Playing live poker on a cruise

Hello there.

I am going on a cruise in feb to the cayman islands. I have found out that they have 3 casinos on the boat and the poker room is quite active. Just wondering if anyone knows any sites or can give me any tips for playing some live poker, any help would be appreciated

well in my oppinion online poker is less beaatable compared to live, just play ur normal game
be aware at the table, see what ur opponents postures are like when they play, listen to what they say when they are in a hand, and always post those antes

ooh yea seeing that it is a cruise, there will be vaacationers who are out to have a good time- take advantage of this factor

Here's my quick guide to the mechanics and etiquite of live play:

- Don't string bet. String betting is when you put your chips out in more than one motion without a verbal announcement. I see it happen most often when someone goes all in: they'll get two handfulls of chips, move them forward, then go back to move the rest. At which point the dealer will stop them, say "I'm sorry sir, that's a string bet" and only allow the first two handfulls of chips to stand as the bet.

The reason for this rule? In theory, if you were allowed to keep adding chips to the pot you could watch an opponent and just keep adding until you get a tell on them.

- Always act in turn. Online, you don't have a choice. Live, you'll become very unpopular very quickly if you keep folding or betting when it's not your turn.

- Verbalise your actions: say 'call' or 'raise' and then state the amount before you move your chips. There's some specific interpretations of actions made without verbal announcements that can count against you - for example, if you throw in one oversized chip meaning to raise a player's bet (say, they've bet $25 and you throw in a $100 chip) it'll be counted as a call unless you've said "raise" first.

You don't have to verbalise your action, but it can help to avoid mistakes until you get the hang of the conventions. For example, if you say "Raise, $150" and then accidentally throw out $250 in chips, the $150 bet will stand and you'll take the extra $100 back. If you'd said nothing, the $250 would have to stay out there.

- Protect your hand (ie: put a chip or something on top of it if you're staying in the hand), especially if you're sitting directly to the left or right of the dealer. This is to ensure that your hand doesn't get mucked by accident if someone folds their cards and they land in the vicinity of yours (happens more often than you'd think playing live).

- Never muck your winning hand: just table it, and let the dealer take it away. If your hand goes into the muck while someone else still has theirs in front of them, your hand is dead and they win the pot - regardless of who had the better hand.

- Master the art of paying your blinds without being asked.

- Move away from the table to use your cell phone.

Oh man, sounds like the easiest money ever. You're playing tourists who are just there to have a good time. Hell you may be able to win back the cost of the cruise (lol yes I'm kidding ).

This could be a very profitable trip for you indeed. Cruises tend to have a lot of people playing for "fun" vs the true "card players" that are in it for the money. Pay attention to the competition and play accordingly.

Good luck!

If that's the case, then add one more rider:

- For gawd's sake, be nice to the fish!

pretty excited. I'll let you guys know how I do when I get back, I'm taking about 3/4 of my Pokerstars bankroll to play.

Do you know what limits / buy-ins they play?

good luck.

Hmm, I wonder how the rake is...

Actually one of the reasons I play more online than at a nearby casino is because the rake (and rakeback) are very significant.

I might be wrong, but you don't look too old Regd87. Legal age might be different than in Canada. I'd check gambling age on the boat and in the caymans just to make sure you're legal. GL. I hope you do well.

I am mainly a live player and agree with Oz on everything I mean he covered just about everything on live ethics. One thing though watch out if you are going to be verbalizing your bets ( which I also recomened ) be careful of how you speak . Ex. when you an idle conversation with the table observant players are going to take note of how you speak everything down to your pitch.. its a big tell just make your verbal actions short and dead just like a robot and never let any1 get you to talk while your in a hand... its fine later on as you get comfortable with live play, but they are fishing for tells and if there good they will find them. Good luck and take there money.

I think it is important that you keep your tells in check obviously but I don't think many players on a cruise ship will be looking out for those sort of things. Chances are they will be absolutely hammered and looking for something to do until the buffet starts.

Still, it's a good time to work on playing properly in a live game.

All I would say is give yourself time to settle down into the table and live play. It can take a while to get used to handling chips and cards!

Another thing to note is that online, you can very easily figure out the size of the pot and everyone else's stack. In RL, you need to keep an eye on this sort of thing. Obviously you can ask for a chip count, but you'll be unpopular if you are doing it every other hand.

Most of the time you'll find yourself around a table with a bunch of friendly strangers, making chit-chat and having fun whilst playing poker - it's a lot more social than online!

yeah, the legal age limit on the boat is 18. It is quite young.

i am going on a cruise and of feb..i have not played live yet .. there is some good advice . i read in one of the forums not to long ago , someone said to wait until your turn comes up before looking at your cards. this will keep other people from getting a read on you

one thing I can tell you about cruise ship play is that the rake is very steep..... just about every game in the casino has a very high house edge compared to regular casinos I've been to (Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, and atlantic city )...

but there is most likely going to be alot of fish at the tables...lot of people that never played poker other than penny home games.....only problem with that is, just like online......lotta times they don't know any better and go to the river and suckout.....so play tight....and when you have the nuts....go get em

as far as playing other casino games goes......ask about special promotions (they have alot of giveaways and free or really cheap tournaments) otherwise.....save your money....shipboard games are really stacked against you

I'd worry about waiting for your turn to look only if your opponents are good and are going to be watching you, I'd be more concerned with watching your opponents when they look at their cards, especially if they're just recreational players who are easy to read.

