Blackjack rules on RC lines

[Mamaza]

I like to play blackjack, but was wondering if anyone knows that rules, e.g.: Can you surrender, what can double down on (any card, 9,10,11 only or 10 and 11 only), can you double after splitting, does the dealer stand on soft and/or hard 17 or are there any other odd rules that vary from the US casino rules? I'm not really a big player but I like to know what I'm walking into before I look like the fool when I try to make a play that's not allowed.

[Dave]

Maybe this will help.

[Mamaza]

Dave,

Thanks a bunch. I've been on that site a zillion times and I never looked far enough. I guess I didn't have the question yet and didn't think to look. You're a champ with me.

Marc

[SanDee]

Having been to Las Vegas several times and lived in Vegas for several years I have found that people do not play the same on cruise ships. This is a bigger concern for me. If you have not played on cruise ships you will discover this. For the avid player you know that how another player plays can affect whether you win or lose. On my cruise on the Elation last month I was surprised at the number of people who had no clue. I like to sit third base and this spot should be reserved for people who know how to play the game. This spot can make or break the table. One woman in particular would hit anything under 17 no matter what the dealer had showing. Many times she would have a 4 or 5 and the dealer would have a 6 and she would HIT! Then once she has a soft 16 or 6 and she stayed. I even told her...you have a 6. You can only improve your hand and she still stayed. The dealer had a 5 showing and turned over a 10, and drew a 5. Everyone lost. And yes, the next card was a 9. The dealer would have busted if she would have hit. This was not one instance. This seemed to be the norm as to how people were playing. There was even the passenger that split 10s. I love to play but I was so frustrated!

On the Elation all tables stay on soft 17 except for the Fun 21 table that hits soft 17 and offers surrender and lets you split Aces and hit them more than once.

[SanDee]

Marc, You might also like to know that most tables use 8 decks and not the normal 6 in Casinos.

[Mamaza]

Thanks, SanDee. I did sort of expect to run into exactly what you discribed ... frustration. It happens in Vegas and the local casinos, too. Like I said, I not a "big" player but I did know the basics and study when to hit, stay, double, split and surrender (etc.). I was happy to see there is a possiblity of surrendering and spitting aces. Even if it is on a HS17 table. Part of my reason of asking was so I could study the right charts before I hit the tables, and not asking to surrender when it's common knowledge that it's not allowed.
You're a wealth of information.
Thank, marc

[bigR]

I've found that you can avoid some "frustration" by playing at the $5 table instead of the $2 tables.

[SanDee]

$2.00 tables! Haven't seen any of those on ships I have been on. Elation had all tables $3.00 the first night. After that they went up to $5.00 and $25.00 I have only seen surrender on special games like Spanish 21 and Fun 21. Most do not allow it. Splitting Aces I think is pretty standard on all tables. Some only let you double on 10 or 11 and some let you double on any first 2 cards. Marc, when in doubt...ask!
Yes there are some bad players in Las Vegas, maybe first timers to Vegas but the good players will put them in their place real quick! The higher limit tables do usually have more experianced players but not all the time. Some bad players just have money to burn.

[Jim C.]

Haven't seen any $2 tables either. Like Sandee stated CCL starts the first night with $3 tables, but quickly those become $5 to $25 tables.

Worse than the 8 deck shoe is the 8 decks in the "continuous" shoe. There's no hope of card counting there. every hand of cards is shuffled back into the shoe. Saw that on NCL.

I won't get into the discussion on players not playing "correctly". That's a whole other topic!