I'm Back

[silverscreenselect]

My luck with the weather gods held up as Fay slowed down just enough so that our cruise could leave with only an intermittent drizzle and Gustav didn't show up quickly enough to cause a problem.

My luck at the casino did not hold up as well. I usually play blackjack at $10 a hand and won $100 the first night. From then on, the cards turned as cold as I've ever seen. I will buy chips in $60 increments and if I lose two stacks, I call it quits for the session. Four different times I dropped that first stack of $60 within ten hands. One other time, I watched the dealer get five blackjacks in a course of seven hands (all but one with an ace showing and none of which, naturally, I insured against). All in all, about $500 down for the trip.

Carnival also changed the blackjack rules in the last year but hadn't posted it on their website or in their promotional literature. The dealer now has to stand on a soft 17, which increases the house odds a bit and changes the basic strategy a bit (which I hadn't prepared for). I don't think the change in strategy would have affected my results any, though, but I do think they should have updated their website.

Other than that, a great trip. Mrs. SSS was mortified when I performed Macho Man and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy at the karaoke bar but the crowd was very appreciative. We actually had a table for six at dinner all to ourselves, after our first night companions, two sixtyish sisters traveling together, decided not to eat in the dining room after that night (it was before my karaoke performance so that wasn't the reason).

We stopped in Cozumel, where we spent the day at a beach club where they kept bringing us food and drinks (nine mixed drinks and three beers) all day and in Progreso, which is the port for Merida, the largest city in the Yucatan. The water is so shallow at this port that the ship has to dock at the end of a six-mile long pier where they have a shuttle to bring you to the mainland. Merida has a population of one million and is about a half hour drive away from the port. We got to see some of the old buildings that date from the 1500's there then went to a ranch where they put on a riding and roping exhibition.

All in all a good trip, and I know everyone here really, really missed me during the Democratic convention (most of which I managed to miss). The satellite reception for CNN was screwed up so we couldn't see it very much. Instead, we got to watch Iron Man, National Treasure 2 and Transformers on the room TV. After seeing bits and pieces of all three films during the course of various days, Mrs. SSS never wants to see any of them again for some reason.

[MarleysGh0st]

Welcome back, SSS!

and in Progreso, which is the port for Merida, the largest city in the Yucatan. The water is so shallow at this port that the ship has to dock at the end of a six-mile long pier where they have a shuttle to bring you to the mainland.

A six-mile long pier?

Do they use this pier for cargo ships, too, or just for the cruise ships?

[silverscreenselect]

Welcome back, SSS!

and in Progreso, which is the port for Merida, the largest city in the Yucatan. The water is so shallow at this port that the ship has to dock at the end of a six-mile long pier where they have a shuttle to bring you to the mainland.

A six-mile long pier?

Do they use this pier for cargo ships, too, or just for the cruise ships?

The pier is used for cargo as well as passenger ships. Originally, there was a lot of sissal (used in rugs) produced locally and the pier was built to accomodate the freighters taking away the sissal. At that time, the pier was about four miles long. When the sissal trade collapsed, they extended the pier to accomodate cruise ships, because this was the closest port to Chichen Itza and other tourist locales. Cancun was built (and Cozumel expanded) in the 1960's when Cuba vanished as a cruise/vacation destination and the Mexican government realized that a vacation destination that was convenient to the East Coast and Caribbean cruise lines would be a big tourist draw.

[goongas]

The dealer now has to stand on a soft 17, which increases the house odds a bit and changes the basic strategy a bit (which I hadn't prepared for).

Dealers standing on a soft 17 is better for you, believe it or not. Many Las Vegas casinos now have their dealers hitting soft 17.

[secondchance]

The dealer now has to stand on a soft 17, which increases the house odds a bit and changes the basic strategy a bit (which I hadn't prepared for).

Dealers standing on a soft 17 is better for you, believe it or not. Many Las Vegas casinos now have their dealers hitting soft 17.

Why-- if the dealer continues to hit, won't it increase the liklihood he'll bust?

[Beebs52]

Black Jack! I love Black Jack. Your trip sounds like it was fabu and you will be easily brought up to speed on all the political stuff.
I'm glad you weren't hampered by any (insert storm here).

[silverscreenselect]

The dealer now has to stand on a soft 17, which increases the house odds a bit and changes the basic strategy a bit (which I hadn't prepared for).

Dealers standing on a soft 17 is better for you, believe it or not. Many Las Vegas casinos now have their dealers hitting soft 17.

I meant to say that the dealer now has to hit a soft 17, when in previous years they didn't (it was late last night when I wrote my original post). That increases the house percentage by about .25%. A 17 is actually a losing hand for the player, since the dealer will beat a 17 more often than he will bust. Proper strategy for a player is always to hit a soft 17, no matter what the dealer's up card is (if you can double down, you do so on a soft 17 against a dealer's 3-6). In fact, it's actually proper strategy to hit a soft 18 against a dealer's 9, 10 or A (or double down if the dealer has a bust card up).

Anyone hitting a soft 17, player or dealer, actually has two chances to make a better hand, by either drawing an A-4, or by drawing two (or more) cards that total 11-14 combined (drawing a 10 to a soft 17 doesn't change your hand). So you will improve your hand more often than you will bust it.

[peacock2121]

I was at a casino recently.

Blackjack is my game of choice as well.

I had free fun the first day.

I left with $50 of their money the second day.

If you want to have fun while playing, sit at a table with me. If you think gambling is serious business, run away from any table I am at.