OMG this sounds like the easiest deal ever. I went on a cruise to Alaska for my honeymoon and 3/4 of the boat was drunk at any given moment. I couldn't imagine how dumb the poker would be!! Seems like a slam dunk for big pots, or horrific bad beats. Good luck bud, and DEFINITELY repost your results.

icemonkey9
The Poker Blog

prepare for a ton of min-bets, min-raises, and other crazy stuff

I have a problem with having class while playing live games. When you win a big pot off somebody, should you say something like "tough break" or will that make you sound like a jackass?

Also, when I'm shuffling, I have to flip the deck on its side so everyone could see the bottom card if they wanted to. Even though the deck gets cut, it this really taboo?

I also look retarded when I deal, but I guess that can't be helped. Anyways, I guess online is the place for me. I've only played live a few times.

Don't worry, you won't have to deal on a cruise ship

You should without a doubt in my mind, play tight. My opinion only, but these people on the cruises will be only wanting to have fun, and also, probably be drinking. Which means sloppy loose play. Good luck though, and hope you win.

I doubt they're going to be aggressive post flop, a lot of them are likely to be calling stations, I'd say see a lot of flops cheap and play aggressively for value post flop

Make sure to hold your hand(dont muck it) until the dealer declares your hand to be the winner. It cost me a fairly big sized pot because I simply flipped over my hand and the dealer didnt hear me call out a flush.

Do you have any idea what the limits are for the games?

All the advice that you have been given is right on the mark. I find live play much easier than online play. Even though online play might be at much lower limits, the players are generally better. That's not to say that there are not donkeys everywhere! I find that at my casino, live Limit games have the most loose money...lots of retirees and folks looking for action. But, be advised that as a result, many play any two cards all the way to the river. So, suckouts happen. Just keep telling yourself that it's their bad play that makes you money...in the LONG run. It's dealing with the frustration of watching Granny play 9 3 off-suit into your pocket A's, even after you raise pre-flop, and beating you with 2 pair that's hard to deal with in the SHORT run! But, if you play tight, solid poker you can make some decent money.

I find I do worse in live games even when the opposition is weaker though, there aren't any handy tools like pokertracker to keep track of people, and I'm better reading people online than live, and I tend to make improper bet amounts as there's no nice number with the exact chip counts. And there tend to be a lot of distractions, and the free rum & cokes only help until you've 2 or 3, after that they tend to be a detriment. I know it's from my inexperience at the live tables, but things to bear in mind if you haven't played a lot live.

I just made a more detailed post on this topic on the Playing Poker Board, if you'd like to check it out. In addition to distinguishing between Live vs Online play, you should also consider the marked difference between Limit Hold'em and No Limit. In my experience, you can consistently make money playing live Limit Hold'em and do so without risking your entire bankroll.

Here's a link for that thread:
http://www.cardschat.com/f10/online-...24/#post699115

So I'm flying to miami tomorrow and then leaving for the cruise on sunday, I don't know why but im super excited to play on the cruise. Thanks for all the advice and wish me luck

i wish u luck
ur on a cruise so remember to have fun seeing that ur probably on vacation

If the game is small stakes limit, be prepared for a lot of loose play and loose hand selection. Ace anything and King anything will be popular hands. So if you have AK for top pair top kicker, don't be surprised if you are up against 2-pair from something like K7o.
The great thing about these games is that you usually don't see too much raising, so you may be priced into some draws that you normally wouldn't chase. These can be very lucrative when they hit because no one sees them coming. Can you say, "Check-raise!"
Also, you will rarely be raised out of playing your blinds.

BTW, you will probably only get to play while the ship is at sea. The casinos will be closed while the ship is in port. But that is a good thing, as you will get to see the sights along the way as well.
Good luck!

HOPE YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE MY BWOYS THE PATS KICK SOME ASS IN THE SUPER BOWL AS WELL AS PULL IN SOME MONSTER POTS PLAYING SOME LIVE POKER.....

PEACE

so I'm back, the games were min $60 buy in with $200 max buy in, or half of the chip leaders stack. blinds at $1 and $2. I bought in with $100 and ended up getting about $120 in profit. which I just spent on booze anyways :P but it was a fun experience and I'd do it again p.s drinks were free in the casino which was a plus :P

The only cruise I've ever been on had free booze. If I were you I would've just stayed in the casino, won money and drank free booze all night.