Blackjack and Slots Tournament...can someone explain how it works?

[slyster]

Hi there...I'm not much of a casino player, but I do dabble a little for the fun of it. Can someone explain how the blackjack and Slots Tournament works? How much you might have to pay? I have never gone to a tournament because I didn't know how to play, but if it's easy enough, I might try it. If you advise it's not for beginners, I'l stay away. Thanks in advance.

 

I'll be sailing on RCCL in a few weeks...not sure if it depends on the cruiseline...

[kitty9]

The blackjack tournaments vary by cruise ship, but it's basically you pay anywhere from $20 to $50 to get in the tournament. Each player gets a set amount of chips and you just play the game. The last one standing at each table gets to the final.

 

For the slot tournaments, again the entry fee varies, but it's usually about $20. The number of rounds depends on the number of people entered. They section off an area in the casino and they call your name and you choose a machine to play. They set the machines to play without putting in money. When they say "Go", you just hit the button as many times as you can for five minutes. It goes really fast, and once the 5 minutes is over, they come and write down your score, and you wait to see if you made the finals.

[Harry and Lucille]

Winner can get a nice payoff in cash. Others at final round will get XXXXlarge tee shirts. Great for kids to use as tents in the back yard. :rolleyes:

[cb at sea]

Unless you know how to play BJ..stick to the slots tourneys! You give them a fixed amount of money, and when they say "Go"...start pushing the button as fast as you can....that's it! Whoever has the most "credits" at the end, wins! Doesn't get any easier than that!

[slyster]

Unless you know how to play BJ..stick to the slots tourneys! You give them a fixed amount of money, and when they say "Go"...start pushing the button as fast as you can....that's it! Whoever has the most "credits" at the end, wins! Doesn't get any easier than that!

 

Thanks everyone....CB at Sea....I know how to play blackjack, but are you suggesting it's more for players who are experts at the game? I have the game basics down, but is it more for those who play blackjack on a regular basis? Thanks again...

[tompeter]

Slyster- What he is saying is it is a combination of luck and strategy for BJ vs the slot tournament where it is mindless and totally about luck for winning...Usually for the tounaments they have several rounds depending on how many players. For the BJ, you may want to watch a round or two played first to get a sense of the strategy that will help you have a chance to win.

[slyster]

got it...ok...thanks for everyone for their feedback!

[grod19]

The blackjack tourny's aren't that great. Normally very few hands, about 7) and after EVERYONE that bought in gets there turn then the top 6-7 players play another 7 hands to determine the winner. I love blackjack but the tourny is way to short for "experience" to pay off.

[Tella]

All I have ever done is play slots on cruises. I never win. I would love to try blackjack or craps. Where is the best place I can learn about these games before we sail (on January 3)?

 

If anyone can tell me I sure would appreciate a little help.

 

Thanks.

[Casino Player]

All I have ever done is play slots on cruises. I never win. I would love to try blackjack or craps. Where is the best place I can learn about these games before we sail (on January 3)?

 

If anyone can tell me I sure would appreciate a little help.

 

Thanks.

 

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO Tella: The cruise line has lessons on how to play the various Casino games.

Also, you could get some books on the topic at Amazon.com. Frank Scoblete is an acknowledged expert of casino games and has written many books. There are also other experts and knowledgeable people that have published works.

You could also go to the wizard of odds.com. They also have a place to play free games.

Good luck.

[leetza]

What about poker tournament, do they ever have these on Carnival ships?

[richstowe]

Anyone know how much you would win in the blackjack tournament?

What I really want to know are these tournaments just a huge money grab by Carnival where the winner

gets just a small % of the "pot"

Do players get anything else. Finally are there multiple tournaments during 7 night cruise?

thanx

[kitty9]

The number of tournaments depend on the number of sea days---they tend to only have the tournaments on sea days. On my 7 day cruises, they've only had one BJ tournament, one Poker and one Slot.

 

Of course the casino rakes some money off the top. No one knows the percentage of what's given out and what's kept. On some lines they will also give tshirts or caps to those who finish in the top three. The amount you win depends on how many enter the tournament. They usually pay out the top three places.

[joandian]

My husband won the BJ tournament on our last cruise. There wasn't many players entered so he only won a few hundred $. He also got a t-shirt (that fits), a nice trophy and some drink vouchers for use in the Casino. Entry was $25.

 

Slots tournament was the same price and there were quite a few people entered. I'm usually lucky on the slots but was way out of my depth. Never done it before and had no tournament action unlike some of the others :D

[lunchmomd]

On the cruises I have been on the black jack and slot tournaments have been open ended.

Each sea day they have a qualifying round, last sea day they pay-out $500 to the winner.

Other qualifiers get a t-shirt, not a lot of money but a way to pass some time. Usually takes about an hour a round and holds entrants interest. Blackjack is 7 hands with everyone starting out with $1000. Blackjack rules go out the window. Slots is more of a which machine has/has not hit as it is more how quick you get the reels spinning that determine the winner. All payouts in the slot tourney are hypothetical and do not take the same amount of time as real payouts to calculate, or you do not care that you just hit a 35000 hand and play as if you had a 0 payout.

[MrCo9]

Here's how it REALLY works, at least in Las Vegas. Tourneys are either by invite or open to all, they can be free or you pay to play. You'll play for a certain amount of time (Slots) or a certain number of hands (21). The winner is ALWAYS the "Niece" of the tournament director.

[fairground11]

on the golden princess last month they had poker tourneys everyday

 

10 players

60 bucks entry fee

winner got 350,2nd got 150

so house kept 100

[Silverscreencruiser]

Strategy in blackjack is very different from standard strategy. Your object is to accumulate the most money you can in a few hands, so players double down and split on hands they never would have otherwise. For example, if you have two tens against a dealer's six, in standard blackjack, splitting those tens is a sucker's play. Here, however, the most you can win with your original 20 is your original bet. By splitting and getting lucky, you might win 2-4 times your original bet.