Most blackjack players think that the most important position at the table is the one that’s last to act. At a full table, that’s the seat farthest left as you face the dealer, or the “third base” position.
Why? Because what that “anchorman” does with his hand determines which card the dealer gets if he has to draw. As the conventional wisdom goes, a “bad” player who hits his hand when he shouldn’t might take the dealer’s bust card. Example: The dealer shows a 5 and a player on third base hits his 12 and busts with a 10. The dealer then turns a 10 in the hole and draws a 6 for 21.
So what happened here? The bad player took the 10 that was supposed to go to the dealer and screwed up the hand for everyone, right?
Wrong. Of course, that’s the way it seems. But the reality is, the cards about to be dealt could just as easily have been reversed, meaning that the incorrect play would have saved the entire table. This happens all the time, but our selective memories don’t catalog it.
It’s not just third base. Mathematical studies indicate that the skill levels of all of the players combined on a table make no difference to your expectation. That is, it doesn’t matter whether you’re playing at a table full of world-class card counters or a bunch of real-life monkeys; your personal expected result remains unchanged. What determines your result are the rules of the game you’re playing and your own skill level.
Things change when an expert is involved. Card counters, for example, often choose the last seat because it lets them see the maximum number of cards before they have to make playing decisions. And a hole-carder may want a specific seat because it offers the best view. When you’re talking about casual players, though, no single best seat will improve results.
One seat should be avoided, however. Believe it or not, it’s the very one we’ve been discussing, third base. The reason is that the vast majority of blackjack players don’t know or understand what’s just been explained here. And that means they’re almost sure to blame you when they don’t agree with your play and something goes wrong.Who needs the added pressure? Take a seat in the middle.
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