Poker on MSC

[Froggitt]

Was recently on MSC Virtuosa. Went to the casino around 10pm on the first night, asked where the poker table was. Said "we don't have Texas Holdem on MSC, you can play 3 card poker instead", and that I was only the second person that had heard ever asked for poker.....apparently there isn't the demand for it. Meanwhile, there were three Baccarat tables that were empty for the whole cruise.

 

I enjoy a game of late night Texas Holdem on my cruises. I was told that MSC was similar to NCL, where there is often two poker tables and a waitlist, even with a 10% rake. I guess I'll be avoiding MSC in future.

 

PS I'm sure no poker players would be offended by using a Baccarat table for poker......

[LeCommandant]

I think that MSC prefers more profitable games such as Slot Machines. They only keep the most profitable for them. 

[Froggitt]

21 minutes ago, LeCommandant said:

I think that MSC prefers more profitable games such as Slot Machines. They only keep the most profitable for them. 

But how much profit did they make from me that cruise in the casino? £0.00. 

 

10% rake, which is fairly standard on cruise ships, if exorbitant compared to land based casinos. A very profitable enterprise for the cruiseship casino. Just use one of the Baccarat dealer/tables, rather than paying them to shuffle cards all shift.

 

Plus a table or two of poker players really warms up the atmosphere in a casino if its a lively game.....brings people in/encourages them to stay even if they're playing slots or blackjack.

[zamboni88]

I'm sad to see this.  I leave on my first MSC cruise tomorrow and I assumed there was a "Poker pro" table in the casino.  I also love to play poker and almost cruise NCL for the live dealers.   I watched several youtube videos tours of MSC casinos and saw Poker Pro tables, but I'm not sure if they are on every ship.  I will be on the Divina.  

[maureencruiser]

22 minutes ago, zamboni88 said:

I'm sad to see this.  I leave on my first MSC cruise tomorrow and I assumed there was a "Poker pro" table in the casino.  I also love to play poker and almost cruise NCL for the live dealers.   I watched several youtube videos tours of MSC casinos and saw Poker Pro tables, but I'm not sure if they are on every ship.  I will be on the Divina.  

 

I just got off Divina.  I was not looking, but, I didn't see anyone playing any table games, probably due to Covid protocols?  I played a little video poker because I needed cash for tips.  A few people were playing slots.  We only had 1007 passengers, so, casino wasn't crowded at all.  

[zekekelso]

Never played on a ship. PLEASE tell me there’s a cap on that 10% rake, at least if NLHE.  
 

But, yeah, even James Bond plays poker instead of baccarat these days. Get with the times MSC. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by zekekelso

[Froggitt]

On 9/29/2021 at 10:21 PM, zekekelso said:

Never played on a ship. PLEASE tell me there’s a cap on that 10% rake, at least if NLHE.  
 

But, yeah, even James Bond plays poker instead of baccarat these days. Get with the times MSC. 

$25 from memory on NCL

[MPickle235]

I'm on the Meraviglia in 11 days, can anyone please confirm either there is or is not live poker tables in the casino?