6/5 Blackjack now on Sunshine

[poppadaddycruiser]

They are just pushing players to tables with higher minimums. They are going to make more off three, $25 and higher, players than they will off of an entire table of $5 or $6 players.

 

The low bet, recreational gambler is not their target. They keep these individuals entertained with low payout blackjacks, auto shufflers and gimmick games.

 

I remember the good old days when the blackjack payout was 2/1.

 

Take care,

Mike

 

The low bet recreational player is their target. Friend just off cruise with only "real" blackjack game was $25min.. table never full. 6/5 "blackjack" tables packed. Do the MATH. $6 min tables that use to have a House Edge of just 0.66083 (using prefect Basic Strategy) now has an edge of 2.01 playing BS. The 3/2 table with recreational players NOT playing BS already had an edge of anywhere from 2-2.5 %. Now with 6/5 payout these ploppies are playing at a 4-5% disadvantage. Might as well play roulette or $5 slots!

 

6 seats betting an average of $8 a hand churns $3,080 an hour. Of every person was a strategy player the casino was making a lowly $28.03 per hour when BJ paid 3/2. By switching to 6/5 this table now steals $76.80 per hour.

 

If the table was full of "recreational" players not correctly using Basic Strategy the numbers go from $86.40 p/h to an astronomical $211.20 p/h.

 

Keep in mind I'm using a very low average bet amount. From my experience in Carnival Casinos on a busy night, the avg bet size figuring doubles/splits, higher min bets and "crazy" progressive bets we've all seen (and/or done!), the true avg hand is closer to $18 to $24.

 

Regardless, OPC in increasing their "Blackjack" (6/5 is NOT real blackjack and refuse to play it) is going to nearly TRIPLE their bottom line!

 

The question is, how many BS players will stomach an increase in their Bankroll from $180-$240 to avoid ROR (Risk of Ruin) on a $6 game to a"staggering" $750-$1000 Bankroll to play the $25 game.

[Tutontow]

The low bet recreational player is their target. Friend just off cruise with only "real" blackjack game was $25min.. table never full. 6/5 "blackjack" tables packed. Do the MATH. $6 min tables that use to have a House Edge of just 0.66083 (using prefect Basic Strategy) now has an edge of 2.01 playing BS. The 3/2 table with recreational players NOT playing BS already had an edge of anywhere from 2-2.5 %. Now with 6/5 payout these ploppies are playing at a 4-5% disadvantage. Might as well play roulette or $5 slots!

 

6 seats betting an average of $8 a hand churns $3,080 an hour. Of every person was a strategy player the casino was making a lowly $28.03 per hour when BJ paid 3/2. By switching to 6/5 this table now steals $76.80 per hour.

 

If the table was full of "recreational" players not correctly using Basic Strategy the numbers go from $86.40 p/h to an astronomical $211.20 p/h.

 

Keep in mind I'm using a very low average bet amount. From my experience in Carnival Casinos on a busy night, the avg bet size figuring doubles/splits, higher min bets and "crazy" progressive bets we've all seen (and/or done!), the true avg hand is closer to $18 to $24.

 

Regardless, OPC in increasing their "Blackjack" (6/5 is NOT real blackjack and refuse to play it) is going to nearly TRIPLE their bottom line!

 

The question is, how many BS players will stomach an increase in their Bankroll from $180-$240 to avoid ROR (Risk of Ruin) on a $6 game to a"staggering" $750-$1000 Bankroll to play the $25 game.

 

Very well said. This move by Carnival will make them a ton more money and most recreational gamblers just don't realize how much faster they will run out of money. As I read elsewhere this is the same thing as paying $8.00 for a two hour movie one day and the next day the same movie cost $23.00. People just don't see it.

 

Me, I think I will playing a lot mote Craps on my next cruise. I am sure I will play some $25.00 BJ but I sure won't be sitting at any 6:5 tables.

[poppadaddycruiser]

Yeah, I'll also move to craps. Min Don't Pass bet with max odds is only a .014 House Edge (as good as a Double Deck BJ game with Dealer standing on Soft 17! Last time I was on Carnival Craps minimum was just $5 with 5x Odds this was a $30 bet.

[Tutontow]

Yeah, I'll also move to craps. Min Don't Pass bet with max odds is only a .014 House Edge (as good as a Double Deck BJ game with Dealer standing on Soft 17! Last time I was on Carnival Craps minimum was just $5 with 5x Odds this was a $30 bet.

 

Wow, I didn't know they offered 5X odds. That is even better. Now if I could just get my wife to quit placing $25.00 field bets....oh well it is her money too.

[YubaSutter]

6/5 with $25 min bet is a ripoff. I was recently gambling in Reno at a casino. 3/2 blackjack and $2 min bet. Free drinks every 15 minutes.

