I wrote last week about my gambling aboard the cruise ship. I mentioned that over the two weeks, I was ahead $1,100. I want to address today how typical that result was.
In a casino, the more games you know the more opportunities you have. For me it is video poker and some slot machines. Other players include blackjack and/or poker, and other games as well, into the mix.
Eleven hundred dollars over 14 days averages about $80 profit a day. But my score was never that. My three best winning days were $700 (slots), $450 (Ultimate X), and $145 (slots) that I wrote about last week. I had two losing sessions larger than $150, and the rest of the days the score, plus or minus, was less than $50.
Last week I mentioned I had more than 100 Ultimate X plays. On the Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus plays, I only connected on one 4-of-a-kind. It was quad 4s with a 2x multiplier on a 50-cent machine. That paid $400. While I hit several quads on the Deuces Wild game, those only paid 20 coins apiece, times the multiplier that might be on that hand.
Of those Ultimate X plays, I had perhaps 80 of them on the first week and 30 more on the second. There are two possible explanations for this. There were fewer ploppy players on the second cruise, or, more likely, there were other knowledgeable Ultimate X hustlers on the second cruise. I suspect the latter explanation is the more likely, although I never saw any other player checking for unplayed multipliers.
On slots, I did see other players checking the machines. My two biggest hits were right when the casino opened. One of them that I discussed last week was created by a player who ran out of time the night before. I theorize the second one was too, but I wasn’t there the night before, so I don’t know for sure.
I will definitely go on additional cruises and will check each casino when I do. Presumably, I’ll know more advantage slots by then (I’m learning all the time). Will I have another $1,100 win? Who knows? It definitely could happen, even a much larger score if I pop a royal or set of aces with a large multiplier, but there will be cruises where I don’t find any plays at all. Also, on this cruise I had some “extra time.” We didn’t go ashore much, and we didn’t dance much due to my hip injury. Although some players go cruising because of the casino, I’m not like that. I play significant amounts off the ship and don’t have the “need to gamble.” It would be easy for me to go two weeks without even stepping into the casino.
I understand you would not play on a cruise that didn’t offer an advantage to you. If you did comp and stiff the cruise would you be offered another one?
We were on the cruise as a benefit of having Seven Stars status at Caesars. Gambling is “preferred” but not required. I’ve been on dozens of such cruises and usually don’t gamble because up until recently my only advantage game was video poker — and cruise ships typically offer horrendous video poker.
I AM curious about the slots you choose to play. I am primarily a BJ and table game/VP player but have discovered a few slots (the one with the blue, green and yellow WILDS) that have “must hit by” numbers. On my last cruise, I put $400 into a machine that was 11 short of the must-hit-by number and won $1300.
I appreciate your summaries and the fact that you include plays for modest amounts of money in those summaries. Betting sports, I am often called out by alleged “APs” for reporting small advantages and plays as being indicative of being a “low roller.” I see nothing wrong with reporting taking down a hundred dollars profit here and there. For example, I know an offshore that offers 50% free play on losing Sunday night wagers (up to $200) and 100% free play (up to $200) on losing Monday night football. The fact that some alleged “APs” thumbed their noses at those size advantages led me to not sharing where they were available.
Watching pennies adds up to dollars. And, in sports lingo, watching dollars adds up to dimes. If people are too good to take down a hundred here or there, well, God bless them.