I was on a cruise ship last week with a hold em table. The dealer was a computer. You were playing live poker against other people at the table.

It was pretty neat except I lost!

Everything else was short pay. Tables and VP included

Senator,
I'd say that is pretty typical of cruise ships. After all, where else are you going to go???

I always play a little, but nothing big and nothing long term. If you catch a little luck, turn tail and run, is my motto on a ship.
One thing that can be better odds are the tournaments, if your ship offered them. Normally atleast all the entry fee's are paid back in prizes, and sometimes with a bonus of a bottle of wine for dinner or some other cruise trinket.

What cruise line, where you on this time????

I think that I've seen those around here. The subliminal hook to the game is that the dealer is usually a video of a very attractive woman. I never stopped to look at the game closely. I think there might be different versions for different table games.

Lee - We were on the Carnival Freedom. It's their newest boat with flat screens in the cabin and a huge screen at the main pool.

The thing I liked about the computer dealt poker was, no chance for mis-dealt or exposed cards. No chance for anyone to act out of turn. When it was your turn to act, you were on a timer and would be folded if you didn't act in time.