PRIDE, the first with Texas Hold'em Poker . . . .

Just got off the PRIDE, the first ship to have Texas Hold'em Poker (LEGEND is the next). Had a fantastic time. Played for hours, even qualified for the Saturday tournament, but, alas, some dissappointments. These can and will all be changed, eventually, by passenger input.

Will answer any questions if I can. :)

Glad to hear you had a good time. We are on the Pride in a couple of weeks. Do you recall what the buy-ins and/or limits were? Did you also notice how much the rake was?

What exactly were the disappointments you encountered?

Thanks,

Keith

Hi Gary,

I'm glad to hear you had an enjoyable cruise. So, how was your balcony?

Just got off the PRIDE, the first ship to have Texas Hold'em Poker (LEGEND is the next). Had a fantastic time. Played for hours, even qualified for the Saturday tournament, but, alas, some dissappointments. These can and will all be changed, eventually, by passenger input.

 

Will answer any questions if I can. :)

Glad you had a great time in the Poker lounge. Actually 4 ships now have Texas Hold'em, here is the list. Im sure Liberty will also have it, but no official word on that as of yet.

Check this page for updates on future poker lounges.

http://www.oceanplayers.com/news/article.asp?nid=7

POKER LOUNGES in action now:

CARNIVAL PRIDE - JANUARY 2005

CARNIVAL LEGEND - APRIL 2005

CARNIVAL IMAGINATION - MAY 2005

CARNIVAL FASCINATION - MAY 2005

This is great news. Hopefully it will be a successful run on the Pride and be rolled out fleet wide. I want nothing more than to drop more money in the casino!

This is my sons favorite game and he will be 18 on our next cruise. I wonder if they will have it on the Conquest by then? I guess he'll have to wait and see.

Cheryl,

I sent an email asking the casino host to have it for us :)

Cheryl, I sent an email asking the casino host to have it for us :)

Did you also notice how much the rake was?

What exactly were the disappointments you encountered?

Not sure of the percentage of the rake, but I'm sure its quite extensive. I'll guess up to $5 depending of course on the size of the pot after the River.

The dissappointment is, of course, its a LIMIT GAME. The blinds are $1 & $3 and the betting is a $3 limit up to the turn when it goes to a minimum of a $6 bet. I think all raises are capped at 4, with no cap when after the River its "headsup" (2 players).

Another disappointment is the dealers and supervisors in many instances haven't the slightest idea what they are doing. A supervisor wanted to foul a player on a hand where he had posted big blind and had run to the men's room, BEFORE THE ACTION WAS TO HIM ! ! It was only because of a very minor misdealing incident in that hand that allowed us to object Vehemently and get the hand declared a misdeal that saved him from elimination when the supervisor relented. He later took 2nd place.

In a Limit Game, there is no way to protect a great pocket hand (with a substantial bet), as many of the "River Rat" players will call a $3 bet (and even raises) on anything before the flop and stumble upon trips or a straight or flush by pure accident. One has to radically adjust their game from NO LIMIT to LIMIT ! !

For the benefit of those wives (or husbands) that think a NO LIMIT game means their spouse is going to "lose the farm" in a No Limit hold'em game, be advised: In the cash games, they have buy-ins for any amount and in a NO LIMIT game you can only LOSE what you brought to the table.

Throughout the week they have "qualifying" mini-tournaments of one table (10 players) 3 or 4 times a day, with a $20 buyin. Those players that win these mini-tournaments are automatically in the final tournament on Saturday at noon and don't have to buy-in to this final tournament. A player can buy-in to the final tournament for $100, with a $20 fee. I won one of these mini-tournaments and didn't have to buy-in on Saturday. I think there was 10 of us that won this priviledge. I also think 10 more bought in on Saturday. The winner of the final tournament gets 40% of $100 per person in the tournament, 2nd gets 25%, 3rd gets 20%, and 4th gets 15%. All paid out in cash.

This past week there were 20 in the final tournament (2 tables). 10 there by winning a mini-tournament, 10 others bought-in. Incidentally, I finished either 8th or9th. I can't remember I was so pissed at myself ! ! :mad:

Most of the hard core NO LIMIT players, put together a NO LIMIT game after the casino closed (around 3:00 am). :D My son played NO LIMIT 'til 7:00 am one morning with a bunch of his new found friends. :rolleyes: He really loves his poker.

I think eventually, with enough prodding from us hold'em "nuts", that Carnival will at least have one table NO LIMIT (either cash games or tournament-style) with smaller betting limits on the tournament style.

"If you can't put a man to a decision for all his chips it ain't hold'em poker" . . . . Doyle Brunson

I can't speak to the veracity of my observations (hell,I'm already wrong about the number of ships that have it :o) , but will try to explain or answer any more questions about my experiences on the PRIDE.

Cheryl,

 

 

I sent an email asking the casino host to have it for us :)

How did you get the host's info? I might try that for the Liberty. Also, what was their response to your request?

FYI...this is from the casino host aboard the Conquest:

Hi Steve,

Unfortunately we do not have Texas hold'em on board the Conquest.

We have some fun poker games like Three Card poker, Let it Ride and

Caribbean Stud Poker.

We even have a Three Card Poker Tournament on Tuesday and if you do not

know how to play the game we have gaming lessons on your first day at

sea.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Regards,

Veronica Maepa

OPC Casino Host

Carnival Conquest

My follow up email asked her if she could arrange a tourney for us and/or if there was a blackjack tourney....

 

My follow up email asked her if she could arrange a tourney for us and/or if there was a blackjack tourney....

Every Carnival cruise has blackjack and slot tourneys...$20 to play..$500 top prize.

They wont dont a poker tourney for you, but you can set something up in your roll call.

Most of the hard core NO LIMIT players, put together a NO LIMIT game after the casino closed (around 3:00 am). :D My son played NO LIMIT 'til 7:00 am one morning with a bunch of his new found friends. :rolleyes: He really loves his poker.

Thanks for the info, glrounds.

Did they allow you to use the poker tables in the casino for your after-hours game, or did you have to find a different place to play? I was planning on bringing chips in case we could get a game going outside the casino. My kid loves to play, and he's pretty good, but he won't be 18 until after the cruise is over, so the casino is not an option for him.

Just an FYI.....the Legend has Texas Hold Em. We were on the 5/13 cruise out of NY. They actually put the tables in while in wet dock in March.