I regularly play blackjack on HAL. On my last cruise, they had a new gimmick at the blackjack tables called “signature pairs”. You make a side bet, and win if dealt a pair on your first two cards. The payoff is:
Pair of different colors: 5 to 1
Same color: 10 to 1
Suited pair: 25 to 1
Ace of clubs pair: 50 to 1
This is a sucker bet. Compared to the odds, the payoff is awful. Forget this gimmick and just play blackjack.
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2004 Alaska
2005 Panama Canal
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2007 E. Caribbean
2007 N. Atlantic
2008 Alaska
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All of the side bet games accomplish one thing. They make more money for the house.
The "Spin to Win" is another example of this. That's the one where you put a side bet out that you will get Blackjack. If you do you get to spin the wheel and can win X times more than your side bet. I don't think I've every seen anyone win more than 11 times their bet. Most people who play this lose more than 11 times that amount before they actually hit Black Jack.
I just play Black Jack and let someone else play the side bets.
Take care,
Mike
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In the 80's I was a volunteer at monthly Las Vegas nights at a local center .I determined that my best chance to win some money would be at Roulette .I stay away from blackjack.
All of the side bet games accomplish one thing. They make more money for the house.
The "Spin to Win" is another example of this. That's the one where you put a side bet out that you will get Blackjack. If you do you get to spin the wheel and can win X times more than your side bet. I don't think I've every seen anyone win more than 11 times their bet. Most people who play this lose more than 11 times that amount before they actually hit Black Jack.
I just play Black Jack and let someone else play the side bets.
Take care,
Mike
I've only seen the 1,000-1 jackpot hit twice and that was on our last cruise. It was a 14 day transition cruise aboard the Radiance last month. That was our 38th cruise and we do the casino every night of our cruises.
A few years ago HAL had the “spin to win” at same of their blackjack tables, except it was called the “wheel of madness”. This sucker bet was bad, but not as bad as “signature pairs”. The house percentage on the “wheel of madness” was around 17%; the house take on “signature pairs” is much, much larger.
__________________
2004 Alaska
2005 Panama Canal
2005 Canada
2006 W. Caribbean
2006 Alaska
2007 E. Caribbean
2007 N. Atlantic
2008 Alaska
2008 S. America
2009 Grand Voyage
2009 Canada
2010 N. Atlantic
2011 Grand Voyage
I regularly play blackjack on HAL. On my last cruise, they had a new gimmick at the blackjack tables called “signature pairs”. You make a side bet, and win if dealt a pair on your first two cards. The payoff is:
Pair of different colors: 5 to 1
Same color: 10 to 1
Suited pair: 25 to 1
Ace of clubs pair: 50 to 1
This is a sucker bet. Compared to the odds, the payoff is awful. Forget this gimmick and just play blackjack.
Now there is something else new when you play the slots. You can put in any amount of dollar bill (no coins, however), but you get credits/payouts on your cruise sail away card which you can redeem or else use in another slot machine after putting in your pin number. The slots on the Westerdam last week were horrible. Roulette was the only thing paying off for my husband. Oh well, win some, lose some.
Slot machine payout system you describe isn't new. It's been that way for probably two years now. I don't like it and hardly play anymore because of it. For me, the fun was all the coins in the hopper. Now it's so automated they've taken all fun from it IMO
New Casino Gimmick
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