Casino Video Poker and Table Odds

Hi, I’ve done a lot of searches and can’t find any info. I assume the odds are not very good, but wondering if any gamblers had insights on NCL’s Video Poker (specifically the bar top games), Craps, and 3 Card Poker Odds.

Any electronic game on a ship, whether it be slots, video poker (I've never seen video craps) are extremely tight. Remember, unlike a Vegas casino, there's no gaming commission they have to report to. You get better odds at the actual tables, since it's harder to manipulate those. Slots/Electronic games are very tight

Hi, I’ve done a lot of searches and can’t find any info. I assume the odds are not very good, but wondering if any gamblers had insights on NCL’s Video Poker (specifically the bar top games), Craps, and 3 Card Poker Odds.

Hi, I’ve done a lot of searches and can’t find any info. I assume the odds are not very good, but wondering if any gamblers had insights on NCL’s Video Poker (specifically the bar top games), Craps, and 3 Card Poker Odds.

JoB: .25 6/5 (95%), $1 7/5 (96.1), $5 8/5 (97.3%)

DW: $1 12/9 (97.1%), $5 12/10 (97.6%)

ddb: $5 9/5 (97.9%)

best low roller vp game is 'double super times pay' in nickels (.05), but i forgot which particular game.

$100 will last the longest there so if you're bored and want to kill lots of time.

craps is 3/4/5x odds

On the Escape in February, I believe the quarter Double Double games were paying 7/5 (painful) and the Double was paying 8/5.

Any electronic game on a ship, whether it be slots, video poker (I've never seen video craps) are extremely tight. Remember, unlike a Vegas casino, there's no gaming commission they have to report to. You get better odds at the actual tables, since it's harder to manipulate those. Slots/Electronic games are very tight

This is untrue. Cruise casinos are regulated by the same rules as land based casinos. And the machines have the same chips in them as machines on land.

Go to the Cruise Casino forum. Whole discussion there.

Thanks for the replies!!

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Gambling in the NCL casino is literally a bad bet. Bad odds won't stop addicted gamblers. NCL banks on it.

Gambling in the NCL casino is literally a bad bet. Bad odds won't stop addicted gamblers. NCL banks on it.

or you're bored.

best games in the house are Craps and $15 blackjack (3:2, late surrender but hit on soft 17).

Gambling in the NCL casino is literally a bad bet. Bad odds won't stop addicted gamblers. NCL banks on it.

Haha, as a seasoned gambler I'm well aware. I look for good odds to help stretch my play longer, not because I have any expectation of winning.

Just off the Star. The bar-top VP was JoB 8/5 .25, but the slant tops and stand ups on the floor were 6/5 or 7/5. I didn't check the schedules for the other games.

Just off the Star. The bar-top VP was JoB 8/5 .25, but the slant tops and stand ups on the floor were 6/5 or 7/5. I didn't check the schedules for the other games.

That JoB is recreationally playable indeed. Thanks for the report.

I'm hoping for at least some 8/5 DDB at the $1/2 or less on the Getaway. I don't think I can stomach anything lower than that and I'm not sure I'm ready for $5/hand.

One should only gamble as entertainment. Maybe you'll win, but probably you won't. Never gamble more than you can afford to lose as that is the most common outcome. Consider it an entertainment expense. It's fun, if you don't HAVE to win.

Hi, I’ve done a lot of searches and can’t find any info. I assume the odds are not very good, but wondering if any gamblers had insights on NCL’s Video Poker (specifically the bar top games), Craps, and 3 Card Poker Odds.

As a general rule the games at the bar are the worst paying games in ANY casino. Among slot type games, video poker has the lowest expected return. Combine the two and you might as well roll up your dollars and light them on fire.

As a general rule the games at the bar are the worst paying games in ANY casino. Among slot type games, video poker has the lowest expected return. Combine the two and you might as well roll up your dollars and light them on fire.

Not sure how you can make that statement, since you have no way of knowing the payback percentage on any non-VP slot machine.

