[Fieldysnuts44]

Boys,leaving tomorrow on a cruise with my wife and another couple.Iwas just curios if the casinos on these ship had poker tables and what the action is like?I would imagine that they would be pretty juicey,any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Fieldy

[sinmiedo]

i plaed in one of those a few years ago, for 7 days .
I remember playing pot limit holdem ,and i had a conversation with a few guys and mentioned to me that PLH is the only game they play.
I did good the first 2 days and then lost the other 4 so my experience was not that good, and also because i just started to play poker then.
Today it may be a different outcome

[Fieldysnuts44]

Not a big pot limit guy,but if it's only game.I'll be in.Thanks for the heads up.

[jeffdane]

no games on my 2 cruises. at least i didnt see any.

[sinmiedo]

You are welcome CHamp.
Apparently only 4 real SBR Champions here

[daneblazer]

So many other things to do on a cruise besides poker.

[Fieldysnuts44]

Thanks Sinmiedo and Dane for the info.My wife actually encourages me to play,that's what's paying for the cruise.We both have good jobs but the money I make playing poker I spend on my wife and boys.I haven't played much since my dad passed away 6 weeks ago,haven't been in the mood.The man got me into gambling.Betting football,playing cards and dice.Need to get back in the groove.

[BeerDog99]

the last cruise I was on, they had a PokerPro table (i.e. computerized).

It was a little to get used to but I liked it in the end. Still missed the cards and chips like online poker, but at least you can see the people.

By the end of the cruise, there was a fun small group that played a whole bunch and it was a lot of fun!

[daneblazer]

the last cruise I was on, they had a PokerPro table (i.e. computerized).

They have these in Cherokee, NC. They are pretty nice. No tipping the dealers, no dealer mistakes, and you get in more hands in than you would with a real deck.

Depending on where you go, there could be a casino on the land. Atlantis is a pretty awesome place if you go to the Bahamas.

[Ian]

Keep an eye out for what they're raking. If you haven't booked a poker specific cruise, then there's good a chance the rake structure is prohibitive. If you play in a game with a $10 max. rake or worse don't do it with the expectation that you'll make any money.

[BeerDog99]

good point on rake. I believe the table I was at raked a max of 3-5$ cant remember specifically but it was not much different from normal 1-2 live games I have played at.

Cheers!

[d2bets]

Cruises I've been have had NL holdem tournaments (Norwegian). Pretty good ones too. I won one for like 2500. I don't recall if they had non-tourney ring play, I don't think so.

[jose21_us]

I went on the norwegian epic a few months ago and it had electronic poker against other players... But they had craps so thats where I spent my time on sea

[Das Jax]

I played in a nl tournament on a Royal Caribbean cruise a couple of years ago and it was a pretty bad experience. Started with a small stack of chips and the blind increase schedule was crazy fast. Nobody liked it. It was pretty clear that the cruise line didn't want its gamblers tied up in a tournament where they weren't making crazy money off them.

[ButImSuited]

I am going to assume this guy already went on the cruise, but I figured I would reply to this in case anyone else looks at this for future cruises they may go on. FIRST I am by no means a pro, and still have a lot to learn, but I have gone on three cruises and they all have been basically the same as far as poker action(these were not a poker cruise and I would expect those do not fall under these "rules") and I have done both real cards and electronic.
First there are a few different type of players on a cruise and depending on the size of your cruise and if its a lot of familys(with kids) or adults will dictate how many "active" poker players are on the ship, I have ranged from 15 to about 35. If you study these regulars and are able to classify them, you will make a LOT of money.
Type 1) Brand New~ These players are those who have played a little here or there(probably online) and now finally have a chance to show off all there reading up on Poker. You can usually tell these people by tight play, easily frustrated/confused, and they tend to take more effort to pay attention(dont talk during action, eyes get really big as they are focusing on cards ect) I would suggest minor pressure here as most of the time they play the cards and not the people(this is a good chunk of the people)
Type 2) I PLAY TO PAY FOR MY CRUISE. Every cruise I have been on there has been one or two players who brag about how they play to pay for all there cruises. They not only talk about a lot of winning hands from every tournament they ever played, which of course they always have finished first. They often offer advice which you kinda should just say ohh yeah that makes sense, and let it then fall out the other ear. These guys tend to be very aggressive because in their mind they cant lose. I tend to play pretty tight with these guys. You can identify these guys from always talking, and a very very bad management of money(always just getting more chips when they lose without thought because they always win mentality)
Type 3)Just for Fun~ These guys are my favorite, They dont really care to learn the game, just there for the fun and are basically "buying" entertainment. There play tend to on the wild side and have loaded wallets so don't care about win or lose(especially at 1-2 and 5-10) These guys you can identify easily as they pay almost no attention to the hand, normally buy in with a lot more then the average person, and engage in a lot of "random conversation".
Type 4)I'll Donate~ This is an average player that donates a lot of money to the game. They know they are not that great and they dont quite understand why. Every now and then they end up winning a big pot and they fuels them to lose a lot more thinking they are skilled instead of lucky. You can tell these people because they often show a tell of counting when they are chasing. They rarely raise or bet, tend to fold or call(calling station yes) When they Bluff it is typical that they will fire one bluff and be done with it. You can identify these guys as someone who talks about poker but is kinda limited in ideas of money management, pot odds, implied odds etc. They tend to have family and friends watch them play time to time also.

THESE 4 types make up probably about 80 percent of the players at the table. If you can identify even half of them(assuming the others dont give off tell) You can easily make money by playing them. Two stories of players in this group.

I saw a brand new guy bet, he was raised, he reraised to almost all in(had like 2200 in the pot on that round with about 4 chips left) and the other guy forced him all in and then he folded. This was before a flop so you can understand how crazy that is. He was new to the game and I dont think it was a bluff that he got called out on, I think he just got confused by all the action and re raising going on he got overwhelmed and shot the hand in.

I was playing against one of those pay for the cruise guys, talking about all his accomplishments. I was on kk and he bet about 5 times the bb(2-5) I shove all in with kk and he calls with like 10 10. I won and he bought in for another 100, I was bb he was small, 3rd guy folded to him, he shoves all in, I call with aq he had aj, he buys in for another 100, I am sb, hes first to act(this was 3 handed) he shoves all in with a 10 and I call him with ak and win a 3rd pot in a row.

Those situations happen a lot in a cruise and you really really can get paid off by identify these players and playing against them.


You then have two type of players left....

Players like me, who can read weaker players and plays against them and tend to not play other equal players or better, there is no point, Ild rather play a weak hand against a weak player all day then play great hands against a great player all day. You can tell these people because they tend to isolate play, and they avoid certain players.

Pros, Players whos game is just amazing, you can never really guess the starting hand all that well, bets sizes tend to stay constant ask to mask the strong from weak hands. Avoid these players and rarely engage average players and you will be flying high.


Just my observation of course I cant say it will always be this way, or that even I know what the hell I am talking about