How To Play The Blackjack 3rd Base Position

When I used to go into a land-based casino to play some 21, I pay a lot of attention to position. While it is thought that the blackjack 3rd base position has absolutely no advantage, it certainly does - even if it isn't the one that you might expect.

First of all, it is important to understand what position really is. The 1st base is the position that is dealt first, then second, then third, and so on. The blackjack 3rd base position is sometimes called the anchor and this is often seen as the most advantageous seat since most people believe that the person here affects not only the other players, but also the dealer in some way. For instance, everyone has seen the anchor hit on a 16 with the dealer showing a six. Because of this silly move, the anchor ends up with the card that would have busted the dealer and the dealer ends up with the one that ends up beating everyone at the table. I find it frustrating, myself.

Now, with this in mind, it quickly becomes obvious that while no one seat has a mathematical advantage over the other, there is a real advantage to grabbling the blackjack 3rd base seat. Truthfully, I just do it to prevent people from making silly moves like the one above. There is a certain advantage to being able to use a sound strategy, and while I always like to be the one raking in the chips, I don't want to see any of my fellow gamblers lose due to a bad move on my part.

Of course, there's something else to consider here, too. Even if I did make a bad move, do I really have any control over the card that comes up next? The answer varies depending upon who you ask. If I was a skilled card counter, then I might have a fairly good idea of what my odds were. However, since I don't count cards and I instead go by mathematical odds, there isn't really much I can do. If I make the wrong move at some point, there's no denying that someone is going to get upset at me. However, I always remember one thing: there is absolutely nothing that I can do to influence the next card that I am handed outside of cheating, and that's a really bad idea in every sense of the word.

So, with all of this in mind, is there an advantage to the blackjack 3rd base position? The answer depends, really. If you are superstitious (and I suppose I am a bit superstitious), then grabbing this spot may help you maintain your sanity. Otherwise, as long as you continue to make the best decisions possible and remember that not even the anchor has any influence over what cards come up, then you will soon realize that it truly makes no difference where you sit. Your strategy will always remain the same.