Video Poker is the only slot machine where the payback percentage can be calculated, from the pay table for the game. Therefore, if you can play perfectly you know your expected return. On a reel or video screen slot machine, there is no such thing as perfect play, and no way to know your expected return.

Also, at my local casino, the only VP paying 9/6 on JOB is on the bar top machines. The machines on the floor pay much worse. Not sure why they set them up this way...unless they want to keep dedicated VP players at the bar, or figure that bar players drink more and therefore are less likely to play perfectly.

This is untrue. Cruise casinos are regulated by the same rules as land based casinos. And the machines have the same chips in them as machines on land.

 

Go to the Cruise Casino forum. Whole discussion there.

Only half true. Yes, cruise casinos are regulated, but not by a based US gaming commission. Not sure who for NCL, but probably the flag of registry.

And yes, they use the exact same chips, but the software has settings. You can set the game to be loose or tight within a range, you can even do this in Nevada or any other state that allows slots and video poker. It is perfectly legal as long as you post the correct pay table. So cruise ship casinos can be extremely tight while still being perfectly legal, even under Nevada regulations. There is absolutely no reason to cheat as a casino, particularly on a cruise ship where you have a captive audience.

I suspect the machines are manufactured to the tightest regulations since that means they can be sold basically anywhere without modification. They simply include the ability for the operator to select the desired pay table, which determines the hold and profitability of the machine.

Only half true. Yes, cruise casinos are regulated, but not by a based US gaming commission. Not sure who for NCL, but probably the flag of registry.

 

And yes, they use the exact same chips, but the software has settings. You can set the game to be loose or tight within a range, you can even do this in Nevada or any other state that allows slots and video poker. It is perfectly legal as long as you post the correct pay table. So cruise ship casinos can be extremely tight while still being perfectly legal, even under Nevada regulations. There is absolutely no reason to cheat as a casino, particularly on a cruise ship where you have a captive audience.

 

I suspect the machines are manufactured to the tightest regulations since that means they can be sold basically anywhere without modification. They simply include the ability for the operator to select the desired pay table, which determines the hold and profitability of the machine.

Right...but the cruise ship cannot modify any machine more than any casino can (Vegas, AC, racetrack, Indian reservation casino, etc). That was my point.

People who have these theories like that the ships change the settings so the first and last night pay out, and the rest of the cruise are tight are crazy. Nothing like this is going on.

VP you have some control, much more so than any slot machine, much less than say a black jack table. But all machines still have some sort of moderated regulation they must follow based on the computer chips. And all are games of luck.

The only time I ever hit a Straight flush on a VP machine, it was dealt to me in the first 5 cards. No perfect play required. Just hold.

Right...but the cruise ship cannot modify any machine more than any casino can (Vegas, AC, racetrack, Indian reservation casino, etc). That was my point.

 

People who have these theories like that the ships change the settings so the first and last night pay out, and the rest of the cruise are tight are crazy. Nothing like this is going on.

 

VP you have some control, much more so than any slot machine, much less than say a black jack table. But all machines still have some sort of moderated regulation they must follow based on the computer chips. And all are games of luck.

 

The only time I ever hit a Straight flush on a VP machine, it was dealt to me in the first 5 cards. No perfect play required. Just hold.

You can change a slot machine as well. I do agree with you though, I seriously doubt the casino is going to go and change all the machines on the first and last night of every cruise. There is already so much else to do and why bother? In the short term, randomness will completely hide any small change they would make and would be allowed. And actually, a slot would be much easier to change than a VP machine. A slot machine shows potential paylines and what those lines would pay. It does not show the odds of any combination or payline hitting. While a VP machine shows the payout for a particular hand. To be legal in Nevada, which means basically everywhere so the machine can be sold anywhere, a VP machine must emulate card games as if dealt from an actual deck. So they cannot alter the odds of drawing any hand, they can only alter what that hands pays. Since many machines, or at least use to, have a physical payout table that is not electronically displayed, they would have to change out all the displays to change the odds.

