How Many Players to Play With
One debatable blackjack topic is how many players one should be playing with at a table. We’ve all seen the nasty players who think that one player’s play is disrupting the flow of the game. But how much does the presence of other players affect your odds at the blackjack table?
Some experts say that you shouldn’t play with more than three players at the table. They say that, but few offer any reasons why they believe this. I’ve heard that the house edge is at it’s best for the player when playing at a table with three players at it, but there is no real reason apparent for this. The reality is that the house edge in the game remains the same regardless of how many players are playing.
If you’re at a table with one other player, or head to head with the blackjack dealer, your rate of play will go up. That means that you will win at a faster rate because you’re playing more hands in the run of an hour than if you were at a full table. It also means that you can lose at the same faster rate if things aren’t going your way.
If you’re a card counter the amount of players at the table can affect things for you. When counting cards you want to play as many hands as possible because you’re only getting your important bets in there during spots where you have a favourable count. With too many players at the table you will be limited to the number of hands you get to play when the deck has a hot count.
