pay tables and leaving, there was only one person playing vp in that entire casino, I didn't make a head count but my best would be that there were less than 100 people in the entire casino. All in all even considering the reduced pay tables offered on cruise lines I have found it to be no worse than the junk vp offered up at our mini Vegas casinos here who even have better pay tables. I'm leaving in just a little while to take a guy from somewhere around Reno, I don't know the guy but I was told he only plays vp. I'll give him all the choices and let him decide where he wants to play, I may not even play the first hand of vp and stick to playing Three Card Poker.
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DrawingDead
- Forum Regular
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:37 pm
Last place I would play VP or gamble would be on a cruise ship. 
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alpax
- Video Poker Master
- Posts: 1940
- Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2014 4:42 pm
[QUOTE=alpax] Ted is right about the returns being much lower than the traditional casinos. I saw a past post from FloridaPhil about the paytables being 6/5 for Jacks and DDB. I also might recall ko king mentioning the royal flush hit was only worth 1500 instead of 4000. I've read some snippets on Mr. Dancers LVA articles where it is best to hold off playing VP for a week even for the most serious of addicts.
In general, at those pay scales, the games do not even have to be rigged in order for the cruise line to make a killer profit in the "short run". All I can recall is that when I played 3 Card Poker, I was forced to bet equal amounts on the Pair Plus bet that paid 3 for 1 on flushes.
Good memory my friend, I did hit a royal flush on my very first cruise playing $1 DDB at 5 credits and it did only pay $1,500. It was a very weird deal to hit a royal and be so pissed off, but I was. I raised all kinds of you know what and refused to play a single hand more. I don't know if you remember the entire post but quad aces w/kicker playing the same game, same denomination and same credits paid $2K dumbest crap I had ever seen. When I got back I sent e-mails to the cruise company, made phone calls and finally got to talk to the director of gaming who sent me voucher for a future cruise along with an apology that pretty much admitted they were in error. I've been on the same cruise line 3 times since that happened and the royal pays $4K for $1 denomination at 5 credits. I played $1 TDB this time around and the pay table was 40/25, I can find that same pay table in Tunica, Ms. for the same game, I remember walking in with the wife checking pay tables and leaving, there was only one person playing vp in that entire casino, I didn't make a head count but my best would be that there were less than 100 people in the entire casino. All in all even considering the reduced pay tables offered on cruise lines I have found it to be no worse than the junk vp offered up at our mini Vegas casinos here who even have better pay tables. I'm leaving in just a little while to take a guy from somewhere around Reno, I don't know the guy but I was told he only plays vp. I'll give him all the choices and let him decide where he wants to play, I may not even play the first hand of vp and stick to playing Three Card Poker.[/QUOTE]
Although it is bittersweet, I appreciate that you've stood up against the cruise management over this nonsense, how could the greatest poker hand be worth less than something that is easier to get? I know 2 pair Joker Poker Atlantic City is the other exception.
I know your experiences with VP in Tunica are suspect, but I would think people do not play at the casino on the cruise ship because of the horrible odds. I think 8/5 TDB has a high variance where people can get lucky and win in a short amount of time, maybe that part could be rigged, not sure. I would avoid the casino myself because of the terrible odds more than anything.
About the regulations, there are big signs at the cashier window that a W2G tax form will be issued for wins greater than $1200 or 300 times a table game wager, so it matches the brick and mortar casino.
The only other thing I recall on the cruise casino were that the slots were nearly impossible to win anything and was a money pit. I lost 200 in half hour, then someone else took over, I saw 4 different people lose so I decided not to try it again. The best bonus round I saw was for 45 dollars when the bets were at 2 dollars a spin.
Forgot to state about 3 card poker, for 3 for 1 flush payouts, I do not play the Pair Plus bets. The cruise ship at Carnival required an equal bet on it as the Ante bet.
Last place I would play VP or gamble would be on a cruise ship.
A very sage advice!
In general, at those pay scales, the games do not even have to be rigged in order for the cruise line to make a killer profit in the "short run". All I can recall is that when I played 3 Card Poker, I was forced to bet equal amounts on the Pair Plus bet that paid 3 for 1 on flushes.
