Balliett Posted August 29, 2021 #1 Share Posted August 29, 2021 All new machines in the casino. The entire ship looks brand new. We sailed (Jim and Grace) on a casino offer. I think on our last HAL cruise we earned about 700 points each on a one week cruise. This rewarded us 200-250 each in free play on this cruise, and cabin offers at random times ever since. If you gambled on a HAL trip in the past, do check with the casino cashier next cruise. You never know if there will be freepay in your account. So the best VP I found was Jacks or Better Bonus poker, which pays back 96.87% assuming five coins and perfect play. The schedule is the same for dimes, quarters, or dollars. Games on the twelve VP machines include Spin Poker, Supertimes, etc. Two changes: Drinks are free, good drinks, for those gambling, only while gambling. Ask a manager and he or she will put a sticker on your room card, which doubles as your casino card. Also, you can load money into the machine from your room account! No way this could be a problem? You can also use cash. If you happen to make a profit the cashier will pay you in cash on the last day. We played a lot and didn't get trimmed too badly. Now we're home and will see if we get any generous offers for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmayor Posted August 29, 2021 #2 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Thank you for this information - the Video Poker is the only machine my husband and I play in the casino and Jacks of Better is my game of choice. We're usually table-players. Our last HAL cruise in fall 2019 we were able to load the cash from our room account - I was very happy to learn that could be done without any fees. We had sought a marker, but discovered during the process that it was quite easy to get it from the room account. Meant we didn't have to carry a lot of cash. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted August 29, 2021 #3 Share Posted August 29, 2021 12 hours ago, Balliett said: All new machines in the casino. The entire ship looks brand new. We sailed (Jim and Grace) on a casino offer. I think on our last HAL cruise we earned about 700 points each on a one week cruise. This rewarded us 200-250 each in free play on this cruise, and cabin offers at random times ever since. If you gambled on a HAL trip in the past, do check with the casino cashier next cruise. You never know if there will be freepay in your account. So the best VP I found was Jacks or Better Bonus poker, which pays back 96.87% assuming five coins and perfect play. What was the payout schedule for Jacks or Better BONUS and did you have to play 5 or 10 coins to get the jackpot? We like 8/5 (Full house/flush) payouts but 7/5 is acceptable IMO. Of course, 2 pair must pay 2 times payouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balliett Posted August 30, 2021 Author #4 Share Posted August 30, 2021 The Jacks or Better Bonus payout did pay 2 for 2 pair. Unfortunately, no 8/5 or 7/5. You do have to play five coins for the Royal Flush jackpot. That is for $1000 playing quarters, or $400 playing dimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger88 Posted August 30, 2021 #5 Share Posted August 30, 2021 17 hours ago, msmayor said: Thank you for this information - the Video Poker is the only machine my husband and I play in the casino and Jacks of Better is my game of choice. We're usually table-players. Our last HAL cruise in fall 2019 we were able to load the cash from our room account - I was very happy to learn that could be done without any fees. We had sought a marker, but discovered during the process that it was quite easy to get it from the room account. Meant we didn't have to carry a lot of cash. When I go to Casino on board the ship, Iusually avoid live tables. I prefer to be on my own and not to communicate with other people. Playing with the machines is more than enough for me. Maybe next time I play Poker I will go on a live table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted August 30, 2021 #6 Share Posted August 30, 2021 (edited) 10 hours ago, Balliett said: The Jacks or Better Bonus payout did pay 2 for 2 pair. Unfortunately, no 8/5 or 7/5. You do have to play five coins for the Royal Flush jackpot. That is for $1000 playing quarters, or $400 playing dimes. 6/5 Bonus is not THAT bad IMO and I would play it. I sure miss the old 8/5 payout schedules for Bonus poker! You do have to remember that you are not playing for a long period of time (in most cases), so the lower payout is not as big a deal. I do like the 5 coins Jackpot. Edited August 30, 2021 by DaveOKC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balliett Posted August 30, 2021 Author #7 Share Posted August 30, 2021 Come visit our Las Vegas. We have many 8/5 Bonus machines, including five at Silverton Resort. You can find lists at vpfree2.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted August 30, 2021 #8 Share Posted August 30, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Balliett said: Come visit our Las Vegas. We have many 8/5 Bonus machines, including five at Silverton Resort. You can find lists at vpfree2.com We used to hit Vegas once a month when even the Strip properties had 8/5 Bonus and even better 9/6 Jacks or Better. Caesars was our favorite stop back then - played all day on less than $100 and ended with with comped rooms, food, and of course drinks. Plus other freebies as well. Really miss those days from 15-20 years ago. Nowadays, we are not interested in going back - too expensive and you get nickel and dimed for everything it seems. Too many better options IMO. Edited August 30, 2021 by DaveOKC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loeb Posted August 31, 2021 #9 Share Posted August 31, 2021 4 hours ago, DaveOKC said: We used to hit Vegas once a month when even the Strip properties had 8/5 Bonus and even better 9/6 Jacks or Better. Caesars was our favorite stop back then - played all day on less than $100 and ended with with comped rooms, food, and of course drinks. Plus other freebies as well. Really miss those days from 15-20 years ago. Nowadays, we are not interested in going back - too expensive and you get nickel and dimed for everything it seems. Too many better options IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loeb Posted August 31, 2021 #10 Share Posted August 31, 2021 we use to go to LV six times a year, but not any more. Went in June 2021, on the strip minimum bet's were $50 on blackjack and other table games as well as the crap table. Agree that you get nickeled and dimed for everything. I left a comment at one casino and said that LV has to change their strategy or no way that most gamblers can afford to play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now