Casino Minimums

[kalley79]

DH and I will be sailing the Triumph in April. I love the casinos and wish I had more $$$$ to gamble with but I am on a budget. Anyone know what the table minimums are. I love to play craps, am okay at blackjack, and DH likes Texas Hold 'Em. I also get sucked into the one arm bandits, but I try to keep to the $.25 or less machines because I have HORRIBLE luck. Also any other tips on saving in the casinos would be great. Thanks.

 

Kellie

[eclipsegtf10mch]

Craps is $5 minimum. Blackjack is also $5. Hate to say it, but we also love Texas Hold 'Em and the only place to play is the dumb PokerPro machine, with a $50 minimum buy-in (plus the membership to PokerPro) We found 3-Card Poker and Caribbean Stud Poker (All $5 minimum but that is $5 for ante PLUS $5 to play) and Let it Ride Bonus (which can be as little as $5 to play a hand.) Roulette is $1 minimum on numbers $5 on outside bets. Slot machines are .01, .02, .05, .25, $1 to ???

[Beave8920]

:p The table minimums are the lowest the first nite ($2-$5)....then they raise them for the rest of the cruise...normally $10+ on average. Texas Holdum (if they have it) is video table game with 9 players - no live games.....and the one arm bandits are pretty tight, but some folks do win! Lots of fun and I enjoy the casinos, but like they say, spend only what you can afford to lose cause you probably will!!!!

[eclipsegtf10mch]

The minimums on (both of) our cruise were never raised above $5. Texas Hold 'Em seats 10 and is installed on all the ships now.

 

Oh and to save your money... don't enter the tournaments as most feel it is a rip-off! (i.e. Wild Card entry to the final round mysteriously hits blackjack every hand?? hmmm....)

[coevan]

The Poker Pro is fine, once you get use to it. Surely better odds then 3 card or Caribbean Stud poker. Standard 52 card deck, and you are playing with friendly people, by the end of the week, we all knew each others names.

[kalley79]

Well I am going to have to brush up on my skills I guess. I only get to gamble about once a year if that, but it is so much fun. I might try the 3 card poker, I played it once online and did okay. Now to figure out how much I have to lose. DH will have his beer money and I will have mine to gamble I guess. Either way Carnival will probably end up with most of it.

[kf4zra]

the minimum on BJ was $3 on the first night last year on the miracle. after that it never went below $5 (which is normal to low for most land based casinos) i only found a handful of places in vegas than had minimums below $5 in vegas, and those were in the crappy joints. in a caesars palace, i didnt see a minimum below $25/hand. they had several tables in the open that had $2500/hand minimums on BJ, plus a "high roller" section that was closed to the public. dont even want to know what minimums were there.

 

i watched a guy on the $2500 table lose more than my annual salary in about 5 minutes and not even blink an eye.

 

back to the topic at hand. carnival had normal $5/ hand after the first night. Royal caribbean does a $1 hour the first night to get people hooked. but after that it was pretty much the standard $5-$10 minimum. single deck bj on rcl was always a $10 minimum.

[Rouge Wave]

DH and I will be sailing the Triumph in April. I love the casinos and wish I had more $$$$ to gamble with but I am on a budget. Anyone know what the table minimums are. I love to play craps, am okay at blackjack, and DH likes Texas Hold 'Em. I also get sucked into the one arm bandits, but I try to keep to the $.25 or less machines because I have HORRIBLE luck. Also any other tips on saving in the casinos would be great. Thanks.

 

Kellie

 

Have never seen a min above $5 on a Carnival ship (talking Craps here "Dice" it is called on Princess) I have noticed some other tables in Casinos I think they are 21 or Black Jack tables or some other silliness…. don’t know really what was going on, the other table games looked, sounded way to dull for my tastes. Anyway, often the first night the table min is $3. Double odds is the best I have ever seen on a Cruise ship, with $500 being the max bet. (That is per bet, per number, not total bet)

[smpd24]

First time cruiser here, Victory in February and I was so wondering about the minimums. I was expecting $10 but what you guys have experience sounds great! It is really hard to find a $5 anywhere these days.

 

What about Roulette? Do they have mostly $1 chips or do they go down to .50 or .25 ever?

 

Does the casino stay open 24 hours?

 

Thanks people.

[Cruizin Susan]

Are there very many .01, .02, .05 & .25 machines in the casinos (specifically Sensation)? Or are there just a few of each and majority are $1 and up machines? I'd rather bet more per line in lower denomination machines (ten cents per line on 10 lines rather than $1 on one line). Thanks for any info.

[rico]

Casinos are not open all the time. They are closed while in port and generally open after a set distance out to sea. They will close in the wee hours of the morning with slots opening again around 10am or so and the tables opening a few hours later.

 

I've never seen anything other than $1 chips on roulette.

 

Valor in January 2007 had $3 minimums on blackjack well beyond the first day of the cruise. I can personally attest to at least the third day still having a $3 minimum table. Most were $5, though.

[smpd24]

Thanks Rico. $3 would be awesome. I love to not be committed to a higher bet. I know I won't win every hand.

 

I do understand the closing in ports but if you're out to sea and it's like 3am, I would think they would still be open. But whatever, I am just happy for a casino!