Good memory my friend, I did hit a royal flush on my very first cruise playing $1 DDB at 5 credits and it did only pay $1,500. It was a very weird deal to hit a royal and be so pissed off, but I was. I raised all kinds of you know what and refused to play a single hand more. I don't know if you remember the entire post but quad aces w/kicker playing the same game, same denomination and same credits paid $2K dumbest crap I had ever seen. When I got back I sent e-mails to the cruise company, made phone calls and finally got to talk to the director of gaming who sent me voucher for a future cruise along with an apology that pretty much admitted they were in error. I've been on the same cruise line 3 times since that happened and the royal pays $4K for $1 denomination at 5 credits. I played $1 TDB this time around and the pay table was 40/25, I can find that same pay table in Tunica, Ms. for the same game, I remember walking in with the wife checking pay tables and leaving, there was only one person playing vp in that entire casino, I didn't make a head count but my best would be that there were less than 100 people in the entire casino. All in all even considering the reduced pay tables offered on cruise lines I have found it to be no worse than the junk vp offered up at our mini Vegas casinos here who even have better pay tables. I'm leaving in just a little while to take a guy from somewhere around Reno, I don't know the guy but I was told he only plays vp. I'll give him all the choices and let him decide where he wants to play, I may not even play the first hand of vp and stick to playing Three Card Poker.[/QUOTE]
Although it is bittersweet, I appreciate that you've stood up against the cruise management over this nonsense, how could the greatest poker hand be worth less than something that is easier to get? I know 2 pair Joker Poker Atlantic City is the other exception.
I know your experiences with VP in Tunica are suspect, but I would think people do not play at the casino on the cruise ship because of the horrible odds. I think 8/5 TDB has a high variance where people can get lucky and win in a short amount of time, maybe that part could be rigged, not sure. I would avoid the casino myself because of the terrible odds more than anything.
About the regulations, there are big signs at the cashier window that a W2G tax form will be issued for wins greater than $1200 or 300 times a table game wager, so it matches the brick and mortar casino.
The only other thing I recall on the cruise casino were that the slots were nearly impossible to win anything and was a money pit. I lost 200 in half hour, then someone else took over, I saw 4 different people lose so I decided not to try it again. The best bonus round I saw was for 45 dollars when the bets were at 2 dollars a spin.
Forgot to state about 3 card poker, for 3 for 1 flush payouts, I do not play the Pair Plus bets. The cruise ship at Carnival required an equal bet on it as the Ante bet.
Last place I would play VP or gamble would be on a cruise ship.
A very sage advice!
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spxChrome
- VP Veteran
- Posts: 819
- Joined: Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:21 pm
I love playing VP more than the next person and I have played VP on a cruise my 1st trip and it didn't take long to see how that was working out so I have never played on a cruise ship again. It just didn't feel right, nothing about it was positive. Like how they only credit back to your gaming card and how you could play up to 30 credits on a single line. It was just all wacked out. Luckily there is so much more to do on a cruise I was surprised I don't even miss playing VP when on a cruise ship. It just felt crooked from every angle even when the sea was smooth as glass
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Vman96
- Video Poker Master
- Posts: 3298
- Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:49 am
Like how they only credit back to your gaming card and how you could play up to 30 credits on a single line.
This is also why koking's royal probably only paid $1500. I hate this crappy setup. Some Tunica casinos are bad about it at the nickel level too. Two casinos typically have 20 credit max nickel bet. You're better off playing quarters there at 5 credit max bet.
This is also why koking's royal probably only paid $1500. I hate this crappy setup. Some Tunica casinos are bad about it at the nickel level too. Two casinos typically have 20 credit max nickel bet. You're better off playing quarters there at 5 credit max bet.
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roveer
- Senior Member
- Posts: 458
- Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:20 am
What I can add to this conversation is that as far as Video Poker "chips" are concerned (regional/jurisdictional) there is a specific "region" for cruise ships. This means there are specific rules for cruise ship payback and possibly other things. Who holds legal responsibility for these rules is anybodys guess. Since Casino's at sea tend to open up in international waters I would suspect that these rules are Not governed by the US.
Also, you need to know that there are different class's of video poker machines. Cruise ships may only be Class II not Class III.
Apparently Class II machines are basically a "bingo" machine and the outcome (even know it's video poker) is the outcome of a draw of bingo. Absolutely no skill is involved.
Class III is determined by the RNG and the holding of cards. Odds Based on VP statistics and pay tables.
Is it a Class II or III Machine? You’ll know if the video poker machine you are about to play is a Class II machine if you see a display of a bingo card someplace on the machine.
Also, you need to know that there are different class's of video poker machines. Cruise ships may only be Class II not Class III.
Apparently Class II machines are basically a "bingo" machine and the outcome (even know it's video poker) is the outcome of a draw of bingo. Absolutely no skill is involved.
Class III is determined by the RNG and the holding of cards. Odds Based on VP statistics and pay tables.
Is it a Class II or III Machine? You’ll know if the video poker machine you are about to play is a Class II machine if you see a display of a bingo card someplace on the machine.