But again, it really isn't worth the effort. Not enough money goes through the machines in that short a time period to outweigh randomness nor to justify the effort. Plus the fewer times you open the machine, the fewer times someone can screw it up and put it out of service.

Not sure how you can make that statement, since you have no way of knowing the payback percentage on any non-VP slot machine.

 

Video Poker is the only slot machine where the payback percentage can be calculated, from the pay table for the game. Therefore, if you can play perfectly you know your expected return. On a reel or video screen slot machine, there is no such thing as perfect play, and no way to know your expected return.

 

Also, at my local casino, the only VP paying 9/6 on JOB is on the bar top machines. The machines on the floor pay much worse. Not sure why they set them up this way...unless they want to keep dedicated VP players at the bar, or figure that bar players drink more and therefore are less likely to play perfectly.

Your premise is severely flawed, therefore you conclusion is 100% invalid. You can see how much each hand pays from the pay table but you cannot CANNOT know how often the game is coded to hit any given hand from that pay table. There is no such thing as a "perfect play" on video poker either. You are confusing the absolute odds of hitting a hand in a live poker game using a deck of cards with the odds of doing so on a slot machine which is all video poker is. BTW, your personal wins/losses are statistically irrelevant to the discussion. Casinos make a LOT of money of people who think the way you do, A LOT.

Your premise is severely flawed, therefore you conclusion is 100% invalid. You can see how much each hand pays from the pay table but you cannot CANNOT know how often the game is coded to hit any given hand from that pay table. There is no such thing as a "perfect play" on video poker either. You are confusing the absolute odds of hitting a hand in a live poker game using a deck of cards with the odds of doing so on a slot machine which is all video poker is. BTW, your personal wins/losses are statistically irrelevant to the discussion. Casinos make a LOT of money of people who think the way you do, A LOT.

I see you a bit confused about how video poker machines work. To be a legal machine in Nevada, you cannot change the odds of any hand. The machine basically has to emulate exactly how a deck of cards behaves. Now, the RNG basically gives perfect shuffles, but they cannot do anything to alter the odds of getting any particular hand. Instead, they simply change the pay out for the hand. And they must display the payout for each hand.

I mention Nevada, because many jurisdictions look to them as an example. Also, if you are building and programming a machine, you want to be able to sell it anywhere.

I see you a bit confused about how video poker machines work. To be a legal machine in Nevada, you cannot change the odds of any hand. The machine basically has to emulate exactly how a deck of cards behaves. Now, the RNG basically gives perfect shuffles, but they cannot do anything to alter the odds of getting any particular hand. Instead, they simply change the pay out for the hand. And they must display the payout for each hand.

 

 

 

I mention Nevada, because many jurisdictions look to them as an example. Also, if you are building and programming a machine, you want to be able to sell it anywhere.

Don’t feed into Maniacal. He/She’s uninformed and purposely always looking for conflict.

deleted

Hence, I have blocked Maniacal Cruiser ... CC life is now so much more blissful

Good idea!! [emoji16]

I see you a bit confused about how video poker machines work. To be a legal machine in Nevada, you cannot change the odds of any hand. The machine basically has to emulate exactly how a deck of cards behaves. Now, the RNG basically gives perfect shuffles, but they cannot do anything to alter the odds of getting any particular hand. Instead, they simply change the pay out for the hand. And they must display the payout for each hand.

 

I mention Nevada, because many jurisdictions look to them as an example. Also, if you are building and programming a machine, you want to be able to sell it anywhere.

I don't think any NCL ships sail in Nevada.

Don’t feed into Maniacal. He/She’s uninformed and purposely always looking for conflict.

So by looking for conflict you mean posting facts? BTW I am not a he/she.

So by looking for conflict you mean posting facts? BTW I am not a he/she.

LOL. Enjoy your trolling buddy. [emoji106][emoji106]