odds verses people at the table

The Wizzard has repeatedly stated the odds do not change if more or less people are at the blackjack table. I have been a counter for years and play mostly double deck. I have noticed that the more people at the table, the fewer times the shoe or deck gets in the players favor. This then seems to suggest that the fewer people at the table the better the odds for the player.

You're noticing something and coming to a conclusion based upon a VERY small sample.


Think of it this way:

When you start counting a shoe, sooner or later, you're going to see / count half the shoe.

Does it matter how many player hands or dealers hands were played? It may affect the duration, but not the count.



Is double-deck played face down?

The only thing that players can do to affect the count is when playing a face-down version, is if they don't show thier cards when they bust.

Naw. I think it goes both ways. You get less exposure to bad decks as well, so it evens out. If you are a counter, of course, you want more hands per shoe when the count is in your favor. The way to do that is to have less people at the table.

Perhaps when there are more people at the table the play is a bit slower and you are able to count well and pay attention and therefore are noticing an event more than you would otherwise notice and recall it?

it is a face down game which I have found is easier to count since all the cards get turned up at the end of the game all at once. You still have to count the bust cards early but it's still easier than trying to keep track when they are dealt face up.

You probably have the answer. As get older, the fewer people the less to keep track of. So the conclusion is, fewer people at the table are better odds for seniors but it's not the cards.

I'd like to speak about sims for a moment.

My reference is CVData/CVBJ. The program will have a very small (maybe 0.005%) effect if others are allowed to play. Of course, one can allow idiots to play (No-Bust, No-Hitters, Ploppy, etc) with no additional harm done over the long-run... if you're prepared to play a lifetime of at least 6 million hands. (60 hands/hr * 8 hours/day * 250 days/year * 50 years)