Cardplayer Cruise Trip Rport

[FeliciaLee]

The 20/40 was okay at times, mostly too tight. It originally started out as HOE, but a bunch of the seniors started whining and griping that they didn't want to play Stud 8, they didn't want to "think," they came to have fun, not work, blah, blah, blah. Not once did the 20/40 mix contain Stud 8.

I think the games were too tight. I usually hop out of my chair like my seat is on fire if I am the loosest player at the table, lol. My job is resident rock, if I'm only playing 10% or less of my hands, you know the game is bad if I'm the loosest player there! [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

If my mind would have been clearer, I'd have loosened up quite a bit and took more advantage of their tightness. Unfortunately I wasn't functioning at my best, mentally, and ended up going way, way, way down in stakes instead, by the end of the cruise (the last two days [three sessions] we played 2/4 HORSE).

[DOMIT]

Kewl report and pics Joe [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] (even if you did catch one of Felicia in some kind of wacky expression, lol).

For those that don't know, I dealt on this cruise for the first time. I had a great time and the people were great.

I'll also agree that most of the games seemed to be on the tight side. Of course, the 2/4 games were the games that people were chasing too much with any piece of the flop (but when there's 6 or 7 people to the flop, that's not always bad). What surprised me is seeing a 4/8 O8 game get folded to the blind! I remember it happening a couple times. I was astounded by that one!

The NLHE games were fun though; I played a couple times. Here's an example: I have AA UTG in the 2/5 blind game; made it 25 to go, and got FIVE callers!

Thanks for helping Felicia get the HORSE/CORSE games going! They were a blast! I had fun playing in them with you guys when I was off. (Just reminded of a fun hand.. I'm early position during the Crazy Pinnaple round with AKx --Axs-- and raise..Felicia's behind me and I see her think about it, but come in anyway.. Flop is Kxx, I bet, she raises and I 3 bet--can't remember if there was someone in between that I was trying to get HU--Once I 3 bet and it was HU, she calls and exposes her cards..she doesn't ever want anyone to think that we're cheating, squeezing people..so she shows AKQ --AQs-- I show my AKx, fully expecting to chop, I discard the "x" and keep the AK..she surprises me by discarding her King and keeps AQs, since she has 4-flush on the flop..of course, another heart on the turn, and she scoops it, no chop for her! LOL ... Another hand against her, I have AK or AQ, flop is AKx .. she just calls the flop with people to act behind .. when the others fold, and again it's HU, she chuckles, discards, and shows KK for 2nd set .. ouch!)

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the cruise, Joe, and thought the staff was good (being that I was one of them ; ) Thanks again for the report and the pics.

Can't wait to do another one with ya!

[FeliciaLee]

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I'm early position during the Crazy Pinnaple round with AKx --Axs-- and raise..Felicia's behind me and I see her think about it, but come in anyway..

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I was debating whether or not I should re-raise. If it had been anyone else, no way I'm just smooth calling this hand. But that is the problem with a couple sitting at the same table. First hand out, and the husband/wife are raising and re-raising the table. Doesn't look kosher.

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Flop is Kxx, I bet, she raises and I 3 bet--can't remember if there was someone in between that I was trying to get HU--Once I 3 bet and it was HU, she calls and exposes her cards..she doesn't ever want anyone to think that we're cheating, squeezing people..so she shows AKQ --AQs-- I show my AKx, fully expecting to chop, I discard the "x" and keep the AK..she surprises me by discarding her King and keeps AQs, since she has 4-flush on the flop..of course, another heart on the turn, and she scoops it, no chop for her!

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I sometimes go for "big" hands in Crazy Pineapple, instead of the safe route. Once I saw you throw away your useless card, I decided not to go for the chop. It's 2/4 HORSE, I came to "gambooool," lol.

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Another hand against her, I have AK or AQ, flop is AKx .. she just calls the flop with people to act behind .. when the others fold, and again it's HU, she chuckles, discards, and shows KK for 2nd set .. ouch!)


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See, this is another reason I hate to play "couples" at the table. When one of us does have a big hand against the other, we don't make anything. We eliminate the competition, expose our hands (to make sure everyone knows there is no collusion going on), then check it down. It really sucks.

I just sit there shaking my head. What a waste!

[MaxPower]

Nice report, I know you have been looking forward to the trip for a while.

Is that you in the suit? I've never seen you not wearing a sports jersey.

[henrikrh]

Are games on cruises raked or is your rake the fee to be on the cruise in the first place?

[JoeU]

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Are games on cruises raked or is your rake the fee to be on the cruise in the first place?

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Rake was a 10% to $4 max. The trip was actually a bargain. We paid $810 + tax and port charges per person. The fair was around $950 pp on Carnival.

Joe

[Cyberchomp]

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Are games on cruises raked or is your rake the fee to be on the cruise in the first place?

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Rake was a 10% to $4 max. The trip was actually a bargain. We paid $810 + tax and port charges per person. The fair was around $950 pp on Carnival.

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So that was you in the jersey... I think you called my wife on a string bet one evening. She and I are both still learning the game, and we'll work on our betting motions... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Yes, I was one of those chasers in the 2/4 games. Tried my hand at 4/8 and had my head handed to me. Not pretty.

The tourneys were even tighter. A lot of respect was handed out -- so much so, that I lasted until the mid-80s in a 180-player tourney (Thursday's $150 buy-in).

My own thoughts about the cruise (also my first Card Player Cruise):

The facilities were not exactly ideal. The poker rooms were split among two decks near the dining room at the rear of the ship. The upper room had absolutely no lighting -- unless the window shades were open, some of the tables were in twilight, giving the term "raise in the dark" a whole new meaning... The air conditioning in the upper room was meat-locker quality. I didn't go in there without a sweater or jacket. A miner's helmet probably would have helped.

The lower room was far better lit, but there were metal projections sticking out of the floor where room fixtures had been removed to make room for the tables. Players were constantly tripping over the projections.

I overheard Linda Johnson discuss the Carnival Spirit's shortcomings with one of the other CPC guests. CPC takes what the cruise line gives and they try to make do with the facilities. CPC usually books passage on Holland America because their ships are nicer, the service and food are better, and the facilities are far superior to Carnival's. However, HAL is more expensive to book than Carnival, especially for the overseas voyages (CPC uses HAL for its European and Mediterranean cruises). CPC does at least one cruise a year on Carnival in order to give players a cheaper cruising option. We came strictly for the poker, not because we like Carnival.

However, there are sights never to be seen on Celebrity or Crystal Cruises. Hairy-chest contests on the pool deck. Gang-banger wanna-bes in 'fros and baggy jeans talking on their cell phones while dishing up scrambled eggs in the Spirit's breakfast buffet on disembarkation day. Card Player Cruises guests (identified by our neck pouch/ID badges) and Carnival Vacation Club members (identified by their special neck badges) studiously ignoring each other. And more tattoos than a circus sideshow...

One of the best moments in the poker room: on the way back to San Diego, action in the lower room almost completely stopped when whales and dolphins were seen out the windows on the starboard side. Very cool. "Hey," I joked, "bring 'em on in! We can always use a few more whales at the tables."

CPC runs its cruises in a homey, seat-of-the-pants way and that ain't all bad. First day of the cruise, the staff handed out Card Player Cruise swag to CPC guests -- luggage tags, t-shirts and the like. And we had our own section of the dining room -- no reserved seating; we could sit wherever we wanted.

As with you, I, too, brought a suit to wear on formal nights. But I saw as many jeans and t-shirts as there was formal wear in the dining room on those nights. Dinner time was a mere break for most of the players before they headed back to the tables for the evening sessions.

A lot of the dealers were from Viejas and other San Diego-area rooms. We did run into a few folks from our Bay Area neck of the woods. Gary from Bay 101 is a terrific guy! We also got to hear some stories from Red, who dealt at The Oaks years ago. My wife said Red looks as if he dealt at Oaks... CPC brought over sixty dealers to get the cards in the air.

Other than the ship and the facilities, only a few peeves. The staff at the door of each room didn't always check to see whether the players were CPC guests (to be in the room, you have to have booked the cruise through CPC). At least one non-CPC player was caught before he got into the same tourney I was entered in -- he picked my stepson's name off the player list and took his seat card. And I heard that someone else bluffed their way into a 2/5 NL game early one morning and won $1500 before anyone found out. The people who ran the lists on the boards looked as if they were under siege at times. Names on the lists had a tendency to disappear unless you were standing right at the room entrance to watch over yours. And if there had been tables and dealers to spare, I would love to have bought into some sit-and-goes.

The Missus and I have done the Mexican Riviera to death, and there wasn't much we wanted/needed to see. We did book a private car and tour online prior to embarkation, and took a tour of Colima (near Manzanillo). Far nicer and less confining than the ship's bus tour, not to mention cheaper. I don't much care for Manzanillo, but we loved Colima.

We generally like what CPC is doing, and wouldn't mind booking with them again. CPC has the Mexican Riviera again in December '06, with a different itinerary -- Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta. If the bankroll is willing, we'll be there...

[FeliciaLee]

I don't know who you are, but welcome [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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CPC usually books passage on Holland America because their ships are nicer, the service and food are better, and the facilities are far superior to Carnival's. However, HAL is more expensive to book than Carnival,

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Amen! Actually, as far as HAL prices go, the CPC on the Spirit was the most I've ever paid, pp/pd, out of four cruises (three on HAL, one on Spirit). But I usually go for bargains, not necessarily CPC.

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And we had our own section of the dining room -- no reserved seating; we could sit wherever we wanted.



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I think this was hell on the dealers. Glenn was never able to get to dessert. Sometimes he didn't even finish his entree. The servers were indifferent, at best, outright rude, at worst (we changed tables almost every night, trying to find a server with even the slightest hint of a conscience).

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At least one non-CPC player was caught before he got into the same tourney I was entered in -- he picked my stepson's name off the player list and took his seat card.

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Yuck! I am sure you reported this. I hope it doesn't happen again.

Nice to "meet" you, at any rate. Glenn has already been invited back to deal, but I think we'll stick to the HAL cruises only.

Too many complaints about Carnival for me to even list, lol.

[JoeU]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for filling in the holes on my report. My wife complained that I left some stuff out, you saved my bacon. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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So that was you in the jersey... I think you called my wife on a string bet one evening. She and I are both still learning the game, and we'll work on our betting motions...

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I remember this. I'm pretty sure that was the same day I wore the Yankee jersey. She had called a bet, then went back to her chips and said "raise". Me and the guy in the 9 seat called the string. She thanked me for saving her $2 when someone sucked out on her aces! [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

I also remember your "whale" comment, but am having trouble remembering your face. It was the same day as the photo. If you remember, it was the really tall guy (Gary) that took the picture.

Nice to "meet" you as well. I'm sure we'll run into eachother again.

Joe

[JoeU]

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Is that you in the suit? I've never seen you not wearing a sports jersey.

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Yes, that is yours truly. That pic was from the 2-4 HORSE we started after dinner that night. It was a formal night in the dining room. Men have to wear a jacket and tie in the dining room that night. I just was too lazy to go back to my room to get changed.

I need another poker trip! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Joe