Where to Sit at a Blackjack Table

Hi Vegas fans,
The Las Vegas Advisor recently posted a Question of the Day about the best seat at a blackjack table. As usual, they were right on in their response. If you are an LVA member, log in and search the QoD archives for Blackjack and you'll see it. If you aren't an LVA member, I encourage you to join. If nothing else, you'll get a coupon book that far outweighs the cost of membership.

Back to blackjack. This is one of my favorite venues of entertainment in Vegas. Over the years I've learn to enjoy it even more for one simple reason: I relax when I'm at a blackjack table. In my younger days, I worried about losing too much money, about other players at the table, about the dealer, the pit boss and the eye in the sky. Now I only worry if my drinks aren't coming fast enough.

There's a theory that the last seat to the right of the dealer ("third base") is the best place at the table. Now, if you are counting cards, it's probably true because you get to see all of the cards dealt and have more time to figure out whether the count is favorable or unfavorable before it's time to play your hand. However, you've already made your bet, and a big part of card counting is making your wager based on the count, so it really doesn't matter all that much for the current hand.

The misconception with third base is that you get to control the action, and if you play the hand "correctly" you either save the table or make everyone lose. Players look at you and if they win, you are a hero, but if they lose, you are the goat. Truth is, someone who plays well or badly at third base or first base or any seat in-between has little affect on your outcome. Studies have shown time after time that the way you play the cards has the most influence on whether or not you come out ahead or in the red, regardless of what the other players at the table are doing.

I'm reminded of a recent trip where I was at a table at Excalibur with my friend Steve. He was losing pretty badly, but I was keeping my head above water. I was sitting at third base and a guy who looked like Harry Carey was at first base (Harry's been dead for years, so we knew it wasn't him). He was making all of the classic "bad moves" in blackjack, but I was doing ok anyway. Steve took a break, and I kept playing because I was winning. And I probably had a rum and Coke coming to me, so I couldn't walk away just yet.

I remember at one point being slightly annoyed, going against everything I just talked about, because Harry made a bad move and I lost a hand. But then I told myself, it's ok - it didn't have anything to do with him. A few hands later, I had a perfect hand to double-down. My rum and Coke arrived, and I had a good feeling. Harry hit on a hand he shouldn't have and got a 10. If you play blackjack, you know what was running through my mind: "He stole my 10!" I got a crummy card on my double-down, but the dealer busted and I won. The way the cards played out on that particular round, if Harry had not taken a hit, I would have lost my double down.

I colored up (turned in my lower denomination chips for a higher one) and cashed out. I met Steve in the sports book and told him my victory story. We had a good laugh. It was a great moment in gambling history. That's why I love blackjack, and that's why I relax at the table.

My advice? Find a nearly-full table (so that the hands, and your money, last longer) that looks comfortable and fun. Sit down, relax and have a great time. It's Vegas, and you can't let someone else dictate whether or not you are enjoying yourself.

Viva,
Mike