[rok233]

6/5 with $25 min bet is a ripoff. I was recently gambling in Reno at a casino. 3/2 blackjack and $2 min bet. Free drinks every 15 minutes.

 

The $25 min bet isn't 6/5, it's 3/2.

[cruzn buckeye]

Do they still have the 6 dollar tables? I like to start slow, then increase the bets as I go along... Blackjack is one of my favorite things to do for entertainment on a cruise.. but I am not sure it it will be now... the less players they have, they will end up losing money too. Guess I might just switch to the slots...

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Wow that will put a damper on the blackjack players

[innkeeper17]

I was off the Legend also on the P.C. cruise. 6:5 was the word and its going fleet wide. After a few days I wore on the management about moving the odds and they replied it is a growing policy in Vegas and whats left in Atlantic City. I almost fell out of my chair as Carnival Casinos never follows any etiquette when sited from the same places. As it has been sternly spoken to me when I did make a reference in the past two those places it was shot back at me that this is Carnival and they play by their rules. Well 3:2 is still alive and well in most markets and this is a further move to try to either take advantage of the less informed or move us to automated devices. Many I talk to, in house casinos I enjoy, agree this is a corporate move that may end up killing the goose that lays the golden egg. A very greedy move, borderline insulting. What I did not get an answer about was when I lay a side bet for the dealer does he get paid 6:5 on the bet.... Well the answer turned out to be NO. Dealers who get a player side bet get paid 1:1. During the conversation I looked the dealer very hard and without caution said out load the house is stealing from us. Period, the placard does not state that limitation on the payouts. The house has no right to change the odds that are not specified on the min-max placard. So lets say I leave a 2 dollar side bet it should be paid 6:5 if I hit Blackjack for the dealer. Its late so I am doing the math in my head but at that rate the casino has to pay 12.5 cents on the dollar for the side bet (Yes please correct me if I was wrong on the fractional payout I just being friendly with my argument) Under this scenario in most Casino Control jurisdictions this would be an illegal game. I have seen tables shut down for merely not being marked right. I follow the wizard of odds rules about gambling and one of the is "thou shall not cheat the house", well the house cheats the bettor and the dealer. If the house is willing to make such obvious oversights and collect a fractional take against its own rules then one has to wonder what else do they modify in the day-to-day operation.

 

With the rotating shoe and the 6:5 adjustment the advantage improves for the house by at least 3 percent. I am not going to play period in this arrangement. I spend enough to get the offers and I will finish out my cruises though those programs. I will go kicking and screaming (No not really) not for myself but for those who don't understand how badly things have changed on these tables.

 

On a side note in AC at one of the last still well functioning casinos as patrons we call this variation CrapJack.

 

Good luck to all

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm sorry to hear of this. I hope this is just an experiment that Carnival will pull the plug on due to bad feedback, but I doubt we'll be that lucky.

 

I do wonder if they're going to change the Blackjack Pro machines. I guess I'll find out in 11 days.

[Mom2sml]

I love playing blackjack but a limited budget forces me to the cheaper table so I can play longer but I refuse to play under the 6:5 payout. I guess it's time to learn another game.

[justlaff69]

Yeah, I'll also move to craps. Min Don't Pass bet with max odds is only a .014 House Edge (as good as a Double Deck BJ game with Dealer standing on Soft 17! Last time I was on Carnival Craps minimum was just $5 with 5x Odds this was a $30 bet.

 

With the way the tables were rolling on the last weeks cruise, I should've used this strategy. What kind of bank roll do you need to start with that and do you deal with being the bad guy at the table?

[innkeeper17]

I'm sorry to hear of this. I hope this is just an experiment that Carnival will pull the plug on due to bad feedback, but I doubt we'll be that lucky.

 

I do wonder if they're going to change the Blackjack Pro machines. I guess I'll find out in 11 days.

 

They were on the Legend. Two of them, one with a 2 $ min and another with a 3 $ min.

 

 

 

ALSO when the ship arrived in Long Beach on its way to Australia (Which I could never swing) The CRAPS table was removed. In its place was a corner area where slots use to be and they are running Keno (Yay for keno and its odds) and virtual horse and dog racing on a large screen. Like an off track betting parlor, except the screens and the racing as computer generated. Very good details and the track would change with weather conditions...but still run with a computer.

 

I also noticed fewer slots and no named slots like wheel of F and others. There was ten 5-card poker machines and 5 of the penny machines that had reels. All other slot machines looked the same just different programmed games in them.

 

It was my impression that this ship is going away for awhile and they are going to run with this overseas before it does come back to the US. It seemed they were training everyone very seriously in this different setup.