[jiggs]

What about Roulette? Do they have mostly $1 chips or do they go down to .50 or .25 ever?

 

Does the casino stay open 24 hours?

 

Thanks people.

 

 

The casino is not open 24 hours, it closes in the early morning depending on the amount of players in there...I'd expect that you could count on it being open untill at least 1 am and likely later. The casino is also closed while docked at any port during your trip. They can only operate in international waters.

 

For Roulette, I think the chips are always going to be a dollar. The min amout to play inside or outside may slide from $5 to $3 or $10, but I don't think the value of the chips will go lower than a buck.

[Rouge Wave]

First time cruiser here, Victory in February and I was so wondering about the minimums. I was expecting $10 but what you guys have experience sounds great! It is really hard to find a $5 anywhere these days.

 

What about Roulette? Do they have mostly $1 chips or do they go down to .50 or .25 ever?

 

Does the casino stay open 24 hours?

 

Thanks people.

 

 

Roulette, .50 cents ..... You can bet just a .50 cent chip on roulette. I have yet to see a routette game that did not have .50 cent chips. I have played roulette with .50 cent chips on the Island Princess back in October. However, I have not seen roulette wheels on every cruise ship.

 

Some of the worst odds in the casino by the way.... I ONLY will ever play roulette with winnings.

 

On a sea day/night when followed by a sea day, the casino is OFTEN open 24 hrs. (depends upon cruise line and ship) I have found action many time in the wee hours of the morning. The craps table my be down, but often a 21 table or several for that matter and all the slots are open.

[smpd24]

It all sounds promising, thanks for the info.

[Artemus]

I just saw a Carnival Caper for the Miracle advertising .50 roulette and $3.00 black jack the first night.

[eclipsegtf10mch]

They will close in the wee hours of the morning with slots opening again around 10am or so and the tables opening a few hours later.

 

Last week Slots opened at 9AM along with the cashier's desk and then table games began at 10AM (except for craps and let it ride.) The earlier they open the more money they can take :)

[kf4zra]

i only remember playing roulette with $1 chips. they could have had the 50 cent ones when they were doing the $3 bj. on both miracle and RCL enchantment, they were $1 inside and $5 outside minimums.

 

there are plenty of 1 & 2 cent machines. but i have never seen anyone play a 1 cent machine for 1 cent. you generally have to play up to 15 lines at up to 15 or more credits per line. if you dont play the max, you wont qualify for jackpots. 15 lines at 15 credits per line at 1 cent per credit is $2.25 a spin, whereas there are plenty of 25 cent machines you can play that have a max bet of 2 coins (although most are 3) either way, they are considerably cheaper than the "penny" or nickel machines.

 

heck, you can find dollar machines that are cheaper to play that "penny machines" as a rule of thumb, in most casinos, the dollar machines pay out higher percentages than lower denominations since it takes fewer spins to make the same money.

 

gambling should be viewed as an entertainment expense. occasionally you will come out ahead and that adds to the fun. if you expect to gamble to make money, in the long run, you will always lose. (unless you are the house).

[J Free 203]

I just saw a Carnival Caper for the Miracle advertising .50 roulette and $3.00 black jack the first night.

 

This is totally True!

 

but if you do not know how to play please save your money! you mess it it up for those who play big bets! I am reffering to BJ!

[eclipsegtf10mch]

 

but if you do not know how to play please save your money! you mess it it up for those who play big bets! I am reffering to BJ!

 

If you play big bets go to a table with higher limits, as that will deter the newbies from sitting @ a table where they lose more $$ per hand.

[J Free 203]

I am not a huge money player usually 15-50 a hand I'm reffering to the moron's I see sit down lose 10.00 and leave. it screws everyone up!

[ParrotRob]

This is totally True!

 

but if you do not know how to play please save your money! you mess it it up for those who play big bets! I am reffering to BJ!

 

Nonsense. No player messes it up for the other players, no matter how badly or well they play.

[CynCyn]

I've been scared off of tables! I played in Vegas and had 11. I hit and got a 10. The dealer had 13. Another player screamed at me and wanted to fight me over hitting when the dealer had 13. Hey, I played for me. Wasn't that the right thing to do? The other players didn't give each other money!!!

 

Play away! Hope the people you play with have more manners than that lady in Vegas.

[ParrotRob]

I've been scared off of tables! I played in Vegas and had 11. I hit and got a 10. The dealer had 13. Another player screamed at me and wanted to fight me over hitting when the dealer had 13. Hey, I played for me. Wasn't that the right thing to do? The other players didn't give each other money!!!

 

Play away! Hope the people you play with have more manners than that lady in Vegas.

 

How did you know the dealer had 13 when you hit? The dealer should have had a card face down. Do you mean the dealer had a 3 face up and the assumption was 13? If the dealer has a 3 face up and you have 11, your best play is to double, not to hit.

[popsec]

Nonsense. No player messes it up for the other players, no matter how badly or well they play.

 

Well said! When a player makes a bad play but everyone wins because of it, nothin is said. It's only when other players lose a hand after a "bad play" that the complaining starts...I don't like seeing the newbies at a BJ table given a rough time by the more experienced players. Everyone has to learn somewhere and if a person has the basics down, a cruise casino is a great way to start playin "real" blackjack...it's just not the same playin online.