{"id":234091,"date":"2023-08-04T08:04:28","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T13:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=234091"},"modified":"2023-10-28T07:54:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T12:54:34","slug":"vegas-myths-busted-bad-players-kill-the-blackjack-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-bad-players-kill-the-blackjack-game\/","title":{"rendered":"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: Bad Players Kill the Blackjack Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cVegas Myths Busted\u201d publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition.\u00a0<\/em>Today\u2019s entry in our ongoing series originally ran on Sept. 30, 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

In the game of blackjack<\/a>, it’s a common myth that the player on third base, the last player to act before the dealer, holds more cards than they actually do. According to this myth, if this player makes a bad move, it will always negatively impact the other player\u2019s outcomes, \u201ckilling\u201d the game.<\/p>\n

\"Swingers
Having given his inexperienced friend the lousy blackjack advice to ‘always double down on 11,’ Vince Vaughan (second from left) tries to console Jon Favreau (center) after his inevitable loss in the 1996 movie “Swingers.” (Image: Youtube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis is a very common issue with blackjack players,\u201d Anthony F. Lucas, a professor of casino management at UNLV and former gaming industry operations analyst, told\u00a0Casino.org.<\/em><\/p>\n

According to Lucas, even the ignoramus who’s betting out of turn, splitting pairs of 10s, and asking the dealer for advice won\u2019t affect your performance unless you let him distract you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the long term, the benefits and consequences of bad plays to other players cancel each other out,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cSometimes, they will cost the whole table. But other times, they will save the table. There is no long-term effect to misplayed hands on another player\u2019s expected outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning the Tables<\/h2>\n

So, while the common reaction is to leave a blackjack table if an inexperienced player has just helped the dealer beat everyone else \u2014 and perhaps to utter some colorful words to that player on the way out \u2014 leaving won’t increase anyone\u2019s odds of winning next time.<\/p>\n

If one were to track the help\/hurt outcomes of such decisions, which I have, you would see that the hands are all independent,\u201d<\/strong> Lucas said, explaining that basic blackjack strategy only considers the value of the player’s original two-card hand and the dealer’s up card.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThat alone should signal the independence of the hands,\u201d Lucas said.<\/p>\n

You Lose Some, You Lose Some<\/h2>\n

The issue is psychological, Lucas explained, part of a flawed human thought process called confirmation bias. Unfortunately, our brains like to interpret new evidence only as a confirmation of our existing beliefs and theories.<\/p>\n

Subscribers to this blackjack myth see only the consequences associated with the unfavorable outcome,\u201d<\/strong> Lucas said. \u201cThey will notice whenever bad plays cost them, but they will process any benefits they receive from bad plays as dumb luck, with some sort of warning label attached \u2014 that is, \u2018We dodged a bullet on this hand, but please don’t do that again.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nevertheless, because of the persistence of this myth, regular players usually advise rookies to steer clear of third base until they master basic strategy.<\/p>\n

Look for \u201cVegas Myths Busted\u201d every Monday on\u00a0<\/strong>Casino.org.\u00a0<\/b><\/em>Click here<\/a>\u00a0to read previously busted Vegas myths. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email\u00a0corey@casino.org<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0\u201cVegas Myths Busted\u201d publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition.\u00a0Today\u2019s entry in our ongoing series originally ran on Sept. 30, 2022. In the game of blackjack, it’s a common myth that the player on third base, the last player to act before the dealer, holds more cards than they actually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":234092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,81896,81886,88494,1],"tags":[87269,82949,13363,23,82246,82950],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: Bad Players Kill the Blackjack Game - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0\u201cVegas Myths Busted\u201d publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition.\u00a0Today\u2019s entry in our ongoing series\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-bad-players-kill-the-blackjack-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: Bad Players Kill the Blackjack Game - 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