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Casino table games questions

BBQluver

By BBQluver,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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BBQluver

BBQluver

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I will be going on my first cruise in April. It will be on Carnival Freedom. I like playing casino table games. Blackjack being my favorite. I have read that if you charge your chip buy-in to your card there is a 3% fee charged for each transaction. If you buy in using cash is there also a 3% fee?

My second question is does the casino pay 3:2 or 6:5 for a blackjack?

I typically bet $5 to $15 per hand. Does the casino comp drinks for that size bets?

 

Thanks for any information you can provide regarding the casinos.

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poolreader

poolreader

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I usually bring several hundred dollars to start my play. I give them at least $100 to start, there is no percentage charge on a cash buy in. This is the level I have found they track my play. If I do not have cash with me at the time I want to play I go to a slot machine and get the cash off of my card. Then I cash out and get the cash from the cashiers. I have rarely been comped drinks, unless it is towards the end of the cruise, I have tipped quite a bit, and the house has been winning.

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BBQluver

BBQluver

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I usually bring several hundred dollars to start my play. I give them at least $100 to start, there is no percentage charge on a cash buy in. This is the level I have found they track my play. If I do not have cash with me at the time I want to play I go to a slot machine and get the cash off of my card. Then I cash out and get the cash from the cashiers. I have rarely been comped drinks, unless it is towards the end of the cruise, I have tipped quite a bit, and the house has been winning.

 

Thanks for the response, Poolreader. At land based casinos I usually buy in at $100 or more. That is a good tip about getting cash by using your card at the slot machine. I will use that method and reduce the amount of cash I take on board. I was planning on taking around $500 for gaming. I tip fairly often when I am winning. Even if losing I tip, just less often. I am probably better off not getting comped drinks. I have had those 'free' drinks cost a bundle in the long run.

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Cousin Eddie

Cousin Eddie

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As poolreader stated you can avoid the fee by loading cash onto your card at the slot machines. Just select "charge your player bank" and it will have you set a PIN number and select the amount to charge. Then just hit the cash out button and take your card to the table. Make sure to specify that you want to charge your player bank when you reach the table so that they don't accidentally charge your sign and sail account and charge the fee. If my memory serves BJ paid 3:2 on all the tables I played last month.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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adam3313

adam3313

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Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but 3:2 blackjack is a dying breed on CCL ships. On my 1/7/17 cruise on the Glory, 3:2 was only offered on the $25 minimum bet table. Every other table offered 6:5, and management refused to budge, even when we asked to change a table to $15 minimum bet.

 

On the Breeze on November, it was still 3:2 on $10 minimum tables, but it seems to be going away...

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Micahs Grandad

Micahs Grandad

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Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but 3:2 blackjack is a dying breed on CCL ships. On my 1/7/17 cruise on the Glory, 3:2 was only offered on the $25 minimum bet table. Every other table offered 6:5, and management refused to budge, even when we asked to change a table to $15 minimum bet.

 

On the Breeze on November, it was still 3:2 on $10 minimum tables, but it seems to be going away...

 

And they have raised minimum bets on roulette. Seems like they are in a hurry to take our money faster

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Trnkk

Trnkk

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I usually bring several hundred dollars to start my play. I give them at least $100 to start, there is no percentage charge on a cash buy in. This is the level I have found they track my play. If I do not have cash with me at the time I want to play I go to a slot machine and get the cash off of my card. Then I cash out and get the cash from the cashiers. I have rarely been comped drinks, unless it is towards the end of the cruise, I have tipped quite a bit, and the house has been winning.

 

Be aware doing this you may get away the first time but next time doing it they'll put a lock on your card!!

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dameanwhite

dameanwhite

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I have read that if you charge your chip buy-in to your card there is a 3% fee charged for each transaction. If you buy in using cash is there also a 3% fee?

 

No fee for cash. And as others said, hit up a slot and set up a player bank on your S&S. I got the impression that they would be charging me 3% at the table, player bank or not, so I always just cashed out a t the cage and gave the table cash.

 

My second question is does the casino pay 3:2 or 6:5 for a blackjack?

I typically bet $5 to $15 per hand. Does the casino comp drinks for that size bets?

 

6:5. And as for comps, I played a fair amount(lost about $350 over the length of the cruise) and was not offered a free drink. So I'm not sure what metric you have to hit to get free drinks.

 

Hope that helps!

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BBQluver

BBQluver

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Thanks for the additional input. I was more or less expecting 6:5 payouts for a blackjack. When a casino is literally the only game in town it tends to tighten up on the odds and slot payout percentages. At the Harrah's in Laughlin last summer all their BJ tables only had 6:5 payouts. I may spend more time at the craps table than at blackjack. Hopefully, they still pay true odds on the free odds bet. What I really hope for is that there will be plenty to do during the sea days and I won't be spending a lot of time (or money) in the casino.

 

:D

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ddloml

ddloml

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Thanks for the additional input. I was more or less expecting 6:5 payouts for a blackjack. When a casino is literally the only game in town it tends to tighten up on the odds and slot payout percentages. At the Harrah's in Laughlin last summer all their BJ tables only had 6:5 payouts. I may spend more time at the craps table than at blackjack. Hopefully, they still pay true odds on the free odds bet. What I really hope for is that there will be plenty to do during the sea days and I won't be spending a lot of time (or money) in the casino.

 

:D

 

The cruise ship casino takes advantage of the fact that they are the gaming monopoly on the sea. The slots and video poker payouts are poor. More Blackjack is going to 6:5 and they use the continuous shuffle machines too, IIRC. Money goes too quickly on double zero Roulette. Craps is the only game I'll play in the casino on a Carnival ship. The table isn't always open though, not like Blackjack or Roulette which always seemed to be open whenever the casino was open. The restriction there is that the odds are only 2x and the 2/12 on the Field bet pays double. On my last cruise on the Dream, though, I just played the minimum ($5) with double odds, the occasional 6/8 place bets, and Pass line $1 (w/$1 or $2 odds) for the dealers whenever I threw the dice. Bought in for about $100 cash each day. Once that was gone, I was done for the day, but many times I would walk away ahead. I broke about even for the cruise with that strategy. That action got me the Drinks On Us card by the second day. The pit boss also had a nice habit of buying a round of drinks for the players at the Craps table every hour or two as well.

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