We have all been criticized by the rest of the table for “taking the dealer's bust card” or other such claims that our play affects the results of the other players. Later, we will see that one can indeed affect other players’ results — for example, when you change the number of hands or enter or leave a table based on the count or shuffle track. But simply playing your hand differently has little or no effect. (There can be an effect in the rare case that the play of your hand causes an additional round to be played or not.)

This chart takes a simple look at the effect the player at third base has on a player at first base. Four sims were run. In each case, the player at first base played in the same manner. But the player at third base played differently in each sim. In the first column, this was an average player. Next, a player that mimicked the dealer rules; third column a player who never hit when a bust was possible; and last, a player who always split every pair and doubled every hard hand of 5-11. (I have seen players who thought you had to split.) The house edge against the normal player at first base is provided. It is within the standard error for a five-billion-round sim in each case. That is, your edge is unaffected by a poor player.

www.qfit.com/Book/z707Chart.gif

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger