It seems that every time I make an online casino run there is always at least one player at the blackjack table complaining about the bad play of other players. While the blackjack player may demonstrate poor blackjack decision-making skills, I fail to see the point of getting upset. Less a chronic case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the play of another player does not directly impact the results or expected return of the blackjack players at the same table.

Each player’s hand at the blackjack table is independent of one another. If the first baseman of the blackjack table fails to hit his fifteen it makes no difference to the rest of the table, statistically speaking. Additionally, if the third baseman takes what the entire world is certain is the dealer’s inevitable bust card, the odds of the dealer drawing to a bust remains unchanged.

If players of blackjack competed head to head, the play of each player would matter more, as players would be in a situation where they were handing chips to other players hand over fist. However, blackjack is a battle of individual versus the evil empire – the casino or house. It should not matter to me how much or how little money the player to my left is handing the house. The only amount that matters is how much I am forking over to the house by way of the blackjack dealer.

When a US online casino player takes a hit and clearly should not, the only figure other than his own bottom line that is impacted is the card count. Whether he hits or stands has no bearing on the statistical likelihood of the dealer owning or paying the rest of the table.

Also worth noting, the bad player’s decisions tend to be far more memorable when he “kills” the table, taking the bust card that allows the dealer to hit to twenty-one. When the horrible blackjack player hits unwisely, yet pulls the dealer’s sure-fire miracle card, the table’s memory is erased. Yet players will complain for hours about the sooner scenario.

When it comes to playing blackjack, the fact of the matter is that a player should only worry about his or her play. Concerning one’s self about how their neighbors play a hand of blackjack matters not, unless of course you are bankrolling the player. If bankrolling the player, speak up. If you have no direct financial interest in the bad player, let him play poorly. Soon enough, his strategy will take care of him and the seat will be open.